When Kyle Busch grabbed the pole for the Sprint Cup race it was one of the last things on his check-off list.
Driving a Toyota he edged the time set moments before by AJ Allmendinger’s Ford.
“I’ve won races at road courses, but have yet to be the fastest guy for one lap. Today we did that,” Busch said.
Busch’s lap of 126.421 mph eclipsed the Sprint Cup record of 124.580 mph set by Jeff Gordon in 2003.
That pole shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise because his teammate, Joey Logano, won the pole at Infineon Raceway, the previous NASCAR Sprint Cup road course.
Over at Richard Petty Motorsports, where Allmendinger and Australian teammate Marcos Ambrose drive, there had to be a bit of disappointment in spite of qualifying second and third because both drivers come from a road course background.
“I was just a little tentative getting in the bus stop, sitting there in line I could see the track was really dirty getting in, so I was a little bit conservative and tried to make it all up through the bus stop and got a bit loose, so I lost a bit of time there,” said Allmendinger.
Ambrose had gone out late in the qualifying order and was the provisional polesitter until his teammate made his run.
“I felt a little unfortunate really. We probably had the hardest part of the practice and I underdrove it just a little bit, but we’re proud of our efforts. It would have been great to be on the front row with AJ, but we’ll start third in the race.”
Five-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, was the fastest Chevrolet qualifier in fourth spot.
"It is hard for me to say that I did (leave anything on the table). I didn't beat the pace that some guys did yesterday, so I think there might be some speed out there.
"But the changes that we made really calmed down my car, I knew that was the fasted lap I had made and the most put together I've made,” said Johnson.
Brad Keselowski continuing to recuperate from his crash in testing at Road Atlanta and coming off his victory at Pocono last Sunday had the fastest Dodge qualifying twelfth.
Andrew Ranger will start 35th in a Ford and Ron Fellows will start 38th in a Chevrolet.
Dave Blaney, Brian Simo and P.J. Jones failed to qualify.
Driving a Toyota he edged the time set moments before by AJ Allmendinger’s Ford.
“I’ve won races at road courses, but have yet to be the fastest guy for one lap. Today we did that,” Busch said.
Busch’s lap of 126.421 mph eclipsed the Sprint Cup record of 124.580 mph set by Jeff Gordon in 2003.
That pole shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise because his teammate, Joey Logano, won the pole at Infineon Raceway, the previous NASCAR Sprint Cup road course.
Over at Richard Petty Motorsports, where Allmendinger and Australian teammate Marcos Ambrose drive, there had to be a bit of disappointment in spite of qualifying second and third because both drivers come from a road course background.
“I was just a little tentative getting in the bus stop, sitting there in line I could see the track was really dirty getting in, so I was a little bit conservative and tried to make it all up through the bus stop and got a bit loose, so I lost a bit of time there,” said Allmendinger.
Ambrose had gone out late in the qualifying order and was the provisional polesitter until his teammate made his run.
“I felt a little unfortunate really. We probably had the hardest part of the practice and I underdrove it just a little bit, but we’re proud of our efforts. It would have been great to be on the front row with AJ, but we’ll start third in the race.”
Five-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, was the fastest Chevrolet qualifier in fourth spot.
"It is hard for me to say that I did (leave anything on the table). I didn't beat the pace that some guys did yesterday, so I think there might be some speed out there.
"But the changes that we made really calmed down my car, I knew that was the fasted lap I had made and the most put together I've made,” said Johnson.
Brad Keselowski continuing to recuperate from his crash in testing at Road Atlanta and coming off his victory at Pocono last Sunday had the fastest Dodge qualifying twelfth.
Andrew Ranger will start 35th in a Ford and Ron Fellows will start 38th in a Chevrolet.
Dave Blaney, Brian Simo and P.J. Jones failed to qualify.