bigbadbrother
07-12-2014, 02:12 AM
Jay Pennell
With just under two minutes left in Friday's final knockout qualifying round at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch posted the fastest lap of the day at 138.130 mph, shattering the previous track record.
Tony Stewart ran the fast lap early in the final segment, but with just over three minutes remaining, Jimmie Johnson beat Stewart with a lap of 137.790 mph. Just moments later, Busch put up his pole-winning lap.
When the final seconds clicked off the clock, Busch held onto the top spot, followed by Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick.
The pole was the second of the year for Busch, as well as his second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran only one lap in the first of two knockout rounds, saving his tires for a solid run in the final round.
"I gave it everything I had," Busch said. "I thought I was a little too tight, but I guess I was driving through it enough that it was still carrying some good speed. I got the throttle down on both ends. The lap felt good -- it didn't feel that good, but I was thinking it was going to be a solid top-four."
NASCAR president: No 'animosity' toward new Race Team Alliance
Busch was runnerup in both races at New Hampshire last season, and hopes starting out front will help improve that finishing result by one spot.
"We've been close here," Busch said. "The biggest thing is that I always like to take off and go. When I can take off and go, that tends to mean I'm too tight halfway through the run and on after that. That seems like when those guys really seemed to beat us last year was the long runs. The second race here we ran a little better on the long run, but the race was a little bit too short. We just ran out of time to our teammate. All-in-all, last time here JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) was one-two, so we'll see if we can't put the 18 number one this time."
Johnson, who missed the pole by just a couple of thousandths of a second, called Loudon a "scrappy track," and is optimistic about his outlook for Sunday's race.
"It's so tough to get a good lap around here," Johnson said. "The first outing, put up a decent time -- fastest of the day for ourselves -- but still knew that we had to go faster. To come out in the second session on older tires and improve by two-tenths is something to be proud of. Of course you want to get the pole and want to be faster, but Kyle found a little bit more out there than us.
"I feel really good about our Lowe's Chevrolet," the three-time NHMS winner added. "We did some race runs to start practice off. The car was right were we wanted it based on our test session a month ago. Q-trim went really well, too. This helps the weekend go so much easier to race. You have your pit stall pick, start with the track position, and you can fine-tune from here. Hopefully, we'll be able to fine tune and make a race-winning car."
At halfway point, how do Danica's numbers compare with '13?
During the first of the two sessions, Keselowski was the first driver of the day to break the old track record with a lap at 27.791 seconds. However, just moments later, Hamlin bumped Keselowski from the top of the leaderboard with a lap at 27.762 seconds.
For much of the first session, Keselowski's Team Penske teammate Joey Logano held on to the 12th and final transfer spot. However, after Kevin Harvick bumped Logano, the driver of the No. 22 Ford went back on track for another try at making the cutoff for the final session.
Hitting the track with just under six minutes left in the first session, Logano posted the second-fastest lap of Round One.
Among those who missed out on advancing to the second round were rookie Kyle Larson, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, defending race winner Brian Vickers, Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will start Sunday's race from the 28th spot.
All 43 cars entered in the field will race on Sunday, with no drivers failing to qualify for the Camping World RV Sales 301.
Camping World RV Sales 301
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 138.130
2 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 137.790
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 137.081
4 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 137.076
5 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 137.017
6 Joey Logano 22 Ford 136.815
7 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 136.805
8 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 136.702
9 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 136.629
10 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 136.174
11 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 136.058
12 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 135.912
13 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 136.384
14 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 136.296
15 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 136.257
16 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 136.257
17 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 136.223
18 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 136.184
19 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 136.170
20 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 136.150
21 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 136.116
22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 135.922
23 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 135.820
24 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 135.718
25 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 135.487
26 David Ragan 34 Ford 135.385
27 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 135.304
28 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 135.217
29 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 135.117
30 Jeff Burton 66 Toyota 135.117
31 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 134.667
32 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 134.435
33 David Gilliland 38 Ford 134.288
34 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 133.614
35 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 133.576
36 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 133.254
37 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 133.217
38 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 132.177
39 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 131.719
40 Eddie MacDonald 32 Ford 131.560
41 Mike Bliss 93 Toyota 130.779
42 Timmy Hill 87 Toyota 129.379
43 Morgan Shepherd 33 Chevrolet 127.885
With just under two minutes left in Friday's final knockout qualifying round at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch posted the fastest lap of the day at 138.130 mph, shattering the previous track record.
Tony Stewart ran the fast lap early in the final segment, but with just over three minutes remaining, Jimmie Johnson beat Stewart with a lap of 137.790 mph. Just moments later, Busch put up his pole-winning lap.
When the final seconds clicked off the clock, Busch held onto the top spot, followed by Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick.
The pole was the second of the year for Busch, as well as his second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran only one lap in the first of two knockout rounds, saving his tires for a solid run in the final round.
"I gave it everything I had," Busch said. "I thought I was a little too tight, but I guess I was driving through it enough that it was still carrying some good speed. I got the throttle down on both ends. The lap felt good -- it didn't feel that good, but I was thinking it was going to be a solid top-four."
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Busch was runnerup in both races at New Hampshire last season, and hopes starting out front will help improve that finishing result by one spot.
"We've been close here," Busch said. "The biggest thing is that I always like to take off and go. When I can take off and go, that tends to mean I'm too tight halfway through the run and on after that. That seems like when those guys really seemed to beat us last year was the long runs. The second race here we ran a little better on the long run, but the race was a little bit too short. We just ran out of time to our teammate. All-in-all, last time here JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) was one-two, so we'll see if we can't put the 18 number one this time."
Johnson, who missed the pole by just a couple of thousandths of a second, called Loudon a "scrappy track," and is optimistic about his outlook for Sunday's race.
"It's so tough to get a good lap around here," Johnson said. "The first outing, put up a decent time -- fastest of the day for ourselves -- but still knew that we had to go faster. To come out in the second session on older tires and improve by two-tenths is something to be proud of. Of course you want to get the pole and want to be faster, but Kyle found a little bit more out there than us.
"I feel really good about our Lowe's Chevrolet," the three-time NHMS winner added. "We did some race runs to start practice off. The car was right were we wanted it based on our test session a month ago. Q-trim went really well, too. This helps the weekend go so much easier to race. You have your pit stall pick, start with the track position, and you can fine-tune from here. Hopefully, we'll be able to fine tune and make a race-winning car."
At halfway point, how do Danica's numbers compare with '13?
During the first of the two sessions, Keselowski was the first driver of the day to break the old track record with a lap at 27.791 seconds. However, just moments later, Hamlin bumped Keselowski from the top of the leaderboard with a lap at 27.762 seconds.
For much of the first session, Keselowski's Team Penske teammate Joey Logano held on to the 12th and final transfer spot. However, after Kevin Harvick bumped Logano, the driver of the No. 22 Ford went back on track for another try at making the cutoff for the final session.
Hitting the track with just under six minutes left in the first session, Logano posted the second-fastest lap of Round One.
Among those who missed out on advancing to the second round were rookie Kyle Larson, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, defending race winner Brian Vickers, Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will start Sunday's race from the 28th spot.
All 43 cars entered in the field will race on Sunday, with no drivers failing to qualify for the Camping World RV Sales 301.
Camping World RV Sales 301
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 138.130
2 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 137.790
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 137.081
4 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 137.076
5 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 137.017
6 Joey Logano 22 Ford 136.815
7 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 136.805
8 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 136.702
9 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 136.629
10 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 136.174
11 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 136.058
12 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 135.912
13 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 136.384
14 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 136.296
15 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 136.257
16 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 136.257
17 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 136.223
18 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 136.184
19 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 136.170
20 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 136.150
21 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 136.116
22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 135.922
23 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 135.820
24 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 135.718
25 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 135.487
26 David Ragan 34 Ford 135.385
27 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 135.304
28 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 135.217
29 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 135.117
30 Jeff Burton 66 Toyota 135.117
31 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 134.667
32 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 134.435
33 David Gilliland 38 Ford 134.288
34 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 133.614
35 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 133.576
36 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 133.254
37 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 133.217
38 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 132.177
39 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 131.719
40 Eddie MacDonald 32 Ford 131.560
41 Mike Bliss 93 Toyota 130.779
42 Timmy Hill 87 Toyota 129.379
43 Morgan Shepherd 33 Chevrolet 127.885