Martin Truex Jr. stormed from mid-pack to the pole in Friday’s qualifying session for the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
The 26th driver to attempt a two-lap run at the 1-mile track, Truex knocked Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson from the provisional pole for Sunday’s race with a lap at 135.120 mph. Kurt Busch, who went out 33rd, claimed the second spot at 134.579 mph, with Johnson (134.454 mph) holding the third starting position. NASCAR
“It was a good lap for us,” Truex said. “We only made two qualifying runs during practice, and I felt like our last one we kind of went the wrong direction. So we had a good idea of what we needed to do to get a good lap in qualifying. Obviously we didn’t know it would be that good.”
On Tuesday, Truex was docked 50 points and crew chief Kevin Manion received a $50,000 fine after his No.1 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. NASCAR officials discovered the front of Truex’s car was too low and therefore did not meet the required height specification.
Truex, currently 26th in points, will make his second-to-last start for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing at Phoenix. The 29-year-old driver will head to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2010 Sprint Cup campaign. MiamiHerald.com
For Johnson, the return to the track was a chance to reset his emotions following an accident on the third lap of last week’s race. He was wrecked trying to pass Sam Hornish Jr., who ran into Johnson after he made contact with David Reutimann.
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix - Race Line-Up
Johnson finished 38th and lost a large portion of his points lead. But with two races remaining, he still likes his chances, particularly Sunday at PIR, where he’s won three of the last four races.
“I can’t wait to get on track so I can start thinking about something else,” Johnson said before qualifying. “All I can think about is three laps of Texas right now. That’s all I’ve thought about for the whole week. Ready to get that out of the brain.”
Mark Martin, who trails Johnson by 71 points in the standings with two races remaining, qualified 10th. The Associated Press
| 
|