While the pack racing produced by restrictor plates makes qualifying somewhat obsolete, recent history says that winning at Talladega starts with a decent effort in qualifying. Five straight races at the track have been won by drivers starting in the top 15, and four races during the stretch have been won by drivers starting on the first two rows. That's not to say a driver starting back in the pack can't get toward the front, but a driver's chances of getting to Victory Lane are definitely helped by a strong qualifying effort.

The trend is good news for pole-sitter Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart. These four drivers will make up the first two rows when the field takes the green Sunday, and of the four, Bowyer and Kahne should be the two drivers that fantasy owners target. Bowyer has been an absolute stud at Talladega. He has won the last two fall races at the track and has finished in 12th or better in nine of his last 10 starts at the track, including six straight. Meanwhile, Kahne has back-to-back top-10s at Talladega and has finished as high as second on two different occasions.

Other drivers starting near the front that deserve consideration from fantasy owners this weekend include Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon. Biffle will roll off fifth, and he has finished in the top five in two of the three plate races in 2012. The only plate race he didn't finish in the top five was the July race at Daytona when he was wrecked while running second on the final lap. Gordon, on the other hand, has momentum on his side. He has finished third or better in five of the last six races leading up to Talladega, and at an unpredictable track, there is nothing wrong with playing the hot hand.

Owners looking for some sleeper starting up front should take a chance on Trevor Bayne and Michael Waltrip. The two will start eighth and 11th, respectively, and both have finished in the top 20 in their last two starts at the Talladega. Waltrip actually finished in the top 10 at Talladega last fall, and Bayne did the same earlier this year. Both drivers are former plate tracks winner, as well, and could deliver some big time results on Sunday.

Last but not least, fantasy owners need to remember not to write off any drivers with a history of success at Talladega that might have struggled in qualifying. Yes, recent history says the eventual winner will probably start up front, but the top 10 will be filled with drivers that started up front, toward the back and everywhere in between. As long as your lineup of drivers avoids the big wrecks, you are going to be in good shape.

Rk	Driver	Car No.	Make	Sponsor	Team	Starting Pos
1	Brad Keselowski	2	Dodge	Miller Lite	Penske Championship Racing	22
2	Clint Bowyer	15	Toyota	5 Hour Energy	Michael Waltrip Racing	3
3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Mountain Dew AMP Energy	Hendrick Motorsports	12
4	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Richard Childress Racing	21
5	Kasey Kahne	5	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	Hendrick Motorsports	1
6	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	Richard Childress Racing	26
7	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	Roush Fenway Racing	5
8	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Home Improvement	Hendrick Motorsports	17
9	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs Racing	13
10	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Subway	Roush Fenway Racing	7
11	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx	Joe Gibbs Racing	23
12	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	Hendrick Motorsports	6
13	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menard's	Richard Childress Racing	16
14	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	Best Buy	Roush Fenway Racing	15
15	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	Michael Waltrip Racing	9
16	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	Office Depot	Stewart-Haas Racing	4
17	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs Racing	14
18	Trevor Bayne	21	Ford	Motorcraft	Wood Brothers Racing	8
19	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	24
20	Aric Almirola	43	Ford	Medallion Financial	Richard Petty Motorsports	18
21	Sam Hornish Jr.	22	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	Penske Championship Racing	10
22	Kurt Busch	51	Chevrolet	Tag Heuer	Phoenix Racing	29
23	David Ragan	34	Ford	8-Hour Alert	Front Row Motorsports	25
24	Michael Waltrip	55	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	Michael Waltrip Racing	11
25	David Gilliland	38	Ford	MHP	Front Row Motorsports	32
26	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Clorox	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	27
27	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Stewart-Haas Racing	2
28	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley Black & Decker	Richard Petty Motorsports	20
29	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row	Furniture Row Racing	28
30	Travis Kvapil	93	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	36
31	David Reutimann	10	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	41
32	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Kingsford	JTG Daugherty Racing	40
33	Terry Labonte	32	Ford	C&J Energy	FAS Lane Racing	31
34	Casey Mears	13	Ford	GEICO	Germain Racing	19
35	Landon Cassill	83	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	38
36	Dave Blaney	36	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	39
37	Robert Richardson Jr.	23	Chevrolet	North Texas Pipe	R3 Motorsports	43
38	David Stremme	30	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	Inception Motorsports	30
39	Cole Whitt	33	Chevrolet	LittleJoesAutos.com	Richard Childress Racing	42
40	Timmy Hill	97	Toyota	AM FM Energy	NEMCO Motorsports	35
41	Michael McDowell	98	Ford	Curb Records	Phil Parsons Racing	34
42	Josh Wise	26	Ford	MDS Transport	Front Row Motorsports	33
43	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	AM FM Energy	NEMCO Motorsports	37