Busch takes sixth season pole
Kurt Busch took his sixth pole position of the season at Martinsville Speedway today, edging out track specialist Jeff Gordon in the dying moments of qualifying
Gordon, who sat on pole position at Martinsville five times before, set the early pace of the session on Friday, with a lap speed of 97.377 mph.
But Busch then gave Dodge its 15th season pole when he lapped the half-mile oval at 97.568 mph.
"It was a great lap, unexpected for me, but this team has always qualified well at this track," Busch said.
"Martinsville is the kind of track that you either love or hate, and I've learned to do both. It's a tough, challenging short track."
Points leader Jeff Burton qualified on 27th, while nearest rival Matt Kenseth qualified 20th.
Other Chase contenders include rookie Denny Hamlin in third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in seventh, and Jimmie Johnson in ninth.
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. Kurt Busch Dodge 97.568 19.408 Chase 2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 97.377 19.446 + 0.038 Chase 3. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 97.187 19.484 + 0.076 Chase 4. Ryan Newman Dodge 97.162 19.489 + 0.081 5. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 97.038 19.514 + 0.106 6. Dave Blaney Dodge 96.825 19.557 + 0.149 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 96.775 19.567 + 0.159 Chase 8. Jeff Green Chevrolet 96.627 19.597 + 0.189 9. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 96.460 19.631 + 0.223 Chase 10. Ken Schrader Ford 96.440 19.635 + 0.227 11. Tony Raines Chevrolet 96.386 19.646 + 0.238 12. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 96.317 19.660 + 0.252 Chase 13. David Stremme Dodge 96.239 19.676 + 0.268 14. Kyle Petty Dodge 96.205 19.683 + 0.275 15. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 96.171 19.690 + 0.282 16. Reed Sorenson Dodge 96.127 19.699 + 0.291 17. Scott Riggs Dodge 96.078 19.709 + 0.301 18. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 96.005 19.724 + 0.316 19. Casey Mears Dodge 95.995 19.726 + 0.318 20. Matt Kenseth Ford 95.942 19.737 + 0.329 Chase 21. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 95.927 19.740 + 0.332 22. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 95.879 19.750 + 0.342 23. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 95.869 19.752 + 0.344 24. Jamie McMurray Ford 95.854 19.755 + 0.347 25. Mark Martin Ford 95.752 19.776 + 0.368 Chase 26. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 95.733 19.780 + 0.372 27. Carl Edwards Ford 95.680 19.791 + 0.383 28. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 95.651 19.797 + 0.389 Chase 29. David Gilliland Ford 95.583 19.811 + 0.403 30. Bobby Labonte Dodge 95.549 19.818 + 0.410 31. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 95.420 19.845 + 0.437 32. Kasey Kahne Dodge 95.396 19.850 + 0.442 Chase 33. Michael Waltrip Dodge 95.319 19.866 + 0.458 34. Elliott Sadler Dodge 95.314 19.867 + 0.459 35. Ward Burton Chevrolet 95.304 19.869 + 0.461 36. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 95.290 19.872 + 0.464 37. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 95.185 19.894 + 0.486 38. Greg Biffle Ford 95.137 19.904 + 0.496 39. Dale Jarrett Ford 95.118 19.908 + 0.500 40. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 95.065 19.919 + 0.511 41. David Ragan Ford 94.970 19.939 + 0.531 42. Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 94.851 19.964 + 0.556 43. Mike Skinner Chevrolet 94.846 19.965 + 0.557
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