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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Kurt Busch On Vegas Pole
Las Vegas native Kurt Busch was fastest in Friday qualifying for the Shelby American...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 26, 2010   Las Vegas, NV

Kurt Busch won the pole and set a new track record in the process for the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Prodigal son Kurt Busch captured the pole for Sunday's Shelby American NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, knocking off Jeff Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the process.

Results: Shelby American Qualifying

Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion and a native of Las Vegas, had it all going on Friday afternoon, as his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge Charger roared to the pole with a track record lap of 188.719 miles per hour. It was his first pole in 85 races, dating back to Auto Club Speedway in 2007.

According to Busch, the team only made one mock-qualifying run during the day's lone 90-minute practice session, when he failed to crack the top 20. But he and crew chief Steve Addington put their heads together and game up with a winning strategy.

“It was really rough over the bumps, and that was all we focused on,” said Busch. “And I felt like that made the difference in the end. We didn't really tighten the car up or loosen the car up, we just focused on those bumps.”

Busch did his part, too.

“I was getting up on the wheel, don't get me wrong,” he said. “I love Vegas, I love this atmosphere. I just need to get it together for the full 400 miles on Sunday.”

The pole-winning run disrupted what until then had been an all-Hendrick Motorsports show.

Dale Earnhardt rolled off as the second qualifier in his Hendrick No. 88 Chevy, and he immediately beat the track record by more than three-tenths of a second, stunning the field with a lap of 188.173 mph.

“It was a good lap,” Earnhardt said. “We worked really hard to get the National Guard Chevy as good as we could.”

It appeared that Earnhardt's speed might hold up and give him his first pole since Texas in April 2008. But Gordon, the 27th driver to set a time, bumped Earnhardt off the pole with a thundering lap of 188.646 mph.

“I'm a little speechless, so 'wow' might be the only word I have,” said Gordon after his pole-winning lap. “That was a really fun lap. Man, these guys have just done an awesome job. … I got both of ends of it pretty good, but it was on the edge.”

But Gordon's joy was short-lived, as Busch quickly pushed him off the pole and onto the outside of Row 1 with a lap that was .011 seconds quicker than Gordon.

Timing and scoring were briefly disrupted by a minor generator explosion in the infield. There were no reported injuries.

When the dust settled, Kurt Busch had the pole, followed by Gordon, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt and Kyle Busch, the defending race winner.

The second five consisted of Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Failing to make the race were Casey Mears and Terry Cook.

Results: Shelby American Qualifying

NASCAR.speedtv.com/results

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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