Until recently it was unusual for Juan Pablo Montoya to be considered as a pole contender. That has changed this year.
On Saturday, going out earlier in cooler temperatures, the ex-Formula One driver took his second pole at the Talladega Superspeedway. It was his third pole this year and fifth since he moved to NASCAR. His previous Talladega pole was in April of 2009.
The key, at the 2.66 mile superspeedway, might have been the ECR motors which powered him to a speed of 184.640mph, and second place Clint Bowyer to a speed of 184.498mph.
“The team did an amazing job,” Montoya said. “We always have really good race cars here. Now we’ll get ourselves a good pit stall for the race and then see what happens.”
And he dedicated the pole to NASCAR executive, Jim Hunter (who passed away on Friday) who was a golf buddy of his as well as mentor in transitioning from Formula 1.
Bowyer, who has been trying to recover from the NASCAR points’ penalty after his victory in Loudon, New Hampshire, was a bit frustrated.
“I did everything I could do. I held it wide open and tried to hold it as straight as possible and be as smooth as possible,” Bowyer said. “There’s no question that our ECR horsepower is the reason we’re sitting on the front row.”
Kurt Busch, the first Sprint Cup champion under the Chase format, qualified third with a run of 184.388 mph. It is the first time Busch has qualified in the top-3 for a restrictor-plate race at either Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway.
“This is one of the biggest moments of my career at a restrictor-plate track. It’s just a whole different feeling,” Busch said. “It’s really exciting to see the crew guys slapping high fives and (crew chief) Steve Addington having that smug smile on his face, knowing that we achieved something special. This is new for my 10 years (in Cup racing), so I’m savouring the moment.”
The feel good story of the day belongs to Joe Nemechek, a four-time pole winner at Talladega who had to qualify on speed and did it handily, taking the fourth quickest time at 184.253.
The top-3 drivers in the Chase didn’t have the type of qualifying day they might have wished for. Kevin Harvick who stands third in the points and winner of the April race at Talladega (also powered by an ECR engine) starts 14th.
Denny Hamlin, who is trying to derail Jimmie Johnson’s drive for an unprecedented fifth straight Cup, starts 17th with Johnson in 19th.
Landon Cassill, Travis Kvapil and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify.
In other NASCAR news, Kyle Busch took the Camping World Truck race at Talladega with a last lap pass of Aric Almirola.
On Saturday, going out earlier in cooler temperatures, the ex-Formula One driver took his second pole at the Talladega Superspeedway. It was his third pole this year and fifth since he moved to NASCAR. His previous Talladega pole was in April of 2009.
The key, at the 2.66 mile superspeedway, might have been the ECR motors which powered him to a speed of 184.640mph, and second place Clint Bowyer to a speed of 184.498mph.
“The team did an amazing job,” Montoya said. “We always have really good race cars here. Now we’ll get ourselves a good pit stall for the race and then see what happens.”
And he dedicated the pole to NASCAR executive, Jim Hunter (who passed away on Friday) who was a golf buddy of his as well as mentor in transitioning from Formula 1.
Bowyer, who has been trying to recover from the NASCAR points’ penalty after his victory in Loudon, New Hampshire, was a bit frustrated.
“I did everything I could do. I held it wide open and tried to hold it as straight as possible and be as smooth as possible,” Bowyer said. “There’s no question that our ECR horsepower is the reason we’re sitting on the front row.”
Kurt Busch, the first Sprint Cup champion under the Chase format, qualified third with a run of 184.388 mph. It is the first time Busch has qualified in the top-3 for a restrictor-plate race at either Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway.
“This is one of the biggest moments of my career at a restrictor-plate track. It’s just a whole different feeling,” Busch said. “It’s really exciting to see the crew guys slapping high fives and (crew chief) Steve Addington having that smug smile on his face, knowing that we achieved something special. This is new for my 10 years (in Cup racing), so I’m savouring the moment.”
The feel good story of the day belongs to Joe Nemechek, a four-time pole winner at Talladega who had to qualify on speed and did it handily, taking the fourth quickest time at 184.253.
The top-3 drivers in the Chase didn’t have the type of qualifying day they might have wished for. Kevin Harvick who stands third in the points and winner of the April race at Talladega (also powered by an ECR engine) starts 14th.
Denny Hamlin, who is trying to derail Jimmie Johnson’s drive for an unprecedented fifth straight Cup, starts 17th with Johnson in 19th.
Landon Cassill, Travis Kvapil and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify.
In other NASCAR news, Kyle Busch took the Camping World Truck race at Talladega with a last lap pass of Aric Almirola.