Biffle shatters Darlington record to win pole

Greg Biffle

Greg Biffle shattered the Darlington Raceway qualifying record en route to capturing his fifth career pole with a fast lap of 179.442 mph on the 1.366-mile track's new surface. Hendrick drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson were 2nd and 3rd followed by the Toyota of Tony Stewart and the Dodge of Kurt Busch.

Biffle, who has won two of the last three Cup races at Darlington, was one of 41 drivers to eclipse Ward Burton's 1996 record of 173.797 mph.

"I'm extremely happy with it in race trim," Biffle said. "I can't wait until tomorrow night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his fourth top five start since joining Hendrick Motorsports after he drove his retro Mountain Dew Chevrolet to a lap of 179.357 mph.

"We just got a good, clean lap in and kept it off the fence trying to give us a good shot for tomorrow," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We've got a great car. We've had one all weekend."

"I'm speechless myself, with the equipment these guys give me week in and week out," said Johnson, who also hit the wall with his back-up car in the final practice. "Fortunately today we were fast the whole time, but I kept hitting things. I’m just glad I got that out of my way and I got a good clean lap in."

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