Colin Braun wins pole for Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park

Colin Braun, driver of the No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion, will start on pole for tonight’s Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park. This is Braun’s second career pole in six races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Colin Braun – No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion – “I have a great crew chief in Eddie Pardue. He makes this No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion run really fast. We had a fast truck last night. We had a fast car in practice here. It just paid off in qualifying. All these guys have been working so hard. We’ve had some ups and downs lately, but at least we’ve been qualifying strong and we have fast cars."

DID YOUR LAPS FEEL THAT FAST? “I really didn’t think the first lap was that good. We got pretty free off of four, but I guess that was good enough for the pole. I figured we got the pole by doing that second lap. My crew chief Eddie Pardue said, ‘That was the pole.’ But I wanted to make sure we got it in the books there, so we ran that second lap. These guys have done a great job with the car here. They certainly got it tuned up and I’m excited."

YOU HAVE A LANE CHOICE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO START? “Yeah, we have lane choice and we’re going for the outside just like my teammate Bobby East did in the truck race. It is the preferred groove. Kyle [Busch] has always raced me real smart and fair and I hope he will tonight, too."

WHAT DOES THIS POLE MEAN TO YOU? “This pole really means a lot, not only to me but the entire team. Wayne Kanter, our motor tuner, isn’t here with us this weekend. His son Shawn passed away. He’s been a big part of this team since the beginning of the year. It’s just too bad he isn’t here. He was in Mexico City when we got the pole. All of us are thinking about him and wishing he was here."