To polewinner, Martin Truex Jr., Dover’s Monster Mile is a pleasure.
“I feel like I understand what it takes to get around the place and I think, in the end, I’ve been fortunate enough to have good race cars here. I love coming here and it’s a really, really challenging and difficult race track and if you don’t like it, it is one of those places that you’re never going to figure out and it’s going to be difficult for you,” said Truex who edged Kurt Busch for the pole with a speed 159.004 mph of in a Toyota.
This was True’s sixth career NASCAR Sprint Cup pole and the site of his only win, in 2007 also from the pole, in NASCAR’s top division.
Kurt Busch was slightly slower in a Dodge at 158.982mph. Only the 2004 champion felt he had a tough time on a green track due to overnight rain.
“You just have to man-up and get up on the wheel. I had a good run coming out of Turn two and I hit the rev chip so hard that I scared myself. I yanked on the wheel left and when the car landed, I had to steer right and then go back left. There is lot of action during a lap here at Dover. It’s one of those fun tracks that I just love to race on,” said Busch.
Brickyard 400 winner, Paul Menard, was third in a Chevrolet, and Carl Edwards was fourth fastest in a Ford. With four different manufacturers in the top 4, it showed that no car company had an advantage.
Speaking of advantages NASCAR’s top drivers this year, there were only four Cup Chasers including Kurt Busch, Edwards, Kyle Busch (fifth) and Jimmie Johnson (sixth) in the top ten in qualifying. Only seven chasers qualified in the top 20.
Tony Stewart, who has won the last two Cup races, qualified 28th and Jeff Gordon, seeking a fifth Cup title which would tie him with Johnson, was just plain “slow” in 34th.
Sunday’s race is 400 laps around the concrete paved oval.
“I feel like I understand what it takes to get around the place and I think, in the end, I’ve been fortunate enough to have good race cars here. I love coming here and it’s a really, really challenging and difficult race track and if you don’t like it, it is one of those places that you’re never going to figure out and it’s going to be difficult for you,” said Truex who edged Kurt Busch for the pole with a speed 159.004 mph of in a Toyota.
This was True’s sixth career NASCAR Sprint Cup pole and the site of his only win, in 2007 also from the pole, in NASCAR’s top division.
Kurt Busch was slightly slower in a Dodge at 158.982mph. Only the 2004 champion felt he had a tough time on a green track due to overnight rain.
“You just have to man-up and get up on the wheel. I had a good run coming out of Turn two and I hit the rev chip so hard that I scared myself. I yanked on the wheel left and when the car landed, I had to steer right and then go back left. There is lot of action during a lap here at Dover. It’s one of those fun tracks that I just love to race on,” said Busch.
Brickyard 400 winner, Paul Menard, was third in a Chevrolet, and Carl Edwards was fourth fastest in a Ford. With four different manufacturers in the top 4, it showed that no car company had an advantage.
Speaking of advantages NASCAR’s top drivers this year, there were only four Cup Chasers including Kurt Busch, Edwards, Kyle Busch (fifth) and Jimmie Johnson (sixth) in the top ten in qualifying. Only seven chasers qualified in the top 20.
Tony Stewart, who has won the last two Cup races, qualified 28th and Jeff Gordon, seeking a fifth Cup title which would tie him with Johnson, was just plain “slow” in 34th.
Sunday’s race is 400 laps around the concrete paved oval.