Almirola sets Indianapolis Busch pole
Aric Almirola claimed his third Busch Series pole of the season today in qualifying for the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis
The Joe Gibbs driver won't have to worry about handing his car over to Denny Hamlin like he did last month at Milwaukee, when he was taken out from the car while he was already racing it after having put it on pole. This time, he will hopefully race it to the chequered flag.
"I'm just excited about tonight," Almirola said. "We've got a very good car, it was good in practice and I'm just happy to be here. I've got a lot of confidence right now and I've been getting more and more seat time. The more I get in the car, the more comfortable I'm in it."
Erik Darnell qualified second in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford, filling in for David Ragan, while Ron Hornaday, who won last night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the same track, put his No. 77 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet third on the grid.
Travis Kvapil, who finished third in the truck race behind Hornaday, qualified eighth in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford of Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards, who will be racing the car tonight wearing a brace on his right hand after his late model accident where he sustained a thumb injury last week.
Only six Nextel Cup drivers will be on double duty this weekend, racing tonight at O'Reilly Raceway Park and tomorrow at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but only Greg Biffle was able to qualify his car while the other five all had relief drivers in their cars instead.
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Aric Almirola Chevrolet 22.481 2. Erik Darnell Ford 22.576 +0.095 3. Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 22.582 +0.101 4. Kelly Bires Ford 22.641 +0.160 5. Jason Leffler Toyota 22.726 +0.245 6. Mark Green Toyota 22.745 +0.264 7. Stephen Leicht Ford 22.795 +0.314 8. Travis Kvapil Ford 22.797 +0.316 9. Brad Coleman Chevrolet 22.805 +0.324 10. Todd Kluever Ford 22.815 +0.334 11. Shelby Howard Chevrolet 22.823 +0.342 12. Scott Lagasse Jr Dodge 22.834 +0.353 13. Jason Keller Ford 22.854 +0.373 14. Kertus Davis Chevrolet 22.854 +0.373 15. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 22.868 +0.387 16. Brandon Miller Chevrolet 22.873 +0.392 17. Tim McCreadie Chevrolet 22.889 +0.408 18. Cale Gale Chevrolet 22.900 +0.419 19. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 22.909 +0.428 20. Bobby East Ford 22.912 +0.431 21. Brent Sherman Chevrolet 22.959 +0.478 22. Mike Bliss Toyota 22.969 +0.488 23. Landon Cassill Chevrolet 22.976 +0.495 24. Marcos Ambrose Ford 22.979 +0.498 25. Steve Wallace Dodge 22.991 +0.510 26. Brian Keselowski Dodge 22.995 +0.514 27. Richard Johns Ford 23.007 +0.526 28. Bobby Hamilton Jr Ford 23.015 +0.534 29. Josh Wise Dodge 23.037 +0.556 30. Kevin Hamlin Dodge 23.053 +0.572 31. Danny O'Quinn Jr Chevrolet 23.081 +0.600 32. Kyle Krisiloff Ford 23.178 +0.697 33. Morgan Shepherd Dodge 23.272 +0.791 34. D.J. Kennington Dodge 23.414 +0.933 35. Eric McClure Chevrolet 23.467 +0.986 36. Frank Kreyer Chevrolet 23.508 +1.027 37. Derrike Cope Chevrolet 23.529 +1.048 38. Brett Rowe Chevrolet 23.729 +1.248 39. Brad Teague Ford 23.848 +1.367 40. Robert Richardson II Chevrolet 23.858 +1.377 41. Mike Harmon Chevrolet 23.862 +1.381 42. Deac McCaskill Dodge - - 43. Jason White Dodge 23.864 +1.383
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