had nothing to do with NASCAR. It was all about ECR power; the 3 and 78 are both ECR powered and they are putting down so serious HP this year. The 31 and 27 also made the top ten. Brian Scott 13th and Casey Mears 16th also owe ECR engines for their positions. Childress has been invested a bunch of money in ECR and they have been making steady progress in over taking Hendrick as the Chevy engine supplier of choice. Their work on the new 5.5 liter LS9 swept the podium at the Daytona 24 hr race and that was despite some changes that were thrown at them late in the game. NASCAR doesn't give anyone anything; a handful of folks over at ECR worked their butts off to put the 3 on the pole.