Chase. Clint Bowyer, in the final Chase spot of 12th in the standings with 3,066 points, clinched his spot with a race finish of 28th or better. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 182 points, thirty-two points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 116 points, was fourteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Hamlin was the race's defending champion. This race was sponsored by the Air National Guard. Going into the race, Col. Mary Salcido, director of recruiting and retention for the Air National Guard, expressed his belief that the sponsorship would allow the organization to achieve its recruitment goals; saying that "with NASCAR having one of the largest fan bases next to the NFL, the marketing and number of people that an event like this reaches are in the millions." Practice and qualifying Two practice sessions was held before the Saturday race—both on Friday. The first session lasted 120 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. During the first practice session, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 22.007 seconds. Ryan Newman placed second, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, Edwards, and David Reutimann in the third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. In the second and final practice session, Edwards was quickest ahead of Paul Menard and Montoya in second and third. Biffle was scored fourth ahead of Kasey Kahne in fifth. During qualifying, forty-eight cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Edwards clinched his sixth career pole position, with a time of 21.133 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Montoya. A. J. Allmendinger qualified third, Bowyer took fourth, and Reutimann started fifth. The five drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Terry Labonte, Michael McDowell, Todd Bodine, Scott Riggs, and Brian Keselowski. Labonte, however, replaced Mike Bliss during the race. Following the qualifying session, Edwards stated, "There's really no pressure. It's just go out and have fun, try not to run into Clint Bowyer or any of those guys that have a lot on the line. I think the key for us is to just go out and win a race. While the pressure's off, you can go out and you can take risks and race harder and sometimes you get a chance to perform really well. That's just what we need to start the Chase."