Kyle Busch, the last of 18 drivers to make a qualifying attempt, edged Clint Bowyer for the pole for Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Now comes the important business of winning the race—something Busch hasn’t been close to doing in five attempts.
Under the unique All-Star Race qualifying format that features three laps and a pit stop, Busch completed the process in 1 minute, 59.191 seconds (135.916 mph) to Bowyer’s 135.377 mph. Greg Biffle was a close third at 134.740 mph.
Carl Edwards (134.236 mph) will start fourth, followed by Mark Martin (133.670 mph), who is driving the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend, as Jimmie Johnson (who qualified 11th) gets behind the wheel of the No. 5 (to promote a program with sponsor Lowe’s). NASCAR.com
“This race, everybody says it suits Kyle Busch,” he said. “We all know why: We can go fast ... and you either bring back the steering wheel or the check. Unfortunately, I’ve been very successful in bringing back the steering wheel.”
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.
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. MiamiHerald.com
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 2 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 3 16 Greg Biffle Ford 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford 5 25 Mark Martin Chevrolet 6 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 7 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 8 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 9 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 10 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 11 5 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 13 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 15 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 16 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 18 0 David Reutimann Toyota
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