Busch starts up front for the All-Star race

“It feels great. It puts us that much closer to a million dollars. Just to have track position early on in the race and to get a good feel for how the car will handle out front, I’m excited about it. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. My boat put the best lap down today.” Busch said.

 

Juan Montoya had the provisional pole with only four drivers left to qualify when the heavy rains began to come down. NASCAR tried to get the final four spots set but the track drying process too longer than expected and the truck race took precedence. “it’s amazing how the whole team is doing. It was hairy (laughs). You know I went in good and I got committed and then I thought, nah, I’m not that committed and I had to lift a little bit in the middle. But it still was a great lap.” Montoya said.

 

With limited time on the track due to a blown engine in practice, three time winner Denny Hamlin is concerned with starting in the back. “This is probably one of the worst situations you could probably have. We didn’t get to practice anything. We don’t have scuffed tires. A lot of guys will probably race scuffed tires because they’re a little bit faster. And we got to start in the back, so it’s like a double, triple, quadruple whammy of blowing the motor this early.” Hamlin said.

 

Saturday’s preliminary Sprint Showdown will allow the top two finishers in that 40-lap race a spot in the premier event, the All-Star. There are 29 drivers trying to make the field. one other entry will be determined through the fan vote.