Showing posts with label starting lineup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label starting lineup. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Jimmie Johnson takes Phoenix pole with track record
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| Jimmie Johnson looks very fast this weekend so far. |
* Jimmie Johnson won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 28th Annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 with a track qualifying record lap of 25.147 seconds, 143.158 mph. The previous record was set by Joey Logano in November 2014 (25.327 sec/142.141 mph).
* This is his 34th pole in 506 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* This is his first pole and 19th top-10 start in 2015. Johnson's last pole came in May 2014 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, 58 races ago.
* This is his third pole in 25 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
* Kurt Busch (second) posted his 19th top-10 start of 2015 and his 17th in 26 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Phoenix International Raceway. It is his 12th in 35 races this season.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Kasey Kahne grabs first pole of season at Michigan
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| Kasey Kahne has one win at Michigan over his career |
“Our Great Clips (Chevrolet SS) had speed all three runs, so I knew we’d have a shot today,” Kahne said. “It has been a while since I’ve had a pole.”
Kahne’s last pole position came in 2012, when he earned four.
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson also made it to the final round of qualifying.
Starting behind pole-sitter Kahne, Gordon will roll his No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet SS off the grid sixth on Sunday. And when the green flag drops, Johnson will start eighth in his No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS.
After just missing the final round, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start the race from the 14th position in his No. 88 AMP Energy Chevrolet SS.
- Hendrick Motorsports
Quicken Loans 400 Starting Lineup
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Matt Kenseth wins 2015 Coca-Cola 600 Pole
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| Joe Gibbs Racing showing some speed |
* Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600 with a lap of 27.799 seconds, 194.252 mph.
* This is his 15th pole in 556 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* This is his second pole and eighth top-10 start in 2015. Kenseth's first pole of the season came at Bristol.
* This is his first pole in 32 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His previous best start at Charlotte was second in October 2011.
* Joey Logano (second) posted his 10th top-10 start of 2015 and his third in 13 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
* Carl Edwards (third) posted his seventh top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his sixth in 12 races this season.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Joey Logano wins STP 500 pole at Martinsville
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| Joey Logano 'was' 10/1 to win STP 500 before pole performance |
His first pole in 2015 came at Atlanta where he finished fourth a week after winning the Daytona 500. Logano put down a lap of 98.461 MPH to best Ryan Newman for the top spot. Newman was the fastest car in the second round of qualifying.
Martin Truex Jr. starts third to continue his early-season success. He's finished in the top-10 in every race this season and has started no lower than 15th.
Behind Truex are a few guys who have had success at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon starts fourth, while Jimmie Johnson starts fifth and Tony Stewart sixth. Gordon and Johnson have eight wins at the half-mile track while Stewart has three.
Read More Here....Yahoo! sports
STP 500 Starting Lineup
Friday, February 20, 2015
2015 Daytona 500 Starting Lineup
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| Wide open Daytona 500; up to 35 drivers have a shot at winning |
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson had already secured the pole and outside pole positions respectively, and now their fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will start from third, with Kyle Busch fourth and Joey Logano starting fifth.
Rounding out the top-10 starting positions will be Carl Edwards starting sixth, Tony Stewart seventh, Greg Biffle eighth, Clint Bowyer ninth and Martin Truex Jr. starts 10th.
Failing to make the starting lineup were Josh Wise, Ron Hornaday Jr., Alex Bowman, Jeb Burton, Justin Marks and Brian Scott.
The the teams that make up the final starting lineup, will have two more practice sessions Friday beginning with a session from 11:00 am – 12:25 pm (ET – On FOX Sports 1), and then again from 2:00 pm – 3:25 pm (ET – On FOX Sports 1).
“Happy Hour” (final) practice for the Daytona 500 is scheduled for Saturday morning from 10:00 am – 11:55 am (ET – On FOX Sports 1).
The 57th annual Daytona 500 is set to get underway on Sunday, February 22nd, with an approximate starting time of 1:20 pm (ET) and FOX will be providing television coverage of the event.
| Starting Position | Car# | Driver | Sponsor / Manu | Qualifying Speed | Reason for making Daytona 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (PC7) | Drive to End Hunger Chevy | 201.293 | Pole |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's Chevy | 201.135 | Outside Pole |
| 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Nationwide Chevy | 0.000 | Finished 1st in Duel 1 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Crispy Toyota | 201.216 | Finished 2nd in Duel 2 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 198.812 | Finished 3rd in Duel 1 |
| 6 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Arris Toyota | 202.315 | Finished 3rd in Duel 2 |
| 7 | 14 | Tony Stewart (PC4) | Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy | 197.698 | Finished 4th in Duel 1 |
| 8 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ortho Ford | 199.075 | Finished 4th in Duel 2 |
| 9 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-hour Energy Toyota | 194.995 | Finished 5th in Duel 1 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevy | 199.738 | Finished 5th in Duel 2 |
| 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (PC1) | Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevy | 197.994 | Finished 6th in Duel 1 |
| 12 | 44 | Reed Sorenson | Golden Corral Chevy | 194.978 | Finished 6th in Duel 2 |
| 13 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmers Insurance Chevy | 200.691 | Finished 7th in Duel 1 |
| 14 | 21 | Ryan Blaney(i) | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford | 199.084 | Finished 7th in Duel 2 |
| 15 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Cessna/McDonald's Chevy | 202.247 | Finished 8th in Duel 1 |
| 16 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt Chevy | 196.532 | Finished 8th in Duel 2 |
| 17 | 40 | Landon Cassill | CarsForSale.com Chevy | 193.299 | Finished 9th in Duel 1 |
| 18 | 66 | Mike Wallace | Crazy Vapors/X8 Energy Gum Toyota | 192.509 | Finished 9th in Duel 2 |
| 19 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Speed Stick Ford | 194.012 | Finished 10th in Duel 1 |
| 20 | 10 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy Chevy | 197.959 | Finished 10th in Duel 2 |
| 21 | 27 | Paul Menard | Peak/Menards Chevy | 198.325 | Finished 11th in Duel 1 |
| 22 | 31 | Ryan Newman (E) | Caterpillar Chevy | 198.177 | Finished 11th in Duel 2 |
| 23 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Thrivent Financial Ford | 195.300 | Finished 12th in Duel 1 |
| 24 | 41 | Kurt Busch (PC5) | Haas Automation Chevy | 197.976 | Finished 12th in Duel 2 |
| 25 | 23 | JJ Yeley(i) | MAXIM Fantasy App/Dr. Pepper Toyota | 199.256 | Finished 13th in Duel 1 |
| 26 | 38 | David Gilliland | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 195.346 | Finished 13th in Duel 2 |
| 27 | 46 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Chevy | 196.554 | Finished 14th in Duel 1 |
| 28 | 34 | David Ragan | Kentucky Fried Chicken Ford | 194.452 | Finished 14th in Duel 2 |
| 29 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target Chevy | 195.588 | Finished 15th in Duel 1 |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | DOW Chevy | 201.108 | Finished 15th in Duel 2 |
| 31 | 33 | Ty Dillon(i) | Cheerios/Kroger Chevy | 200.678 | Finished 16th in Duel 1 |
| 32 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal Ford | 202.334 | Finished 16th in Duel 2 |
| 33-SPD | 43 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 202.370 | 1st fastest speed |
| 34-SPD | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota | 201.392 | 5th fastest speed |
| 35-SPD | 20 | Matt Kenseth (PC6) | Dollar General Toyota | 200.602 | 10th fastest speed |
| 36-SPD | 83 | Johnny Sauter(i) | Dustless Blasting Toyota | 199.574 | 12th fastest speed |
| 37-OP | 6 | Trevor Bayne (B) | AdvoCare Ford | 199.031 | #99 2014 owners points 8th |
| 38-OP | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Twisted Tea Ford | 199.119 | 2014 owners points 23rd |
| 39-OP | 2 | Brad Keselowski (PC3) | Miller Lite Ford | 199.062 | 2014 owners points 5th |
| 40-OP | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Kroger/USO Chevy | 198.212 | 2014 owners points 13th |
| 41-OP | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Chevy | 197.946 | 2014 owners points 26th |
| 42-OP | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 0.000 | 2014 owners points 3rd |
| 43-PC | 32 | Bobby Labonte (PC8) | C & J Energy Services Ford | 199.067 | Past Champion |
| 44-DNQ | 7 | Alex Bowman | Toy State/Nikko Chevy | 198.229 | Did not qualify |
| 45-DNQ | 62 | Brian Scott(i) | Shore Lodge Chevy | 197.828 | Did not qualify |
| 46-DNQ | 26 | Jeb Burton | LiveDeal.com Download the App Toyota | 195.004 | Did not qualify |
| 47-DNQ | 29 | Justin Marks(i) | American Born Moonshine Toyota | 194.675 | Did not qualify |
| 48-DNQ | 98 | Josh Wise | Phoenix Construction Ford | 193.386 | Did not qualify |
| 49-DNQ | 30 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevy | 190.791 | Did not qualify |
Friday, November 14, 2014
Jeff Gordon on pole for Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homsestead
In the third and final round of the knockout qualifying session, Gordon covered the 1.5-mile distance in 29.876 seconds (180.747 mph), narrowly beating Busch (29.895 seconds/180.632 mph) for the top spot on the grid.
Championship favorite Kevin Harvick (179.946 mph) will start fifth, with fellow contenders Denny Hamlin (179.348 mph) and Joey Logano (179.259 mph) eighth and ninth, respectively. Ryan Newman (178.241 mph), the fourth driver eligible for the championship, failed to advance to the final round and will start 21st.
Matt Kenseth (180.294 mph) and Brad Keselowski(179.994 mph), both eliminated from the Chase last Sunday at Phoenix, qualified third and fourth, respectively, for the race.
In the 25-minute first qualifying round, Keselowski set a track record at 181.238 mph (29.795 mph), breaking the mark of 181.111 mph established by Jamie McMurray in 2003. No driver has won a Sprint Cup race at Homestead from the pole since Busch accomplished the feat in 2002.
Gordon, eliminated from the Chase by one point last Sunday, moved toward the top of the track for his Coors Light Pole Award-winning run.
"The bottom just wasn't the perfect place for us to run," Gordon explained. "I could feel the tires going away, and then we needed to move up. So when we saw some of those guys running fast laps a little bit higher up, I was looking forward to making that last lap.
"The guys made some great adjustments. We unfortunately had a tire going down on the left front, so I don't know if that helped us or hurt us, but it was pretty nice to get that pole. That's awesome."
Gordon's Coors Light Pole Award—his first at Homestead, his third of the season and the 77th of his career—also was the 200th for Hendrick Motorsports.
Read More Here....NASCAR.com
Friday, November 7, 2014
Denny Hamlin wins pole for critical Phoenix race
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| Hamlin won his third pole of 2014 and third at Phoenix |
Denny Hamlin led five Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers in the qualifying session, turning a lap at 142.113 mph to put his Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the top starting spot for Sunday's race.
Six of the eight drivers competing for a shot at the title qualified in the top seven. Only Carl Edwards (13th) and Ryan Newman (20th) failed to crack the top 10 in qualifying.
All of them are vying for the four spots in next week's championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin is in decent shape: He's tied with Joey Logano for the points lead and only needs to finish 11th or better Sunday to make the finale.
He won't be conservative.
"I think the competition level is just too close and tight to be able to think you are going to coast to an 11th-place finish," Hamlin said. "You've got to go all-out on every single lap. We have to go out there and perform on a high level or else we aren't going to make it. There are too many other cars for us to think that we are just going to ride around and take a spot."
Qualifying right behind Hamlin were Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.
Harvick shoved Keselowski from behind into a scrum following last week's race at Texas. It ignited a brawl between Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and their teams and both drivers were bloodied.
But, both have a lot at stake on Sunday: Keselowski is seventh and Harvick eighth in the Chase field, and both have the mentality that they must win Sunday to make it to Homestead.
"This is a good track for us to come to, confidence wise," said Harvick, who qualified third. "We'll see how the weekend plays out. You are either going to hit a walk-off, or just race next week."
Harvick has won three of the last four races at Phoenix, including the last two November races. He won here in the spring for his first victory with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Keselowski, a six-time winner this season, has already proved once he can step up in must-win situations. He staved off elimination in the second round of the Chase by winning at Talladega.
"I know I probably need to win the race," Keselowski said. "Technically, I don't have to win this race, but the probabilities are that I do. You know if you win, you're in, and that's the great thing about this system and we have a great shot at it, for sure."
Keselowski believed his Team Penske Ford was only good enough Friday to finish second or third, and that Harvick has the field covered. Harvick doesn't think his advantage over his rivals will last.
"I feel good about our car. It's been fun to drive so far," Harvick said. "But the nature of this garage is not to have an advantage by the time the race rolls around."
Logano, Keselowski's teammate at Team Penske, was fourth, followed by GR drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. The top five drivers are all racing for the championship, Busch was eliminated after the second round.
Gordon was seventh.
Despite being off the pace of the rest of the Chase drivers, Edwards was pleased.
"We were about a 25th-place car in practice and I was nervous about this and it went well, so that's good," Edwards said. "I'm telling you, we're within striking distance."
Newman wasn't as pleased.
"Yeah, it is a hole," he said. "Starting 20th is not where we wanted to be starting, but it's not where you start it's where you stop."
- ABC News
Friday, June 6, 2014
Denny Hamlin sets track record in Pocono 400 qualifying
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| Denny Hamlin loves Pocono Raceway |
Hamlin, who has four career wins at the trianguar track, won the pole Friday for Sunday's Pocono 400.
Hamlin set a new track record with a speed of 181.415 mph, edging Kurt Busch for the pole.
MORE: Pocono picks | Should Edwards leave Roush | Johnson swinging for the fences
Read More Here.........Sporting News
Pocono 400 Starting Lineup
Friday, March 28, 2014
Kyle Busch on pole at Martinsville, teammate Hamlin right next to him
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| Kyle Busch grabs his first pole of the season |
In one of the quirks of the new NASCAR qualifying procedure, Busch posted the top speed at 99.674 mph in the final qualifying round to win the pole and the right to lead the STP 500 field to green Sunday.
MORE: STP 500 qualifying results | Martinsville picks | Hendrick's success at track |Hamlin's defense
In the opening round, which determined the 12 drivers who advanced to the pole-setting round as part of NASCAR's new 2014 qualifying format, Joey Logano turned a lap of 100.201 to set the track record.
Logano (99.428 mph in the final round) will start third, behind the Joe Gibbs Racing front row of Busch and Denny Hamlin (99.548).
“(Winning the pole here) is something that doesn’t happen very often, with at least me behind the wheel,” said Busch, who was third in the opening round. “It is a great day for us and the whole team.”
It was Busch’s first pole of the season and first career pole at Martinsville. Of all the JGR drivers, it was expected Hamlin, with four wins at Martinsville, would have the best chance of capturing the pole.
“Denny is always really good here at Martinsville,” Busch said. “We always come here, we always predict Denny to win or finish second to the 48 (of Jimmie Johnson). … It’s just a matter of fighting out to the end.”
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson and Jeff Gordon will start fourth and fifth. Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray and Danica Patrick rounded out the top-10.
Read More Here....Sporting News
Starting Lineup
Friday, March 21, 2014
Kenseth wins first pole of season at Fontana
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| Matt Kenseth is a 3-time winner at Fontana |
Kenseth won the pole Friday, edging Brad Keselowski in another knockout qualifying session highlighted by now-familiar faces.
Kenseth won his first pole of the season, turning a lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 187.315 mph. He beat Keselowski's 187.105 to earn the 12th pole of his NASCAR career.
MORE: Full lineup breakdown | SN's race picks
"This is probably one of the best tracks we go to as far as passing, with all the different lanes," Kenseth said. "Unless you get stuck on the top, there's a lot of options here. This place is really wide. It's very challenging as a driver, but very fun, as well, because you can look around and if your car is running a certain way, you can find a groove that will help your car and move around a lot."
Read More Here....Sporting News
Friday, March 14, 2014
Denny Hamlin on Bristol Pole, sets track record
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| Denny Hamlin sets track record today at Bristol |
Hamlin knocked Joey Logano off the pole with a speed of 129.99 mph and kept Logano and Penske teammate Brad Keselowski from sweeping the front row for the second straight week.
Keselowski, who won last week at Las Vegas, wound up second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.
MORE: High speed, new rules lead to wrecks | Bump-and-run getting harder |Bristol crashes
Hamlin was in awe of his fast lap.
"It's fast, faster than I ever imagined going around this track," he said. "Every rules change we have just makes this car go a little bit faster."
Hamlin expects to be even faster in the race.
"I'm way more excited about it in race trim than I was in qualifying," he said.
While the top 12 advanced to the final round, Kurt Busch just missed it and will start 13th. Danica Patrick, meanwhile, was 36th-fastest, just making the field on speed.
David Reutimann and Dave Blaney failed to qualify.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Jimmie Johnson fastest in first Phoenix practice session and qualifying
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| Jimmie Johnson is the 1-to-5 favorite to win Sprint Cup |
The only problem? Jimmie Johnson is feeling great.
Johnson, who leads Kenseth by seven points in the standings, won the pole Friday for the next-to-last race of the season with a track-record lap of 139.222 mph around the 1-mile oval.
“We did ourselves a lot of favors here today by getting the pole, having that first pit stall (for easy exit) and track position to start the race with,” Johnson said.
“We still have to go out there and get to work to get the job done on Sunday.”
Kenseth didn’t do himself many favors, but he had a better Joe Gibbs Racing car in practice Friday than where he qualified. Teams will have two practices Saturday to prepare for the 312-lap race Sunday.
“This track in the spring was extremely hard to pass at — probably one of the toughest tracks that we go to, and I don’t know if it will be any better or not this time,” Kenseth said.
Kenseth said he will need to get his car working well in order to catch Johnson because he doesn’t believe he’ll be able to use pit strategy — such as taking two tires when everyone else takes four — in order to gain track position.
“Unless you have the cautions fall funny, I don’t know if you’ll be able to do it on pit strategy,” Kenseth said. “You’re going to have to have a good balance, good speed, you have to be able to pass, have to have good pit stops — all those things.
“I don’t feel it’s a track where you’re going to get a whole bunch of free (positions) from a strategy call. I think you’re going to have to be good all day.”
Read More here....Sporting News
Starting Lineup
Practice 1 Speeds
Friday, November 1, 2013
Carl Edwards on Pole for AAA Texas 500, Truex Jr. fastest on practice
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| Carl Edwards finds speed on a track he knows how to go fast on |
Johnson, who grazed the wall on his qualifying lap Friday afternoon, will start third and Kenseth will start sixth when they take the green flag for the AAA Texas 500.
“I hate to admit it but at one point, I think I had my eyes shut because I knew there was going to be contact, I just didn’t know how much,” Johnson said.
“I just grazed the wall and scratched the sticker for the bumper cover and taillight on the back of the car. … (The lap) shows our car has a lot of speed in it.”
Carl Edwards, 10th in the Cup standings, won the pole with a lap of 196.114 mph and will be joined on the front row by defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski (196.100), who failed to make the Chase this year.
Johnson (195.943) and Paul Menard (195.837) will make up the second row while Kyle Busch (195.780), who is fifth in the standings at 36 points behind, will start fifth next to Kenseth (195.518) in the third row.
“It’s just a starting spot, but I do feel like my car drove pretty good,” Kenseth said. “You can only control what we do and you can only drive your own car so you can’t really control what anybody else does.
“I feel like that was OK. … I’m fairly satisfied with that.”
Read More Here....Sporting News
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Gordon on pole for Bank of America 500 at Charlotte
Gordon turned a lap at 194.308 mph to edge Kevin Harvick for his ninth pole at Charlotte, the second most in track history.
Greg Biffle qualified third for the Saturday night race, Jimmie Johnson was fourth, and Kasey Kahne -- who held the lead for most of the night -- was fifth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated his 39th birthday by qualifying sixth for his 500th Sprint Cup start. Ryan Newman was seventh, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch.
Gordon enters the weekend fourth in the Chase standings, 32 points behind leader Matt Kenseth with six races left. Kenseth qualified 20th.
- Sporting News
Starting Lineup
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Harvick sets Kansas track record, on first Pole since 2006
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| Kevin Harvick looking for his first Kansas win |
All he knows is he finally snapped a seven-year streak where he did not have the fastest car in qualifying as he captured the top spot Friday for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
The last pole Harvick earned came in the September 2006 event at New Hampshire. He also started from the pole for the July 2010 race at Daytona but is not credited with earning the pole because qualifying was rained out and the field set by points.
"Throughout my career, for whatever reason, we just haven't qualified well," Harvick said. "We always definitely seem to race a lot better than we qualify. Today, we had speed right off the bat and had the confidence in the car to go ahead and push it. ... We've always had better racecars than fast speed cars."
Fastest in the 90-minute practice session prior to qualifying, Harvick turned a lap of 187.526 mph around the 1.5-mile track during time trials Friday and will be joined on the front row by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (187.480). It was just the sixth career earned pole for the Richard Childress Racing driver. He has won three times from the pole, including that Daytona race in July 2010 and the New Hampshire race 255 races ago.
"It matters -- I shouldn't say (winning a pole) doesn't matter," Harvick said. "It definitely helps to have the first pit stall and to have the track position, especially on a weekend like this where track position is going to be probably king as we go through the weekend."
Read More Here.....Sporting News
Friday, September 27, 2013
Earnhardt Jr. on Dover pole, Kenseth fastest during first practice session
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr. sets track record during qualifying at 161.849 mph |
He likes the feel of racing on asphalt. He believes previous race data from tracks with asphalt is more reliable than with concrete.
But he loved the 1-mile concrete track Friday afternoon.
Earnhardt posted a track-record qualifying speed of 161.849 mph Friday to earn the pole for the AAA 400 on Sunday.
“The car has been excellent all day long,” Earnhardt said. “The car has been a whole lot of fun to drive.
“If we just follow our instinct and keep up with the racetrack as it’s changing throughout the weekend, we’ve got a good shot at it.”
The Hendrick Motorsports driver will be joined on the front row by Sprint Cup Series points leader Matt Kenseth (161.805 mph).
Earnhardt feels good about the race, the third of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. After an engine failure to open the Chase, Earnhardt is 11th in the standings, 62 points behind Kenseth.“The last two weeks, we’ve unloaded some really competitive cars right off the trailer,” Earnhardt said. “It’s been a blast. … We’re doing a real good job in preparation leading up to the race.”
“This track, being concrete, you just don’t have tons of reliable (information) —we’ve got a lot data, we’ve got information but you’ve got to make a lot of gut decisions and you don’t have a lot of reliable gut decisions to go off of,” Earnhardt said.
“But when the car is good, you can make a few mistakes on the way you set the car up. You can miss a few marks and still be pretty good.”
Friday, September 20, 2013
Ryan Newman on Sylvania 300 pole
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| Ryan Newman sets at rack record at 136.497 mph |
Newman's speed of 136.497 mph set a track record and edged Kasey Kahne (136.082) for his second pole of the season. The last time Newman won the pole, he won the Brickyard 400 at Indy.
Jeff Gordon qualified third, followed by Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle as eight of the 13 Chase drivers qualified in the top 10.
Among the other Chase drivers, Jimmie Johnson qualified 11th, Kyle Busch 12th, Clint Bowyer 16th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 17th and Carl Edwards 26th.
Read More Here....Sporting News
Sylvania 300 Starting Lineup
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