Kyle Busch won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the New Hampshire Grid on Friday, and New Hampshire's track record was the latest to fall after Busch posted a 138.130 mph qualifying lap. Live stream the race for free by clicking this link or simply watch the action on TNT.
Busch is fortunate to be racing in this one after his car flipped over at Daytona as part of a 25-car crash. "I thought it was a little bit tight but I guess I was driving through it enough that it was still carrying good speed," Busch said of his speedy qualifying lap. "Lap felt good. It didn't feel that good, but it felt good."
Jimmie Johnson came in second in qualifying, but expressed very little surprise to see the 13th track record get smashed this season. "We knew the track record was going to fall, especially at one of the places where testing started," Johnson said. "I was very optimistic coming into qualifying today. I thought I had enough to get it there. Then I saw Kyle's lap. He definitely put one down."
Typically Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have been battling one another for poles at this time, but for this week they'll be together again-just at No. 6 and No. 7. "That sure is neat to see, for sure," Keselowski said. "We joke about it all the time that we end up qualifying right next to each other. The consistency of the cars is amazing and it shows where we are at with drivers too."
The real story of this field though is the man in 43rd position, Morgan Shepherd. He'll be behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet, and at 72 years old he'll be the oldest driver to every start a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
STARTING GRID
POS
DRIVER
MANUFACTURER
CAR
SPEED
1
Kyle Busch
Toyota
138.130 mph
2
Jimmie Johnson
Chevrolet
137.790 mph
3
Denny Hamlin
Toyota
137.081 mph
4
Tony Stewart
Chevrolet
137.076 mph
5
Jamie McMurray
Chevrolet
137.017 mph
6
Joey Logano
Ford
136.815 mph
7
Brad Keselowski
Ford
136.805 mph
8
Clint Bowyer
Toyota
136.702 mph
9
Martin Truex Jr.
Chevrolet
136.629 mph
10
Kasey Kahne
Chevrolet
136.174 mph
11
Jeff Gordon
Chevrolet
136.058 mph
12
Kevin Harvick
Chevrolet
135.912 mph
13
Kyle Larson
Chevrolet
136.384 mph
14
Carl Edwards
Ford
136.296 mph
15
Matt Kenseth
Toyota
136.257 mph
16
Paul Menard
Chevrolet
136.257 mph
17
Brian Vickers
Toyota
136.223 mph
18
Kurt Busch
Chevrolet
136.184 mph
19
Aric Almirola
Ford
136.170 mph
20
AJ Allmendinger
Chevrolet
136.150 mph
21
Marcos Ambrose
Ford
136.116 mph
22
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Ford
135.922 mph
23
Austin Dillon
Chevrolet
135.820 mph
24
Ryan Newman
Chevrolet
135.718 mph
25
Justin Allgaier
Chevrolet
135.487 mph
26
David Ragan
Ford
135.385 mph
27
Greg Biffle
Ford
135.304 mph
28
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chevrolet
135.217 mph
29
Danica Patrick
Chevrolet
135.117 mph
30
Jeff Burton
Toyota
135.117 mph
31
Casey Mears
Chevrolet
134.667 mph
32
Josh Wise
Chevrolet
134.435 mph
33
David Gilliland
Ford
134.288 mph
34
Landon Cassill
Chevrolet
133.614 mph
35
Cole Whitt
Toyota
133.576 mph
36
Alex Bowman
Toyota
133.254 mph
37
Reed Sorenson
Chevrolet
133.217 mph
38
Ryan Truex
Toyota
132.177 mph
39
Michael Annett
Chevrolet
131.719 mph
40
Eddie MacDonald
Ford
131.560 mph
41
Mike Bliss
Toyota
130.779 mph
42
Timmy Hill
Toyota
129.379 mph
43
Morgan Shepherd
Chevrolet
127.885 mph
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