Edwards puts Ford on pole in Phoenix
Carl Edwards |
The last time the Sprint Cup Series came to Phoenix International Raceway, Carl Edwards won from the pole.
After Saturday's Cup qualifying session at the 1-mile flat track, Edwards has a leg up on a second consecutive victory. With a lap at 137.279 mph, Edwards was the fastest of 26 drivers who broke the track record in time trials for Sunday's Subway Fresh Fit 500.
Edwards won the Coors Light pole award for the eighth time in his career, edging Kurt Busch (137.112 mph) for the top starting spot. It was Busch who had established a track-record of 136.539 mph during Friday's first Cup practice session, but that mark was destined to fall early in Saturday's qualifying.
Kasey Kahne (137.096 mph) will start third in the second Cup race of the season. Kyle Busch (136.981 mph), who earlier in the day won the pole for Saturday's Nationwide Series race, will line up beside Kahne in the fourth starting spot.
Saturday's session used NASCAR's new qualifying format for the first time, with the qualifying order based on slowest-to-fastest speeds from Friday's practice sessions. The final three locked-in cars to qualify Saturday had outrun Edwards' No. 99 Ford in practice.
"It was a little stressful," Edwards said. "I had to watch Kyle [Busch] go, and I know how fast he was, and then Kurt [who was the last of the locked-in cars to qualify] was screaming fast [Friday], so he had me stressed out a little bit.
"It's fortunate we were able to sit on the pole. I love this race track. I know all the drivers love this race track. It's really fun to drive on, and starting up front is, hopefully, going to make the race a lot simpler."
Kurt Busch called narrowly missing the pole "a bummer," but the driver of the No. 22 Penske Dodge took consolation from his front-row starting position.
"We're happy with our run," Busch said. "I gave up a few thousandths of a second when the car wiggled a bit. Carl ran a great lap. This is a track-position race, and to start up front is a nice hurdle to get over."
Phoenix hasn't been a comfortable track for Kahne, to say the least. In 13 starts, he has but one top-five finish and three top-10s.
"We put a lot of work into it, and the first lap I made [Friday], I knew I had a car," Kahne said.
Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle will start from positions 5 through 10, respectively.
Brian Keselowski failed to qualify for the 43-car field.
Starting Lineup
POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | 137.279 | 26.224 | Leader |
2 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 137.111 | 26.256 | -0.032 |
3 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 137.096 | 26.259 | -0.035 |
4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Combos | 136.981 | 26.281 | -0.057 |
5 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 136.971 | 26.283 | -0.059 |
6 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 136.945 | 26.288 | -0.064 |
7 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 136.809 | 26.314 | -0.090 |
8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 136.773 | 26.321 | -0.097 |
9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 136.768 | 26.322 | -0.098 |
10 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 136.674 | 26.340 | -0.116 |
11 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS "We Love Logistics" | 136.643 | 26.346 | -0.122 |
12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 136.581 | 26.358 | -0.134 |
13 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Vertis / Menards | 136.560 | 26.362 | -0.138 |
14 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Tornados | 136.457 | 26.382 | -0.158 |
15 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Valvoline | 136.405 | 26.392 | -0.168 |
16 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 136.327 | 26.407 | -0.183 |
17 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches | 136.116 | 26.448 | -0.224 |
18 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 136.060 | 26.459 | -0.235 |
19 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 135.998 | 26.471 | -0.247 |
20 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 135.772 | 26.515 | -0.291 |
21 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Clorox | 135.731 | 26.523 | -0.299 |
22 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 135.701 | 26.529 | -0.305 |
23 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 135.609 | 26.547 | -0.323 |
24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 135.578 | 26.553 | -0.329 |
25 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 135.563 | 26.556 | -0.332 |
26 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Best Western | 135.557 | 26.557 | -0.333 |
27 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 135.527 | 26.563 | -0.339 |
28 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Kobalt Tools | 135.496 | 26.569 | -0.345 |
29 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Taco Bell | 135.471 | 26.574 | -0.350 |
30 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 135.471 | 26.574 | -0.350 |
31 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy / Bashas' | 135.232 | 26.621 | -0.397 |
32 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 134.932 | 26.680 | -0.456 |
33 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 134.756 | 26.715 | -0.491 |
34 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 134.685 | 26.729 | -0.505 |
35 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 134.675 | 26.731 | -0.507 |
36 | 32 | Mike Skinner | Ford | Cerwin-Vega Mobile / K1 Speed | 134.273 | 26.811 | -0.587 |
37 | 60 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Big Red | 134.048 | 26.856 | -0.632 |
38 | 46 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | AAMCO Transmission / Ohsweken Speedway | 134.043 | 26.857 | -0.633 |
39 | 09 | Bill Elliott | Chevrolet | Security Benefit / Rydex / Billboard.com | 133.784 | 26.909 | -0.685 |
40 | 38 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Long John Silver's | 133.393 | 26.988 | -0.764 |
41 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Chevrolet | Super Eco-Fuel Saver | 131.926 | 27.288 | -1.064 |
42 | 37 | Tony Raines+ | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 131.661 | 27.343 | -1.119 |
43 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 133.353 | 26.996 | -0.772 |
. | . | Did Not Qualify | . | . | . | . | . |
44 | 192 | Brian Keselowski* | Dodge | K-Automotive Motorsports | 131.238 | 27.431 | -1.207 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie