Kyle Busch on Sprint All-Star pole
Concord, NC - May 17, 2008
By: Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Kyle Busch found something else to win.
In a unique qualifying format that featured three laps and a green-flag pit stop, Busch outpaced Jeff Gordon by 0.54 seconds to win the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Busch's average speed of 132.835 mph gave him a solid edge over Gordon's 132.251 mph. Busch is seeking his first victory in the annual non-points event, which will be contested in four segments of 25 laps each; Gordon hopes to win the race for a record fourth time.
Busch's No. 18 Toyota was the final car to attempt qualifying on Friday, long after Gordon had established the time to beat. Busch managed to hold his entry speed under the speed limit (45 mph) and thereby avoided a 20-second penalty.
"Being able to go out last definitely helped out," said Busch, who earlier in the day had won the pole for Friday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. "I thought I got busted speeding there. If it wasn't, it was that close -- very close."
Kurt Busch (131.539 mph) will start third, followed by Martin Truex Jr. (131.357 mph) and Greg Biffle (131.274 mph). All told, 21 cars that are guaranteed starting spots in the race made qualifying attempts; the top two finishers from Saturday's Sprint Showdown will be added to the field, as will one driver voted in by race fans.
"I felt like I gave up a little bit getting into the pits," Gordon said. "The car felt really good on the track. We felt like Kyle would be faster than us on the track, and we knew he'd be aggressive getting to pit road."
In an earlier conventional qualifying session for the Sprint Showdown, Elliott Sadler (185.014 mph) put his No. 19 Dodge on the pole for the 40-lap event, edging Brian Vickers (184.786 mph).
"Track position is everything," said Sadler, who finished second in the 2005 all-star race but is not locked into the field this year. "We definitely want to race our way in. That would mean a lot to me, and it's something the team really needs."
Notes: Jimmie Johnson's qualifying run for the all-star race was disallowed, because the crew secured the fifth lug nut (which had been missing) to the left front wheel when the No. 48 Chevy was outside the pit box. He'll start 21st. . . A five-second penalty for a loose lug nut negated an otherwise excellent run by Kevin Harvick. . . Two other top cars will start near the rear of the field, including the No. 99 Ford of Carl Edwards (penalized for entering pit road too fast) and the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin (who compounded a too-fast entry by spinning the car on pit road). . . Dale Jarrett qualified 18th after suffering a five-second penalty for a loose lug nut.
Starting Line Up by Row
Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte
NASCAR Sprint All Star Race
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, May 16, 2008 @ 07:53 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 10/11/99 03:07:31 160.306
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 121.956 132.835
2 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 122.494 132.251
Row 2: 3 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 123.157 131.539
4 1 Martin Truex, Jr Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 123.328 131.357
Row 3: 5 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Ford 123.406 131.274
6 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 123.533 131.139
Row 4: 7 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 123.830 130.825
8 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 124.179 130.457
Row 5: 9 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel's Chevrolet 124.288 130.342
10 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 124.605 130.011
Row 6: 11 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr National Guard Citizen/Soldier/AMP Energy 124.674 129.939
12 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 124.816 129.791
Row 7: 13 8 Mark Martin U.S. Army Chevrolet 125.072 129.525
14 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Nano Ford 125.957 128.615
Row 8: 15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Dodge 127.143 127.416
16 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Platinum Chevrolet 127.882 126.679
Row 9: 17 5 Casey Mears Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet 129.969 124.645
18 44 Dale Jarrett UPS Toyota 131.539 123.157
Row 10: 19 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 145.539 111.310
20 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 157.594 102.796
Row 11: 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Starting Line Up by Row
Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte
Sprint Showdown
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, May 16, 2008 @ 06:37 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 10/11/99 03:07:31 160.306
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Dodge 29.187 185.014
2 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 29.223 184.786
Row 2: 3 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 29.255 184.584
4 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 29.279 184.433
Row 3: 5 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Dodge 29.344 184.024
6 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 29.355 183.955
Row 4: 7 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 29.359 183.930
8 77 Sam Hornish, Jr # Mobil 1 Dodge 29.364 183.899
Row 5: 9 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 29.377 183.817
10 28 Travis Kvapil Yates Racing Ford 29.396 183.698
Row 6: 11 70 Johnny Sauter Haas Automation Chevrolet 29.408 183.624
12 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 29.455 183.331
Row 7: 13 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 29.490 183.113
14 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 29.492 183.101
Row 8: 15 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 29.495 183.082
16 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford 29.652 182.113
Row 9: 17 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 29.670 182.002
18 49 Chad McCumbee Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 29.710 181.757
Row 10: 19 50 Stanton Barrett NOS Energy Drink/Check 'n Go Chevrolet 29.716 181.720
20 96 J.J. Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota 29.731 181.629
Row 11: 21 21 Bill Elliott Air Force Ford 29.778 181.342
22 45 Kyle Petty Coca-Cola classic Dodge 29.821 181.080
Row 12: 23 01 Regan Smith # Principal Financial Group/DEI Chevrolet 29.836 180.989
24 08 Tony Raines getFUBAR.com Dodge 30.356 177.889
Row 13: 25 34 Jeff Green Chevrolet 30.363 177.848
26 46 Carl Long Romeo Guest Construction Dodge 31.809 169.763
Row 14: 27 10 Patrick Carpentier # Charter Dodge 36.531 147.820
