Carl Edwards claimed his first Sprint Cup Series pole in two years by winning Saturday’s qualifying for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
Edwards turned a lap of 124.432 m.p.h. around the 2.45-mile road course in Upstate New York for his fifth career Sprint Cup pole, but his first since August 2008 at Bristol (69 races ago).
Edwards qualified 0.35 seconds ahead of Jamie McMurray, who will start on the outside pole. MiamiHerald.com
“Unbelievable! I can’t tell you how much that helps our team,” Edwards said. “(Crew chief) Bob (Osborne) said P1. I thought he said 21. That’s a great lap. We’re just enjoying the wave we’re riding. We’re making a comeback.”
And that should help team owner Jack Roush in his recovery from a plane crash 10 days ago. The 68-year-old Roush, who also received a boost last week with Greg Biffle’s win at Pocono, is at the Mayo Clinic and will remain there indefinitely to treat facial injuries.
Edwards has put together four straight finishes of seventh or better, including a second at Chicagoland and a third a week ago at Pocono, to surge to 10th in the points standings with only five races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup title. Only the top 12 drivers qualify for the Chase.
“It feels good,” said Edwards, whose last pole was two years ago at Bristol. “You guys know how we’ve struggled.
“This last month we’ve been in going in the right direction. It means a lot to all the folks who stuck with us — Aflac, Ford. Nobody’s giving up. If I can just get a good start, keep our car up front, race in clean air, keep the fenders on it, I think the qualifying effort will pay off.”
Juan Pablo Montoya will go off third, followed by AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch. Five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart, Biffle, Scott Speed, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch round out the top 10. The Canadian Press
Montoya, who was the ninth driver on the course, set a formidable target early in the session, only to see it surpassed by both McMurray and Edwards. McMurray thought he had a pole-winning lap until the final two corners.
“I thought I got through the first part of the racetrack really, really well and had a little brake fade coming back toward the pits through [Turns] 6 and 7,” McMurray said. “I thought it was a really good lap.”
J.J. Yeley, Dave Blaney and Tony Ave failed to qualify for the 43-car field. NASCAR.com
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NASCAR Sprint Cup: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen - Race Line-Up
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