Kyle Busch has won the pole for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway with a record speed at the famed fastest ‘Half Mile’ in the world.
Ryan Newman had the previous track record at 128.709MPH (207.137 Km/h), set in March 2003, but Busch going 129.535 MPH (208.466 Km/h)
It is the first pole for Busch at Bristol, who has five Cup wins at the Tennessee track.
“It was a great job by all these guys,” said Busch. “They work hard. … It’s cool to have a car out front at Bristol. It helps you a little bit.
“I’ve won plenty of races starting from deep in the field. It will feel a little bit different leading the field to green this time around.”
Starting beside Busch will be Hendrick Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin will start third, while Brian Vickers (Michael Waltrip Racing) will start fourth.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will start 22nd.
“We just haven’t been that great in the center of the corner all day,” said Ambrose.
” We were OK in qualifying trim through there, but we’re still giving up some. We’ve just got to think about it, but it was a decent qualifying effort for us.
“We’re right around our teammates and after the last couple of weeks that’s a good thing.”
Plenty of stars struggled including Dale Earnhardt Jr (32nd) and Danica Patrick (41st).
Just one driver failed to qualify with Xxxtreme Motorsports driver Scott Riggs set to watch from the stands.
QUALIFYING: Food City 500 – Bristol
|
POS |
Driver |
Car # |
Make |
Sponsor |
MPH |
Time |
|
1 |
Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | M&M’s | 129.535 | 14.813 |
|
2 |
Kasey Kahne | 5 | Chevrolet | Great Clips | 128.995 | -0.062 |
|
3 |
Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 128.960 | -0.066 |
|
4 |
Brian Vickers | 55 | Toyota | RK Motors | 128.528 | -0.116 |
|
5 |
Paul Menard | 27 | Chevrolet | Menards / Sylvania | 128.356 | -0.136 |
|
6 |
Jamie McMurray | 1 | Chevrolet | CESSNA | 128.288 | -0.144 |
|
7 |
Brad Keselowski | 2 | Ford | Miller Lite | 128.211 | -0.153 |
|
8 |
Tony Stewart | 14 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Racing | 128.005 | -0.177 |
|
9 |
Martin Truex Jr | 56 | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 127.946 | -0.184 |
|
10 |
Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Shell-Pennzoil | 127.877 | -0.192 |
|
11 |
Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | Drive To End Hunger | 127.869 | -0.193 |
|
12 |
Matt Kenseth | 20 | Toyota | The Home Depot / Husky | 127.852 | -0.195 |
|
13 |
Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools | 127.835 | -0.197 |
|
14 |
David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | A&W All American Food | 127.792 | -0.202 |
|
15 |
Casey Mears | 13 | Ford | GEICO | 127.588 | -0.226 |
|
16 |
Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | Cheerios | 127.512 | -0.235 |
|
17 |
Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Chevrolet | Target / Mountain Dew | 127.470 | -0.240 |
|
18 |
Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 127.453 | -0.242 |
|
19 |
Kurt Busch | 78 | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | 127.393 | -0.249 |
|
20 |
Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford | Smithfield | 127.377 | -0.251 |
|
21 |
Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | Kelloggs/Frosted | 127.360 | -0.253 |
|
22 |
Marcos Ambrose | 9 | Ford | DeWalt | 127.360 | -0.253 |
|
23 |
Clint Bowyer | 15 | Toyota | NAPA Filters | 127.300 | -0.260 |
|
24 |
Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 3M | 127.258 | -0.265 |
|
25 |
David Reutimann | 83 | Toyota | Burger King / Dr. Pepper | 127.132 | -0.280 |
|
26 |
David Stremme | 30 | Toyota | Swan Energy | 126.595 | -0.344 |
|
27 |
Scott Speed | 95 | Ford | Sin City Motorsports | 126.578 | -0.346 |
|
28 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 17 | Ford | Best Buy | 126.528 | -0.352 |
|
29 |
AJ Allmendinger | 51 | Chevrolet | Guy Roofing | 126.420 | -0.365 |
|
30 |
David Ragan | 34 | Ford | Dockside Logistics | 126.403 | -0.367 |
|
31 |
Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 126.237 | -0.387 |
|
32 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr | 88 | Chevrolet | National Guard | 125.947 | -0.422 |
|
33 |
Dave Blaney | 7 | Chevrolet | Sany | 125.848 | -0.434 |
|
34 |
Michael McDowell | 98 | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 125.740 | -0.447 |
|
35 |
J.J. Yeley | 36 | Chevrolet | United Mining Equipment | 125.732 | -0.448 |
|
36 |
Mike Bliss | 19 | Chevrolet | Plinker Tactical | 125.708 | -0.451 |
|
37 |
Travis Kvapil | 93 | Toyota | Burger King / Dr. Pepper | 125.142 | -0.520 |
|
38 |
Joe Nemechek | 87 | Toyota | AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 124.897 | -0.550 |
|
39 |
Bobby Labonte | 47 | Toyota | Bush’s Beans | 124.743 | -0.569 |
|
40 |
Josh Wise | 35 | Ford | MDS Transport | 124.711 | -0.573 |
|
41 |
Danica Patrick | 10 | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 124.638 | -0.582 |
|
42 |
Landon Cassill | 33 | Chevrolet | Little Joe’s Autos | 124.379 | -0.614 |
|
43 |
Terry Labonte | 32 | Ford | OXY Water | 123.316 | -0.747 |
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