Kyle Busch, the Sprint Cup points leader with three wins and seven top-10 finishes in 11 races, was the last car to hit the track. In a unique format that called for three laps and a four-tire pit stop, Busch was the fastest in and out of pit road and finished in two minutes, 1.956 seconds.
Busch was more than a half-second faster than Jeff Gordon, who will start on the outside of the front row for Saturday’s non-points race.
“Being able to go out last definitely helped out,” Busch said. “It was a fast race car, that’s for sure.”
Kurt Busch (131.539 mph) will start third, followed by Martin Truex Jr. (131.357 mph) and Greg Biffle (131.274 mph). All told, 21 cars that are guaranteed starting spots in the race made qualifying attempts; the top-two finishers from Saturday’s Sprint Showdown will be added to the field, as will one driver voted in by race fans.
“I felt like I gave up a little bit getting into the pits,” Gordon said. “The car felt really good on the track. We felt like Kyle would be faster than us on the track, and we knew he’d be aggressive getting to pit road.”
“Track position is everything,” said Sadler, who finished second in the 2005 All-Star race but is not locked into the field this year. “We definitely want to race our way in. That would mean a lot to me, and it’s something the team really needs.”
Earnhardt qualified 11th.
“Guys on pit road were smooth and good,” Busch said. “I almost messed up, but fortunately for me the stopwatch worked out in my favour.”
Drivers not eligible will race in Saturday’s preliminary 40-lap Sprint Showdown. The top two finishers will get into the all-star race, along with a third driver who wins a fan vote.
Elliott Sadler won the pole for the Showdown with a lap of 185.014 m.p.h.
“I just want to be a part of the big show,” Sadler said. “It’s a great race to be a part of. No points involved, just racing very, very hard.”
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