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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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