Hamlin on Busch pole at Richmond
Denny Hamlin will start from pole position at his home track today after emerging fastest in qualifying for the Circuit City 250, round eleven of the Busch Series at Richmond International Raceway
Hamlin set a fastest lap of 21.313 seconds at an average speed of 126.683 mph, claiming his first pole of the year in the Busch Series and his second in a short track this season as he was pole-sitter for the Nextel Cup race at Martinsville.
It's also his second pole at Richmond as he claimed also the top spot on the grid at the same venue in last year's Nextel Cup event in September.
"I look forward to Saturdays now, every time I get into this car," said Hamlin, who drives Joe Gibbs' No. 20 Chevrolet. "Hopefully we can bring home a win for (the victims of the shooting at) Virginia Tech this weekend."
Hamlin had been second in the two practice sessions before qualifying and looks as the clear favourite to take victory tonight.
However, he is likely to face tough opposition from Matt Kenseth, who will start beside him on the front row in his Roush Fenway Ford.
Shane Huffman qualified third in Dale Earnhardt Jr's JR Motorsport Chevrolet and will share the second row with veteran Jeff Burton, who returns to the No. 29 Richard Childress Chevrolet.
Dave Blaney was again the fastest Toyota qualifier in fifth, but probably overshadowed by the stunning performance of 21-year-old Bobby Santos who qualified seventh for his Busch Series debut - less than a tenth off pole - driving the No. 91 Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports-BDR Toyota Camry.
Santos, a development driver for Bill Davis Racing, has impressed already in a few ARCA and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts that he made this year while winning in USAC Midgets.
Juan Pablo Montoya will share the sixth row of the grid with points leader Carl Edwards, the Colombian feeling comfortable with the track he visited for the first time last month for Nextel Cup testing.
Behind them in 13th will line up Kevin Harvick, driving the his team's No. 77 entry that Bobby Labonte took to victory last week at Talladega.
The reigning Busch Series champion will be a man to watch as he has won the last three events at Richmond, although driving for Richard Childress Racing.
Sam Hornish Jr will start from 28th in Penske's No. 12 Dodge, becoming the first man to race both NASCAR and Indycars at Richmond. This will be his fifth race of the season and the seventh of his short career in the Busch Series.
Eric McLure was the only car not to qualify for today's race, while Venezuelan Alex Garcia didn't complete a lap neither in practice nor in qualifying.
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 126.683 21.313 2. Matt Kenseth Ford 126.316 21.375 + 0.062 3. Shane Huffman Chevrolet 126.210 21.393 + 0.080 4. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 126.204 21.394 + 0.081 5. Dave Blaney Toyota 126.192 21.396 + 0.083 6. Greg Biffle Ford 126.174 21.399 + 0.086 7. Bobby Santos Toyota 126.139 21.405 + 0.092 8. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 126.086 21.414 + 0.101 9. Tony Raines Chevrolet 126.050 21.420 + 0.107 10. Reed Sorenson Dodge 126.027 21.424 + 0.111 11. Juan Montoya Dodge 125.856 21.453 + 0.140 12. Carl Edwards Ford 125.827 21.458 + 0.145 13. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 125.716 21.477 + 0.164 14. David Ragan Ford 125.687 21.482 + 0.169 15. Regan Smith Chevrolet 125.611 21.495 + 0.182 16. David Reutimann Toyota 125.593 21.498 + 0.185 17. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 125.436 21.525 + 0.212 18. Scott Riggs Dodge 125.418 21.528 + 0.215 19. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 125.249 21.557 + 0.244 20. Mike Bliss Dodge 125.139 21.576 + 0.263 21. Ward Burton Ford 125.133 21.577 + 0.264 22. Jamie McMurray Ford 124.809 21.633 + 0.320 23. Brad Coleman Chevrolet 124.723 21.648 + 0.335 24. Jason Leffler Toyota 124.711 21.650 + 0.337 25. Bobby Hamilton Jr Ford 124.660 21.659 + 0.346 26. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 124.585 21.672 + 0.359 27. Casey Mears Chevrolet 124.516 21.684 + 0.371 28. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 124.138 21.750 + 0.437 29. JJ Yeley Chevrolet 124.070 21.762 + 0.449 30. David Gilliland Ford 124.030 21.769 + 0.456 31. Stephen Leicht Ford 123.995 21.775 + 0.462 32. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 123.944 21.784 + 0.471 33. Kyle Krisiloff Ford 123.808 21.808 + 0.495 34. Dange Hanniford Chevrolet 123.791 21.811 + 0.498 35. Steve Wallace Dodge 123.740 21.820 + 0.507 36. Brent Sherman Chevrolet 123.598 21.845 + 0.532 37. Jon Wood Ford 123.513 21.860 + 0.547 38. Derrike Cope Chevrolet 123.513 21.860 + 0.547 39. DJ Kennington Dodge 123.170 21.921 + 0.608 40. Marcos Ambrose Ford 122.538 22.034 + 0.721 41. Brett Rowe Ford 122.505 22.040 + 0.727 42. Justin Diercks Chevrolet 122.416 22.056 + 0.743 43. Kevin Lepage Ford 120.471 22.412 + 1.099
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