Martin Truex Jr. returned to the site of his only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and is again looking good after winning the pole for the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Truex, who claimed his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season and the sixth of his career, will start the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup next to Kurt Busch, the highest qualifying driver eligible for the championship.
Truex turned a lap at 159.004 mph (22.641 seconds) to edge Busch (158.983 mph) for the top starting spot. Paul Menard (158.667 mph) qualified third, followed by Chase drivers Carl Edwards (158.555 mph) and Kyle Busch (158.548 mph).
Chase leader Tony Stewart will start 28th. Kevin Harvick, second in the standings, seven points behind Stewart, starts 22nd.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will take the green flag from 12th.
“I feel like I understand what it takes to get around the place,” said Truex.
“I think, in the end, I’ve just been fortunate enough to have good race cars here. I love coming here.
“It’s a really, really challenging and difficult race track, and if you don’t like it, it’s one of those places that you’re never going to figure out, and it’s going to be difficult for you.”
QUALIFYING: AAA 400 – Dover International Speedway
|
POS |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
SPEED |
TIME |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 159.004 | 22.641 |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 158.982 | -0.003 |
| 3 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Pittsburgh Paints / Menards | 158.667 | -0.048 |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac | 158.555 | -0.064 |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 158.548 | -0.065 |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools | 158.507 | -0.071 |
| 7 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 158.430 | -0.082 |
| 8 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Grilling.com / Kingsford | 158.325 | -0.097 |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 158.283 | -0.103 |
| 10 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Cubitron | 158.165 | -0.120 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 157.888 | -0.160 |
| 12 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 157.715 | -0.185 |
| 13 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 157.694 | -0.188 |
| 14 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 157.680 | -0.190 |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 157.673 | -0.191 |
| 16 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 157.673 | -0.191 |
| 17 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 157.556 | -0.208 |
| 18 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 157.501 | -0.216 |
| 19 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS “We Love Logistics” | 157.439 | -0.225 |
| 20 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army ROTC | 157.356 | -0.237 |
| 21 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 157.198 | -0.260 |
| 22 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Rheem “Chasing the Cure” | 157.171 | -0.264 |
| 23 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 157.041 | -0.283 |
| 24 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 156.965 | -0.294 |
| 25 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit | 156.822 | -0.315 |
| 26 | Josh Wise | Ford | Max Q Motorsports | 156.794 | -0.319 |
| 27 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 156.767 | -0.323 |
| 28 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 156.760 | -0.324 |
| 29 | Scott Speed | Ford | Red Line Oil / International Trucks | 156.488 | -0.364 |
| 30 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 156.433 | -0.372 |
| 31 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | Inception Motorsports | 156.250 | -0.399 |
| 32 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 156.230 | -0.402 |
| 33 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 156.060 | -0.427 |
| 34 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 155.966 | -0.441 |
| 35 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 155.864 | -0.456 |
| 36 | David Gilliland | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 155.709 | -0.479 |
| 37 | Andy Lally* | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 155.629 | -0.491 |
| 38 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Speed Energy / Mapei / Menards | 155.602 | -0.495 |
| 39 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 155.454 | -0.517 |
| 40 | Mike Bliss | Ford | Street King | 155.373 | -0.529 |
| 41 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 154.992 | -0.586 |
| 42 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 154.752 | -0.622 |
| 43 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Drive Sober, Arrive Alive | 154.686 | -0.632 |
| 44 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | Big Red | 153.820 | -0.763 |
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