J. J. Yeley, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, qualified on the pole to lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent during time trials for Sunday’s Citizens Bank 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Yeley turned a lap of 38.399 seconds at 187.505 mph on the 2-mile oval to score his first career pole in 57 career Nextel Cup races and the 42nd Nextel Cup pole for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“It was an excellent lap, ” said Yeley, who nipped Jimmie Johnson for the pole by. 001 of a second. “It’s very fitting for a green car to lead us to the green flag and hopefully it will be the checkered flag too. The guys did an awesome job. They worked all through practice just on qualifying and to do it that close… man, I’m glad Jimmie Johnson was just that much slower than us. I love this race track. It’s one of my most favorite race tracks that we come to, so to get a pole here and it be my first one is pretty special. ”
Yeley’s pole was the fifth for Joe Gibbs Racing at Michigan, as former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte scored poles for the 1995 August race, the 2000 June race, the 2003 June race and the 2003 August race.
Yeley’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Freight Chevrolet and Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet – qualified seventh and 41st, respectively. Hamlin turned a lap of 38.643 seconds at 186.321 mph, while Stewart stopped the clocks in 39.343 seconds at 183.006 mph.
“I felt really good about our qualifying lap and I definitely felt like we were carrying more speed then what our time showed, ” Hamlin said. “I was surprised we weren’t top-three out there. The car had great grip, but I might have been a little too aggressive entering turn four. Overall, I think we’ll be in good shape. This track is so big and wide, so you have the opportunity to use the whole track to find the right groove, or different grooves throughout the race. ”
“We were just a little bit too free, but we’ve been that way all day, ” Stewart said. “The good part is that we’ve been consistent, and that’s a lot easier to fix than being tight. Even though we didn’t get all the way there today, by the time we get two race runs in tomorrow, we should be in good shape. ”
Rounding out the top-five in qualifying behind Yeley was Johnson (38.400 seconds at 187.500 mph), Kyle Busch (38.538 seconds at 186.829 mph), Ryan Newman (38.586 seconds at 186.596 mph) and Joe Nemechek (38.611 seconds at 186.475 mph).
Forty-nine drivers attempted to qualify for the 200-lap race. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Dale Jarrett, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield, Mike Bliss, Kevin Lepage and Kenny Wallace.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet swept the top three spot thanks to Yeley’s pole-winning mark and the second- and third-fastest times of Hendrick Motorsports drivers Johnson and Busch. Dodge was next best at the hands of Newman. Twelfth-quick Carl Edwards (38.783 seconds at 185.648 mph) carried the flag for Ford, while the top Toyota came via 16th-quick Brian Vickers (38.793 seconds at 185.600 mph).
The Citizens Bank 400 gets underway on Sunday, June 17 at 2 p. m. EDT. TNT will broadcast the event live and in high-definition.
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