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CUP:  Sadler On Showdown Pole
Written by: Tom Jensen   
05/16/2008 - 06:28 PM
Charlotte, N.C.
 
Elliot Sadler is on the pole for the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Elliott Sadler captured the pole for tomorrow night’s Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the last-chance race for two drivers who will move up to the $1 million NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV.

The top-two finishers in the 27-car Sprint Showdown field will advance to the All-Star Race tomorrow night, along with a driver who will make it in via a fan vote.

Sadler, who was also the fastest in practice earlier in the day, topped the speed charts in Showdown qualifying with a lap of 185.014 miles per hour in his Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge Charger. “I’m just having fun,” said Sadler. “It’s cool to go this fast.”

Brian Vickers cranked off a lap of 184.786 mph in his Red Bull Racing Toyota, which was good enough for second place. Vickers’s crew won Thursday night’s Sprint Pit Crew Challenge and he was stout in qualifying.

David Ragan continued to show improvement in his second season in the Sprint Cup Series, wheeling his Roush Fenway Racing Ford to a lap of 184.584 mph. Then it was AJ Allmendinger, 184.433 mph in the second Toyota, and Robby Gordon, 184.024 mph in his Dodge.

Kenny Wallace crashed in Turns 1 and 2 on his qualifying attempt, bringing out a 31-minute delay to clean up spilled fluids from his wrecked crew.

Two drivers have
won the Sprint All-Star Race after advancing from the Sprint Showdown, Michael Waltrip in 1996 and Ryan Newman in 2002.

SPRINT SHOWDOWN QUALIFYING RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He 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 to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to


SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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