Kyle Busch took his first big step towards defending his Brickyard 400 win Saturday afternoon, as he scored the pole for Sunday’s running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With hot conditions on the track making cars slip and slide, Busch led the way in the final round of qualifying, turning a lap around the historic raceway at 48.745 seconds, 184.634 mph. It marks his first career pole at Indianapolis, and the 19th overall of his career.
Busch’s pole came one day after near disaster, when contact with Patrick Carpentier in practice sent his No. 18 Skittles Toyota sliding towards the inside wall. Busch was able to avoid contact with the barrier, and came away with minimal damage.
Busch said he didn’t know if there was necessarily a key to his pole run.
“I just think that everything kind of worked together,” he said. “There’s a lot of different variables that are happening as you go from run to run and round to round and changing what you do as a driver a little bit, but also changing the car a little bit and making adjustments to keep up with the race track. It’s a true testament to all of our teamwork at JGR with the guys that came here and tested for us and got us a good base line.”
Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, was second fastest, giving JGR and Toyota a sweep of the front row.
“I was happy with my lap and I just – I was surprised Kyle (Busch) got me,” said Edwards. “That was a good lap for him – I mean, that was a good lap that he ran because I felt like my lap was pretty good – but, yeah, it’s frustrating right now to be second because it’s so close and the pole position is obviously huge here.
“But by tomorrow, the race gets started and I think I’ll be pretty happy with that starting spot, so just good job by all my guys.”
Two-time race winner and home state hero Tony Stewart was third fastest, establishing himself as a solid contender for the win in his final appearance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I was happy with all three rounds to be honest,” Stewart said. “Yesterday the two runs we made, we didn’t even finish a lap really. We bailed out on the first attempt and the second attempt was terrible. My crew chief did an awesome job. Mike (Bugarewicz, crew chief) did a great job of making changes over night for qualifying, and it showed today. I just wish I could do lap three one more time and not clip the apron in four, I think we could have been on the pole.
“I think after yesterday we were a little better. What we learned today for qualifying, we are going to have to take some of that and try to make our car a little better for tomorrow.”
Denny Hamlin was fourth fastest, with Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 12 qualifiers.
Jeff Gordon, who is coming out of retirement to drive for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as Earnhardt continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, made it as far as the second round of qualifying, but got no further, as he turned in the 21st fastest time.
“Greg Ives and this Axalta Chevrolet team did a great job,” Gordon said. “We made some improvements in the car. It was a nice lap we put out there the first time. We hit all four corners like I was anticipating. We were just a little bit tight, so we wanted to free the car up. When we went out that second time, unfortunately it just freed me up in the wrong areas. I got in the corner and I was real loose getting in. Once I lost all the momentum in turn one, the whole lap was kind of over.
“It is disappointing because I felt pretty good about it.”
Jimmie Johnson paced the first round of qualifying, but failed to make it out of round two, turning in the 13th quickest time.
Other notables include Joey Logano, who was 14th fastest overall, and Chase Elliott, who will roll off from the 15th starting position.
Only one driver, Josh Wise, failed to qualify for the race.
WDUN will have live IMS Radio Network coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 2:30 pm on 102.9 FM and AM 550.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, IN
Brickyard 400 – July 23, 2016
1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 184.634 mph.
2. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 184.547 mph.
3. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 184.328 mph.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 184.079 mph.
5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 183.591 mph.
6. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 183.202 mph.
7. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 182.852 mph.
8. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 182.500 mph.
9. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 182.463 mph.
10. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 182.386 mph.
11. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 182.349 mph.
12. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 182.286 mph.
13. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 183.554 mph.
14. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 183.273 mph.
15. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 183.068 mph.
16. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 183.020 mph.
17. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 182.823 mph.
18. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 182.223 mph.
19. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 182.057 mph.
20. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 181.980 mph.
21. (88) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 181.851 mph.
22. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 181.265 mph.
23. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 181.196 mph.
24. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 180.058 mph.
25. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 183.169 mph.
26. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 183.109 mph.
27. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 182.819 mph.
28. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 182.400 mph.
29. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 182.219 mph.
30. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 182.083 mph.
31. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 181.932 mph.
32. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 181.690 mph.
33. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 181.342 mph.
34. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 180.792 mph.
35. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 179.651 mph.
36. (93) Ryan Ellis(i), Toyota, 179.019 mph.
37. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 178.356 mph.
38. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 177.978 mph.
39. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 176.180 mph.
40. (32) Patrick Carpentier, Ford, 174.027 mph.
Did Not Qualify:
41. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 170.658 mph.
