Rain gives Kyle Busch pole for NASCAR Sprint Cup's first Kentucky race
Rain forced qualifying to be cancelled at Kentucky Speedway, giving Kyle Busch pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' inaugural event at the track after he was fastest in practice
Qualifying was underway and 22 out of 48 cars had already completed their runs when rain caused the session to be halted. Although the rain stopped temporarily, it would later return forcing officials to cancel the session.
According to the new NASCAR rules, times from official practice determined the starting order for Saturday night's event. Joe Gibbs Racing Kyle Busch had been fastest in the open test day on Thursday before claiming victory in the Truck series race later in the evening, but it was his quickest lap from Friday's lone official practice session which placed him on pole for the first time this season.
Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya will line up second, while Penske's Kurt Busch and Red Bull's Kasey Kahne will start from the second row of the grid. Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson, who was fastest in the first unofficial practice on Thursday, will get fifth.
Carl Edwards was the fastest Ford in practice and will see the green flag wave from seventh on the grid, beside last weekend's race winner, his Roush Fenway team-mate David Ragan.
Three-time Kentucky Nationwide Series winner Joey Logano will start 15th, while points leader Kevin Harvick will line up 19th. Brian Vickers and Mark Martin where first and second when the session was stopped and they will line up side-by-side on the 14th row of the grid.
Joe Nemechek was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in practice and will start from 31st. Local hero Michael Waltrip had already locked himself in the field on speed but given that he had only made two previous qualifying attempts this year, he lost his automatic place in the field.
Robby Gordon (driving the #77 car), David Starr, TJ Bell and David Stremme also failed to qualify.
Pos Driver Team/Car 1. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 2. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 3. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 4. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 5. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 6. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 7. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 8. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 9. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 10. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 11. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 12. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 13. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 14. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 15. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 16. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 17. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 18. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 19. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 20. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 21. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 22. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 23. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 24. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 25. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 26. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 27. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 28. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 29. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 30. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet 31. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 32. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 33. Mike Skinner Germain Toyota 34. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 35. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 36. JJ Yeley Whitney Chevrolet 37. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 38. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 39. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 40. Scott Riggs Whitney Chevrolet 41. Tony Raines Front Row Ford 42. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 43. Scott Wimmer Gordon Dodge Did not qualify: David Stremme Inception Chevrolet Michael Waltrip Waltrip Toyota TJ Bell LTD Toyota David Starr Leavine Ford Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge
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