Fresh from his special IndyCar test at the Brickyard Kurt Busch has produced a record lap to storm to the pole for the Darlington Sprint Cup race.
Busch recorded a 181.918mph lap around the 1.366mile track to topple the previous mark set by Kasey Kahne two years ago.
The #78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet driver took the top spot from Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson in a Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch will start third in the Joe Gibbs Toyota with Kahne fourth and Martin Truex jr fifth.
Comeback driver Denny Hamlin qualified sixth ahead of Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, a Darlington specialist, in eighth.
Aussie Marcos Ambrose will start from 24th in the Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
Darlington qualifying
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row | 27.032s |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Chevrolet | 27.173s |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Toyota | 27.181s |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Chevrolet | 27.208s |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr | Waltrip Toyota | 27.277s |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Toyota | 27.296s |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Toyota | 27.303s |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Chevrolet | 27.304s |
| 9 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Ford | 27.320s |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | Childress Chevrolet | 27.355s |
| 11 | Jeff Burton | Childress Chevrolet | 27.368s |
| 12 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet | 27.376s |
| 13 | Clint Bowyer | Waltrip Toyota | 27.381s |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Roush Fenway Ford | 27.394s |
| 15 | Paul Menard | Childress Chevrolet | 27.401s |
| 16 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Hendrick Chevrolet | 27.410s |
| 17 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Ford | 27.472s |
| 18 | Aric Almirola | Petty Ford | 27.500s |
| 19 | Casey Mears | Germain Ford | 27.501s |
| 20 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Chevrolet | 27.511s |
| 21 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Chevrolet | 27.550s |
| 22 | Mark Martin | Waltrip Toyota | 27.578s |
| 23 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Toyota | 27.593s |
| 24 | Marcos Ambrose | Petty Ford | 27.630s |
| 25 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet | 27.631s |
| 26 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Ford | 27.633s |
| 27 | Regan Smith | Phoenix Chevrolet | 27.635s |
| 28 | Travis Kvapil | BK Toyota | 27.669s |
| 29 | David Gilliland | Front Row Ford | 27.676s |
| 30 | Joey Logano | Penske Ford | 28.681s |
| 31 | David Ragan | Front Row Ford | 27.682s |
| 32 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport Chevrolet | 27.736s |
| 33 | David Reutimann | BK Toyota | 27.775s |
| 34 | Josh Wise | Front Row Ford | 27.835s |
| 35 | Michael McDowell | Parsons Ford | 27.837s |
| 36 | Scott Speed | Leavine Ford | 27.884s |
| 37 | Dave Blaney | Baldwin Chevrolet | 27.954s |
| 38 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Toyota | 27.961s |
| 39 | David Stremme | Swan Toyota | 27.981s |
| 40 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Chevrolet | 28.014s |
| 41 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Ford | 28.080s |
| 42 | JJ Yeley | Baldwin Chevrolet | 28.083s |
| 43 | Joe Nemecheck | NEMCO Toyota | 28.315s |
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats and betting insights at MotorRacing.com
