NASCAR All-Star race lineup

Kurt Busch grabs the pole

Rhonda McCole/AR1.com

Kurt Busch will lead the field to the green flag in Saturday night’s 26th running of NASCAR’s Sprint All Star after rain washed out Friday night’s qualifying session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch’s team drew the top spot in the qualifying draw, and by rule they were awarded the pole position after the skies opened up shortly before 6pm.

It will be the first time Busch has sat on the pole for the annual all star event, which pays out $1million to the race winner.

“My boat put down the best lap today," joked Busch, who received the pole winner’s check of $25,000. “It feels great. It puts us that much closer to a million dollars. Just to have track position early on in the race and to get a good feel for how the car will handle out front, I’m excited about it. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good."

Joey Logano drew the outside pole position, followed by Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch.

Logano will be making his second start in the all star event after winning the fan vote last year, then notching his first victory at New Hampshire Speedway later in the year to make into this year’s event.

“I was looking forward to getting to qualify, I never got to do the pit stops last year, I got voted in, I didn’t get to do qualifying," said Logano. “I was looking forward to be able to do that, but – oh well. Maybe next year."

With the rainout, many teams that looked forward to showing off their pitting skills were denied the opportunity, including Denny Hamlin’s crew, who won the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Wednesday night.

Hamlin’s bad luck got worse after he blew an engine in practice, relegating him to the rear of the field for the start of the race, but he will still keep the coveted first pit stall by virtue of winning the Pit Crew Challenge.

Rain also force the cancellation of qualifying for the Sprint Showdown, with David Ragan getting the top spot followed by Max Papis.

The top two finishers in the 40-lap Sprint Showdown will transfer into the field for the All Star race. The 21st and final spot will go to the winner of an online fan vote. Pete McCole reporting from Charlotte

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