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[/media-credit]Friday, May 18, 2012
Busch Grabs Pole For NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race; Allmendinger Starts No. 1 in Sprint Showdown
On the final qualifying pass of the night, Kyle Busch grabbed the pole position in Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. (Photo credit: HHP/Harold Hinson)
Friday, May 18, 2012 PIT NOTE #5
ALLMENDINGER ON POLE FOR SHOWDOWN – A.J. Allmendinger will start from the pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Showdown, the final qualifying race for the weekend’s big event, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
The Showdown will consist of two 20-lap segments, and the top two finishers will transfer to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. A final transfer will be awarded to the driver with the most fan votes.
“Position is going to be everything,” Allmendinger said. “It’s going to be a tough race, but so far so good. I’m happy to put the car up front and have a good start at this thing.”
Martin Truex Jr. will start second in the Showdown, and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start third.
KYLE BUSCH GRABS ALL-STAR POLE – Kyle Busch stole the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race with the final run of the afternoon, completing three laps and a four-tire pit stop in 119.112 seconds. He unseated Ryan Newman, who had held the top spot for much of qualifying with a run in 119.821 seconds.
Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5.
The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will begin Saturday at approximately 9 p.m. It will consist of four 20-lap segments, a mandatory pit stop, and a final 10-lap shootout. The winners of the first four segments will enter the mandatory pit stop in positions 1-4. The running order leaving the pits will determine the starting positions for the final segment.
QUOTES
Kyle Busch (Pole sitter, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) – “It was a team effort. That is what it all boils down to. We were trying some things and looking at our race stuff. We felt like we had a really good shot at the pole going out late. It’s an honor for us. That’s two in a row for us here. It’s Dave Rogers and all the guys on the team. Just let these guys have at it, and they will get it done. It’s certainly a really good starting spot for us. We love coming out here and having this kind of format where the team is involved and the pit stop. We laid down a good lap I felt like, trying to get the most out of the car. We were trying to get the most out of coming down pit road. The guys did a great job taking on four tires and fuel there. Overall, it was a real good day, so we’re looking forward to being able to carry on for tomorrow.”
Dave Rogers (Crew Chief, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) – “This event is so exciting for all of us. Every week the entire team is involved, but this just puts emphasis on that team effort. Like Kyle said, hats off to our engineering group for their work during the week. Our thanks to the whole team for preparing our race cars. Kyle drove a phenomenal lap. I’m pretty sure we got the fastest lap on the race track. And our pit crew puts us on the front row to start the race. Winning a segment is a great advantage and starting up there gives us a chance to get that done early. And then we have some options at the end of the race with the strategy.”
