Kyle Busch beat Kasey Kahne by just 0.003 seconds to score pole position for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The last of 44 drivers to take to the track, Busch prevailed in an intensely competitive Friday qualifying session to win his first Coors Light pole award of the season, his at Loudon and the ninth of his career.
Busch just missed the outside wall near the end of his fast lap but kept his car clean.
“I got in the throttle really early in (Turns) 3 and 4, trying to make speed and was able to finish it,” said Kyle Busch.
“But the car slipped right at the last second when you get to that older asphalt — it seems like this tyre (new from Goodyear for this race) is different from the older tyre, where you lose just a pinch of grip — it slid out right to the cushion point, I guess you’d say. But, no, there’s no mark on the car, so it’s a good day.”
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will start 20th.
“We made a lot of changes there trying to get better and I think it worked,” said Ambrose.
“I didn’t get the best lap down. This is one of my tougher tracks, so I just wanted to get through here with a decent starting spot and we’ll work on it tomorrow.”
LENOX Industrial Tools 301 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway : Race 19 of 36
|
POS |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
MPH |
TIME |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 133.417 | 28.548 |
| 2 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 133.403 | -0.003 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 133.399 | -0.004 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Batteries | 133.338 | -0.017 |
| 5 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 133.319 | -0.021 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Aspen Dental | 133.277 | -0.030 |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 133.254 | -0.035 |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Pepsi Max | 133.198 | -0.047 |
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard ‘An American Salute’ / Diet Mountain Dew | 133.045 | -0.080 |
| 10 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 | 132.938 | -0.103 |
| 11 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 132.873 | -0.117 |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser Folds of Honor | 132.868 | -0.118 |
| 13 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Quaker State / Menards | 132.572 | -0.182 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 132.549 | -0.187 |
| 15 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | MyClassicGarage.com / Aaron’s | 132.425 | -0.214 |
| 16 | Joey Logano | Toyota | Dollar General | 132.425 | -0.214 |
| 17 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 132.393 | -0.221 |
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Kingsford | 132.333 | -0.234 |
| 19 | David Ragan | Ford | MHP / 8 Hour Alert | 132.264 | -0.249 |
| 20 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | DEWALT | 132.200 | -0.263 |
| 21 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal / Lenox | 132.186 | -0.266 |
| 22 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 132.085 | -0.288 |
| 23 | Aric Almirola | Ford | U.S. Air Force | 131.833 | -0.343 |
| 24 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil-AAA | 131.556 | -0.404 |
| 25 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Wheaties | 131.465 | -0.424 |
| 26 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | CarportEmpire.com / TMone.com Call Centers in America | 131.266 | -0.468 |
| 27 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | NESN | 131.234 | -0.475 |
| 28 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / NRA Museum | 131.234 | -0.475 |
| 29 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 131.184 | -0.486 |
| 30 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 130.833 | -0.564 |
| 31 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 130.662 | -0.602 |
| 32 | Josh Wise* | Ford | MDS Transport | 130.140 | -0.719 |
| 33 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 129.834 | -0.788 |
| 34 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 129.807 | -0.794 |
| 35 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 129.679 | -0.823 |
| 36 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 129.525 | -0.858 |
| 37 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Federated Auto Parts | 129.318 | -0.905 |
| 38 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | Robinson-Blakeney Racing | 129.274 | -0.915 |
| 39 | David Gilliland | Ford | Glory Foods | 129.156 | -0.942 |
| 40 | David Stremme | Toyota | Stock Car Steel and Aluminum | 129.094 | -0.956 |
| 41 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 128.863 | -1.009 |
| 42 | Kelly Bires | Ford | Team Kyle / Bestway Disposal | 128.515 | -1.089 |
| 43 | Stephen Leicht* | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 128.182 | -1.166 |
| DNQ | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Humphrey Smith Racing | 128.070 | -1.192 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
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