Denny Hamlin
REUTERS

Rain fall forced the cancellation of Saturday’s qualifying runs, putting Carl Edwards atop the pole today in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Martin Truex Jr. and Marcos Ambrose will be right behind Edwards.

Sunday also marks the return of Joe Gibbs racing star Denny Hamlin, who missed four straight races with a fractured vertebrae.

Beginning from the No. 7 slot, Hamlin completed 16 practice laps, but won’t push himself too hard at Talladega. At some point he will let teammate Brian Vickers take over.

Edwards sits 43 points behind current leader Jimmie Johnson, who had his streak of three straight top 10 finishes broken last week when he came in 12th at Richmond.

Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski had lost their appeal to the National Stock Car Racing panel earlier this week, and their final attempt will come Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET, according to reports.

Defending charges of using unapproved rear housing parts, both drivers and their crews face fines, points penalties, and suspensions should the last appeal fall through.

Logano will start from the No. 4 position, and Keselowski the No. 11.

The race begins at 1 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast by FOX, and the top 10 in the starting grid can be viewed below.

Carl Edwards, Ford, 99

Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 56

Marcos Ambrose, Ford 9

Joey Logano, Ford, 22

Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 39

Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 20

Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 11

Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 48

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 24

Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 5

Toyota