Fastest during practice and qualifying.
Can he also be fastest during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race?
Kyle Busch, still looking for his first victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in NASCAR’s top series, put himself in excellent position for a win and a $1 million payoff.
Busch won the pole for tonight’s feature race, completing the three-lap qualifying process, which included a four-tire pit stop, in 119.191 seconds.
He would be the first Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win the event, which began in 1985.
Winning the pole doesn’t necessarily translate into a big payday, however.
Only three drivers have won the all-star race from the pole - Dale Earnhardt (1990), Davey Allison (1991 and 1992) and Kurt Busch (2010).
In 14 Cup starts at Charlotte, Busch has finished no better than second. In his first five series races at the track, he didn’t finish better than 25th. He also failed to finish four of the five all-star races in which he’s been entered. Charlotte Observer
Busch concedes that the non-points format of the race favors him. Nevertheless, he has failed to finish four of the five All-Star events he’s run.
“This race is a race where everybody says it suits Kyle Busch, and we all know why,” Busch said. “It’s because you can go fast, balls to the wall, and you either bring back the steering wheel or the check. Unfortunately, I’ve been highly successful at bringing back the steering wheel. Unfortunately, I have not brought back the check, so hopefully we can do that here [Saturday].” NASCAR.com
Busch has won 96 races in NASCAR’s top three divisions, but has had little success in the non-points All-Star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s failed to finish in four of his five starts with one top-10 finish.
Click Here to Read More:
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway - Race Line-Up
Greg Biffle qualified third, followed by Carl Edwards and Mark Martin.
Tony Stewart, who was celebrating his 40th birthday, qualified sixth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Qualifying consisted of 18 drivers who got into the All-Star field thanks to victories in the past year or by being an All-Star race winner or series champion in the past 10 years.
Those left out - and there are some big names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Joey Logano - will race in the preliminary 40-lap Sprint Showdown. The top two finishers will earn spots in the All-Star race, along with a third driver voted by fans. MiamiHerald.com
| 
|