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Pouring at Pocono, qualifying rained out

Frank Ryan

UPDATE

Old Spice Swagger is a perfect match for Stewart
Doug Belliveau /AR1.com

Qualifying is officially rained out at Pocono. Points leader Tony Stewart will start from the pole for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Stewart was sixth fastest in the practice and will run an Old Spice "Swagger" paint scheme for the weekend.

Swagger seems appropriate for Stewart, leading the points by a whopping 192 points with just six races remaining in the chase. Stewart won at Pocono in June after starting dead last in the field.

Pocono Raceway announced that anyone holding a ticket for Friday's qualifying will receive a $10 credit towards purchase of a ticket for tomorrow's event.

07/31/09 The first practice session was cut short at Pocono by rain and qualifying is in doubt for later in the day. Mark Martin was fastest during the abbreviated practice with just four laps on the track. The remaining Hendricks team mates joined Martin as next quickest with Johnson, Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon with just three laps each on the track. Kyle Busch was fifth fastest in practice.

Sam Hornish Jr was 10th fastest and made 18 laps at the tricky triangle, the most of any of the teams in practice..

Waltrip's primary car parked for the weekend
Doug Belliveau /AR1.com

Michael Waltrip was forced to go to a backup car after spinning and winding up in the grass. The damage to Waltrip's seemed minimal but a quick trip to the garage forced the decision to move to the backup.

One bright note on the rain… With only 43 cars entered in the race all of the Sprint Cup teams will make it into the race on Sunday.

Quote of the afternoon was from Carl Edwards after climbing from his car and observing his crew struggle to hold down their tent in front of his hauler, "Man does it rain all the time here?"

Starting lineup determined by points

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED
1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Old Spice Swagger N/A
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's N/A
3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont N/A
4 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite N/A
5 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac N/A
6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express N/A
7 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Haas Automation N/A
8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser N/A
9 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet Cheez-It / Carquest N/A
10 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target N/A
11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M N/A
12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Dewalt N/A
13 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine N/A
14 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's N/A
15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull N/A
16 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet The Hartford N/A
17 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar N/A
18 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota iRacing.com, Kingsford, Clorox N/A
19 20 Joey Logano* Toyota The Home Depot N/A
20 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal N/A
21 07 Casey Mears Chevrolet Jack Daniel's N/A
22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy, National Guard N/A
23 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell, Pennzoil N/A
24 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker N/A
25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools N/A
26 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge U.S. Air Force N/A
27 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge Valvoline N/A
28 96 Bobby Labonte Ford DLP N/A
29 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge PPG N/A
30 6 David Ragan Ford UPS N/A
31 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts N/A
32 12 David Stremme Dodge Penske Racing N/A
33 98 Paul Menard Ford Moen, Menards N/A
34 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Robby Gordon Motorsports N/A
35 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Taco Bell N/A
36 09 Sterling Marlin Dodge Miccosukee Resort & Gaming N/A
37 82 Scott Speed* Toyota Red Bull N/A
38 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet National Leiomyosarcom-a Foundation N/A
39 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports N/A
40 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports N/A
41 36 Patrick Carpentier Toyota Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich N/A
42 64 Mike Wallace Toyota Air Combat USA, Fred's Store N/A
43 37 Tony Raines Dodge Long John Silver's N/A