NASCAR Sprint Cup speeds from the first Aaron's 499 practice at Talladega Superspeedway:
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
| 1 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Jim Beam Toyota | 48.493 | 197.472 | 8 | 13 | ---.--- | ---.--- |
| 2 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota | 48.545 | 197.260 | 15 | 24 | -0.052 | -0.052 |
| 3 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar Chevrolet | 48.584 | 197.102 | 15 | 31 | -0.091 | -0.039 |
| 4 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Crown Royal Ford | 48.686 | 196.689 | 21 | 27 | -0.193 | -0.102 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Pedigree Toyota | 48.763 | 196.378 | 18 | 26 | -0.270 | -0.077 |
| 6 | 12 | David Stremme | No. 12 Penske Dodge | 48.799 | 196.234 | 6 | 29 | -0.306 | -0.036 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Toyota | 48.822 | 196.141 | 5 | 21 | -0.329 | -0.023 |
| 8 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet | 48.850 | 196.029 | 5 | 20 | -0.357 | -0.028 |
| 9 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet | 48.852 | 196.021 | 6 | 32 | -0.359 | -0.002 |
| 10 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet | 48.918 | 195.756 | 7 | 20 | -0.425 | -0.066 |
| 11 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Prelude to the Dream / US Army Chevrolet | 48.956 | 195.604 | 14 | 20 | -0.463 | -0.038 |
| 12 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M Ford | 48.969 | 195.552 | 5 | 26 | -0.476 | -0.013 |
| 13 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Penske Truck Rental / AAA Dodge | 48.972 | 195.540 | 30 | 32 | -0.479 | -0.003 |
| 14 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | BB&T Chevrolet | 48.988 | 195.476 | 24 | 31 | -0.495 | -0.016 |
| 15 | 34 | John Andretti | Taco Bell Chevrolet | 49.014 | 195.373 | 23 | 25 | -0.521 | -0.026 |
| 16 | 5 | Mark Martin | CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet | 49.037 | 195.281 | 5 | 25 | -0.544 | -0.023 |
| 17 | 20 | Joey Logano # | The Home Depot Toyota | 49.077 | 195.122 | 3 | 30 | -0.584 | -0.040 |
| 18 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | U.S. Air Force Dodge | 49.078 | 195.118 | 10 | 16 | -0.585 | -0.001 |
| 19 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull Toyota | 49.089 | 195.074 | 14 | 19 | -0.596 | -0.011 |
| 20 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox Toyota | 49.153 | 194.820 | 26 | 31 | -0.660 | -0.064 |
| 21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet | 49.156 | 194.808 | 31 | 35 | -0.663 | -0.003 |
| 22 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 49.170 | 194.753 | 14 | 22 | -0.677 | -0.014 |
| 23 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Claritin Ford | 49.177 | 194.725 | 16 | 21 | -0.684 | -0.007 |
| 24 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite Dodge | 49.186 | 194.690 | 4 | 33 | -0.693 | -0.009 |
| 25 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DEWALT Ford | 49.190 | 194.674 | 8 | 20 | -0.697 | -0.004 |
| 26 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ask.com Ford | 49.201 | 194.630 | 7 | 31 | -0.708 | -0.011 |
| 27 | 98 | Paul Menard | Turtle Wax / Menards Ford | 49.203 | 194.622 | 16 | 18 | -0.710 | -0.002 |
| 28 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont / Pepsi Throwback Challenger Chevrolet | 49.216 | 194.571 | 15 | 30 | -0.723 | -0.013 |
| 29 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser Dodge | 49.239 | 194.480 | 4 | 15 | -0.746 | -0.023 |
| 30 | 6 | David Ragan | UPS Ford | 49.246 | 194.452 | 24 | 33 | -0.753 | -0.007 |
| 31 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Best Buy Dodge | 49.254 | 194.421 | 4 | 13 | -0.761 | -0.008 |
| 32 | 44 | A J Allmendinger | Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge | 49.294 | 194.263 | 7 | 14 | -0.801 | -0.040 |
| 33 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet | 49.895 | 191.923 | 15 | 18 | -1.402 | -0.601 |
| 34 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Tums Dual Action Chevrolet | 50.426 | 189.902 | 6 | 14 | -1.933 | -0.531 |
| 35 | *36 | Scott Riggs | Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota | 50.814 | 188.452 | 10 | 10 | -2.321 | -0.388 |
| 36 | 07 | Casey Mears | Jack Daniel's Chevrolet | 50.979 | 187.842 | 11 | 11 | -2.486 | -0.165 |
| 37 | *13 | Max Papis # | GEICO Toyota | 51.027 | 187.665 | 8 | 8 | -2.534 | -0.048 |
| 38 | *82 | Scott Speed # | Red Bull Toyota | 51.032 | 187.647 | 7 | 7 | -2.539 | -0.005 |
| 39 | *87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Toyota | 51.043 | 187.607 | 11 | 11 | -2.550 | -0.011 |
| 40 | *09 | Brad Keselowski | Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet | 51.058 | 187.551 | 7 | 7 | -2.565 | -0.015 |
| 41 | *41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Big Red Toyota | 51.355 | 186.467 | 6 | 6 | -2.862 | -0.297 |
| 42 | *71 | David Gilliland | TRG Motorsports Chevrolet | 51.596 | 185.596 | 3 | 9 | -3.103 | -0.241 |
| 43 | *78 | Regan Smith | National Day of Prayer Chevrolet | 51.678 | 185.301 | 3 | 6 | -3.185 | -0.082 |
| 44 | *66 | Michael McDowell | Prism Motorsports Toyota | 51.986 | 184.203 | 9 | 9 | -3.493 | -0.308 |
| 45 | *4 | Eric McClure | Hefty Steel Sak / Walmart Chevrolet | 52.406 | 182.727 | 7 | 7 | -3.913 | -0.420 |
| *Required to qualify on time |