| | Associated Press
CONCORD, N.C. -- Matt Kenseth, a surprise winner in the
Winston Cup race here in April, won the pole Thursday for the Busch
Grand National event.
Kenseth ran a qualifying lap of 178.608 mph on the 1½-mile,
high-banked tri-oval at Lowe's Motor Speedway, shattering the
track's Busch Series qualifying record.
His lap broke the mark Dave Blaney had held since May, when he
put down a lap of 177.608 mph.
It was the fifth pole of Kenseth's Busch Series career, second
this season.
"It was good, nothing wrong with the lap," Kenseth said before
rushing off to work on his Winston Cup car.
Kenseth, leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the race for Winston Cup
Rookie of the Year, picked up his first career Winston Cup victory
in May with a surprise win in the Coca-Cola 600.
He said the Chevrolet he drove Thursday was a different one than
he drove in May's Busch race when he finished 30th.
"The set-up we used from last fall to May was the same, but
this time it was a little different since we brought a different
car," he said. "You have to have all the pieces in place to run
up front and we are trying to stay there. Just like in a Cup car,
we are still learning all the time."
Kenseth, who was 26th-fastest in qualifying for Sunday's UAW-GM
Quality 500, stood on his time in Thursday's second-round
qualifying and will start 26th.
Starting second in Saturday's Busch race will be Dick Trickle.
Ricky Hendrick, son of Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick,
will start third. It's the best qualifying effort in 10 career
Busch races for the 20-year-old driver.
"I've run here since I was a little kid -- well, sorry, I guess
some people still consider me a little kid -- but this is the best
lap I've ever run here," he said.
Has father, who owns the Winston Cup cars driven by Jeff Gordon,
Terry Labonte and Jerry Nadeau, said it's been hard to watch his
son race.
"I am, bar none, the worst owner/father in this garage area,"
he said. "I can not be a car owner when it comes to him -- the
fatherly instincts come out.
"I don't get excited about qualifying much, but I could barely
get off the top of the truck to get down here. Just seeing him do
something like this is like winning the Daytona 500 for me."
Mark Martin, Kenseth's Winston Cup teammate with Roush Racing,
will start fourth. Joe Nemechek is fifth, and is followed be Mike
Skinner, Blaney and Kevin Harvick. Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Casey
Atwood rounded out the top 10. | |
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