Kasey Kahne held the top spot through most of qualifying but it was Martin Truex Jr. who came on late and captured the pole Saturday for Sunday’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Truex, looking for his first win this season, turned a lap of 184.149 mph to win the top starting spot for Atlanta’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series night race. AHN
“I want to go out on a high note for them and for all they’ve done for me,” Truex said.
Truex, 23rd in the Sprint Cup standings, is an outsider in the late-season competition for one of the 12 spots in the Chase for the Championship.
“I think the urgency is just that the year is coming to an end,” Truex said. “It’s been a tough year. We’ve had some great runs. We’ve worked really hard and really don’t have a lot to show for it.
“I sure would like to get to victory lane before the season is out.” The Associated Press
Jimmie Johnson (183.358 mph) will start third beside teammate Jeff Gordon (182.994 mph). Kyle Busch, currently 13th in the Cup standings and 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12th, qualified fifth at 182.771 mph. Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, David Stremme and Denny Hamlin will start from positions six through 10, respectively. NASCAR
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 2 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 5 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 6 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 7 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 8 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 9 12 David Stremme Dodge 10 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 11 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 12 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 13 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge 14 99 Carl Edwards Ford 15 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 16 6 David Ragan Ford 17 21 David Gilliland Ford 18 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 19 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 20 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 21 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 22 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 23 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 25 171 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 26 16 Greg Biffle Ford 27 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 28 0 David Reutimann Toyota 29 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 30 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 31 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 32 82 Scott Speed* Toyota 33 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet 34 20 Joey Logano* Toyota 35 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 36 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota 37 66 Dave Blaney Toyota 38 9 Mike Bliss Dodge 39 113 Max Papis* Toyota 40 34 John Andretti Chevrolet 41 98 Paul Menard Ford 42 96 Erik Darnell+ Ford 43 8 Terry Labonte Toyota
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