First season pole for Edwards at Bristol
Carl Edwards claimed tonight his first pole position of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, ahead of Sunday's Sharpie 500 race, also taking his maiden pole at Bristol Motor Speedway
Edwards, who won two of the last three races, is currently second in the points standing. He also won last year's Sharpie 500.
The No.99 Ford driver set the fastest lap in qualifying, with an average speed of 121.860 mph, despite brushing the wall on the exit of Turn 4.
"That's as fast as I could go, although I wish I hadn't hit the wall," Edwards said afterwards.
Starting alongside Edwards on the front row will be Toyota's David Reutimann, in second, who just narrowly beat Chevy's Jeff Gordon. The former Cup champion is still looking for his first win of the season.
Chevy rookie Regan Smith took an impressive fourth, followed by Bill Elliot and Kevin Harvick in fifth and sixth places.
The Toyotas of Ken Schrader, AJ Allmendinger and points-leader Kyle Busch took the next three places, with Dodge's Elliott Sadler rounding out the top 10.
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. Carl Edwards Ford 121.860 15.746 2. David Reutimann Toyota 121.175 15.835 + 0.089 3. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 121.121 15.842 + 0.096 4. Regan Smith Chevrolet 121.083 15.847 + 0.101 5. Bill Elliott Ford 120.740 15.892 + 0.146 6. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 120.649 15.904 + 0.158 7. Ken Schrader Toyota 120.634 15.906 + 0.160 8. AJ Allmendinger Toyota 120.588 15.912 + 0.166 9. Kyle Busch Toyota 120.550 15.917 + 0.171 10. Elliott Sadler Dodge 120.528 15.920 + 0.174 11. Ryan Newman Dodge 120.512 15.922 + 0.176 12. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 120.324 15.947 + 0.201 13. Kasey Kahne Dodge 120.316 15.948 + 0.202 14. Greg Biffle Ford 120.248 15.957 + 0.211 15. David Gilliland Ford 120.203 15.963 + 0.217 16. Paul Menard Chevrolet 120.203 15.963 + 0.217 17. Casey Mears Chevrolet 120.180 15.966 + 0.220 18. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 120.150 15.970 + 0.224 19. Kurt Busch Dodge 120.120 15.974 + 0.228 20. Tony Raines Chevrolet 120.090 15.978 + 0.232 21. Denny Hamlin Toyota 120.083 15.979 + 0.233 22. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 120.083 15.979 + 0.233 23. Aric Almirola Chevrolet 120.083 15.979 + 0.233 24. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 120.038 15.985 + 0.239 25. Matt Kenseth Ford 120.000 15.990 + 0.244 26. Brian Vickers Toyota 119.970 15.994 + 0.248 27. David Ragan Ford 119.783 16.019 + 0.273 28. Tony Stewart Toyota 119.768 16.021 + 0.275 29. Kyle Petty Dodge 119.618 16.041 + 0.295 30. Reed Sorenson Dodge 119.604 16.043 + 0.297 31. Robby Gordon Dodge 119.589 16.045 + 0.299 32. Travis Kvapil Ford 119.477 16.060 + 0.314 33. Mike Skinner Toyota 119.395 16.071 + 0.325 34. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 119.299 16.084 + 0.338 35. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 119.284 16.086 + 0.340 36. Dave Blaney Toyota 119.188 16.099 + 0.353 37. Bobby Labonte Dodge 118.877 16.141 + 0.395 38. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 118.708 16.164 + 0.418 39. Juan Montoya Dodge 118.650 16.172 + 0.426 40. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 118.328 16.216 + 0.470 41. Jamie McMurray Ford 118.211 16.211 + 0.465 42. Michael Waltrip Toyota 117.243 16.366 + 0.620 43. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 119.165 16.102 + 0.356
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