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Martin Truex Jr. to start first at Talladega

Martin Truex Jr. has started first four times this season. (Getty)
Martin Truex Jr. has started first four times this season. (Getty)

Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to green Sunday at Talladega.

Truex posted the fastest lap in the second round of qualifying on Saturday to win the pole for the fourth time in 2016. The performance came after a little drama before qualifying even began. Parts were confiscated from the No. 78 Toyota in pre-qualifying inspection.

Crew chief Cole Pearn said the problem was because of a misinstalled bolt on the left front of the car. Sunday’s race is an impound race, meaning teams aren’t allowed to make changes from qualifying to the race.

From NBC:

“It was just a stupid mistake,” Pearn said after Truex won the pole for Sunday’s race. “Obviously, you’re not trying to lower the center of gravity on just the left front corner of one part of the car seems kind of ridiculous to get spun out as much as control as it has so far.”

If NASCAR deems the mistake to be worth a penalty, the No. 78 team could lose points. And depending on where Truex is in the points standings, a penalty could prevent him from moving on in the Chase. Truex is 13 points ahead of ninth place in the standings entering Sunday’s race. The top eight move on to the third round of the Chase and Talladega is the final race of the Chase’s second round.

But it appears “unlikely” (via USA Today) in the words of NASCAR vice president Scott Miller, that Truex will get a points penalty

Here’s how the field will line up behind Truex. Reed Sorenson was the fastest driver in the first round of qualifying. Sorenson’s Premium Motorsports team needed to make the race via speed because more than 40 drivers were attempting the race. So they had to run a qualifying setup for maximum speed to ensure they made the race.

David Gilliland, driving a third car for Front Row Motorsports, failed to qualify.

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Chase Elliott
5. Greg Biffle
6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
7. Kurt Busch
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Austin Dillon
10. Paul Menard
11. Trevor Bayne
12. Reed Sorenson
13. Carl Edwards
14. Kyle Busch
15. Ryan Blaney
16. Joey Logano
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Ryan Reed
19. Alex Bowman
20. Ryan Newman
21. Tony Stewart
22. Kevin Harvick
23. Jamie McMurray
24. Kyle Larson
25. Brian Scott
26. Aric Almirola
27. Kasey Kahne
28. Casey Mears
29. Regan Smith
30. Danica Patrick
31. Landon Cassill
32. AJ Allmendinger
33. Chris Buescher
34. Michael McDowell
35. Matt DiBenedetto
36. Clint Bowyer
37. Michael Annett
38. Bobby Laborite
39. Jeffrey Earnhardt
40. David Ragan

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!