2001 ARCA RE/MAX Series Food World 300 winner Bobby Gerhart won his third consecutive pole award at the historic Florida track with a 184.253 mph lap, followed by 2004 Food World 300 winner Blake Feese, who turned a 183.711 lap. Feese qualified second behind Frank Kimmel at Talladega last year, prior to taking his second win in four starts in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. The third fastest lap was by Todd Kluever who clocked in at 182.508 mph. Kluever will also be the primary driver for the Roush Racing-owned No. 50 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team.

Gerhart, who owns his own team, frequently works on his superspeedway program through tests at Talladega, most recently a couple of weeks ago. Gerhart has always put a big focus on his preparation for superspeedway races.

"Winning at Talladega is very special. I've been coming here since at least 1988 and ran some Cup races and ARCA races. It's just a lot of fun a restrictor plate tracks. We put a strong effort forward at these places," Gerhart said.

Feese is one of a very short list of drivers to taste victory in their first start at Talladega, and credited much of his fortune to fellow Hendrick Motorsports driver, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series star Jimmie Johnson. Johnson was able to impart some of his superspeedway knowledge to Feese during a test prior to the 2004 Food World 300, and the 22-year-old rookie returned to win the event.

"Coming here, I had the car that Kyle Busch won Daytona with and the team that he won Daytona with. There were also all of the other development drivers here. To win, that was a big thrill. It was a really good day for me. To win at Talladega is something few people get to do and I am glad to have already won here,"  Feese said when he returned for a test here in early December.

Kluever was on hand in mid-January, testing the Roush Racing No. 17 NASCAR Busch Series car for Matt Kenseth, and also gaining experience on larger tracks.

"I am a rookie so we are getting as much seat time as I can at these big places," Kluever said during his test here.

As racing news begins rolling out of Daytona and the roar of the season picks up, the excitement of another thrilling year of competition at Talladega begins to build.

Tickets to the Aaron's Dream Weekend April 28 - May 1 featuring the Aaron's 312 NASCAR Busch Series race on April 30 and the Aaron's 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on May 1 are available by calling the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office at 1-877-Go2-DEGA (1-877-462-3342) Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. CDT, or by visiting us online at www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.