Darlington, S.C. ? The contenders for the Nextel Cup championship moved to the front of the field without turning a lap Friday at Darlington Raceway.

Rain washed out qualifying for the Southern 500, forcing NASCAR to set the grid for Sunday’s race by car owner points. That put Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin — separated by just 104 points — at the front of the 43-car field.

“That was a heck of a lap for us today,” said Busch, who hasn’t started from the pole since the season finale at Homestead in 2002. “It was a real good break for us.”

Busch leads Gordon by just 41 points with two races remaining in the new, 10-man, 10-race Chase for the Cup playoff-style championship. Starting from the front gives Busch an edge in the race for the five-point bonuses for leading a lap and the most laps.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity for us,” Busch said. “But having all of the drivers in the Chase right up front, everybody’s going to want to lead a lap quickly.

“But we’ll all live up to the gentleman’s agreement and all file into the first turn single file and see how things shake out and who has the best setup and can get the advantage.”

Gordon, a four-time series champion and six-time Darlington winner, said he wouldn’t be too daring at the start.

“It’s really risk versus gain,” he said. “If it’s not a super risky move to do it, I’d love to have those five bonus points.

“But I’ll have nine other guys around me who want those points. If it looks too dicey, I’ll let them go. I want to win the race.”

Driver Jeff Gordon, center, talks with his crew after practice for the Southern 500. Rain washed out qualifying Friday in Darlington, S.C., forcing NASCAR to set the grid for Sunday's race by car owner points, with Gordon second.

Even though he has had considerable success on the narrow 1.366-mile oval — nicknamed the “Track Too Tough to Tame” — Gordon doesn’t believe he has an advantage.

“Everything is unpredictable right now,” he said. “You can get in trouble without really trying at this place. You’re going to have to race smart here. It will be interesting to see who stays smart and doesn’t make the big mistake here.”

The Cup drivers did get a chance to practice earlier Friday, and Earnhardt made a mistake during that could have been costly. He hit the wall between turns one and two hard enough to knock the breath out of him for a few moments.

His team quickly brought out a back-up car and Earnhardt was able to get in a few laps before the practice ended.

“I don’t really know what happened,” he said. “I just ran out of racetrack, got a little out of the groove and ran up into the fence. The consolation is that it happened early enough that I did get some laps in the back-up car.”

Because the crash took place before the scheduled qualifying, Earnhardt will not have to start from the rear of the field despite moving to a back-up car.

“Obviously, it’s a break to start up front,” he said. “But, one way or another, it would be just fine. It’s such a long race, in 40 or 50 laps everybody will be somewhere else anyway. But I’d like to make the best of the opportunity and keep track position all day.”

It is the closest five-way title competition in NASCAR history, and Gordon notices the difference from other late-season title runs.

“For all of us, it’s the most intense championship battle I’ve ever seen,” he said. “All of us have a little bit of edginess knowing that every lap is so crucial. These last two races are going to be really interesting and fun.”

The rain washed away Ryan Newman’s chance to win a fifth straight pole and 10th of the season. Newman will start seventh, behind Tony Stewart and ahead of Elliott Sadler, Matt Kenseth and Jeremy Mayfield, the other drivers in the Chase.