Busch storms to first pole at Watkins Glen
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| Kyle Busch puts his Toyota on pole |
| Adriano Manocchia/AR1.com |
Kyle Busch showed the road course aces at Watkins Glen International that he has developed mastery of the road courses, too.
With a lap at 126.421 mph, Busch, the last driver to make a qualifying attempt in Saturday's time trials, knocked A.J. Allmendinger off the pole for Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, in a session that saw 15 drivers beat Jeff Gordon's 2003 track record.
Allmendinger will start second after a lap at 126.041 mph, followed by Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose (125.984 mph). Jimmie Johnson (125.663 mph) claimed the fourth starting position, and Juan Montoya (125.654 mph), last year's race winner, will start fifth in the 22nd Sprint Cup race of the season.
Busch earned the eighth pole award of his career and his first of the season.
Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, series points leader Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Regan Smith will start from positions six through 10, respectively.
Lineup
|
POS |
CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 126.421 | 69.767 | Leader |
| 2 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 126.041 | 69.977 | -0.210 |
| 3 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 125.984 | 70.009 | -0.242 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 125.662 | 70.188 | -0.421 |
| 5 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 125.654 | 70.193 | -0.426 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 125.314 | 70.383 | -0.616 |
| 7 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 125.238 | 70.426 | -0.659 |
| 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Ortho Home Defense Max | 125.202 | 70.446 | -0.679 |
| 9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 124.968 | 70.578 | -0.811 |
| 10 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 124.940 | 70.594 | -0.827 |
| 11 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | CapitalDPO | 124.915 | 70.608 | -0.841 |
| 12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 124.908 | 70.612 | -0.845 |
| 13 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 124.904 | 70.614 | -0.847 |
| 14 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald's | 124.791 | 70.678 | -0.911 |
| 15 | 51 | Boris Said | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction / Thank A Teacher Today-Security Benefit | 124.701 | 70.729 | -0.962 |
| 16 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS "We Love Logistics" | 124.550 | 70.815 | -1.048 |
| 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 124.451 | 70.871 | -1.104 |
| 18 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 123.998 | 71.130 | -1.363 |
| 19 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 123.854 | 71.213 | -1.446 |
| 20 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 123.682 | 71.312 | -1.545 |
| 21 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 123.663 | 71.323 | -1.556 |
| 22 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 123.635 | 71.339 | -1.572 |
| 23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 123.517 | 71.407 | -1.640 |
| 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 123.507 | 71.413 | -1.646 |
| 25 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 123.476 | 71.431 | -1.664 |
| 26 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 123.455 | 71.443 | -1.676 |
| 27 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 123.436 | 71.454 | -1.687 |
| 28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Valvoline | 123.433 | 71.456 | -1.689 |
| 29 | 37 | Scott Speed | Ford | Green Stuff Absorbent | 123.379 | 71.487 | -1.720 |
| 30 | 55 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 123.283 | 71.543 | -1.776 |
| 31 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 123.176 | 71.605 | -1.838 |
| 32 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Pittsburgh Paints / Menards | 122.956 | 71.733 | -1.966 |
| 33 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 122.956 | 71.733 | -1.966 |
| 34 | 150 | T.J. Bell* | Chevrolet | Green Smoke | 122.928 | 71.749 | -1.982 |
| 35 | 32 | Andrew Ranger | Ford | Bully Hill Vineyards | 122.372 | 72.075 | -2.308 |
| 36 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 122.196 | 72.179 | -2.412 |
| 37 | 60 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | Big Red | 122.130 | 72.218 | -2.451 |
| 38 | 36 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 121.993 | 72.299 | -2.532 |
| 39 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 121.660 | 72.497 | -2.730 |
| 40 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 121.419 | 72.641 | -2.874 |
| 41 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 120.339 | 73.293 | -3.526 |
| 42 | 11 | Denny Hamlin+ | Toyota | FedEx Ground | – | – | – |
| 43 | 38 | Terry Labonte | Ford | Long John Silver's | Champion's Provisional | ||
| – | – | Did Not Qualify | – | – | – | – | – |
| 44 | 135 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 121.904 | 72.352 | -2.585 |
| 45 | 46 | Brian Simo | Ford | Fisher Nuts | 119.291 | 73.937 | -4.170 |
| 46 | 177 | P.J. Jones | Dodge | Speed Energy / GNC | – | – | – |