Kurt Busch Wins Pole at Texas Sprint Cup Race

Credit:  Getty Images for NASCAR

FORT WORTH, TX – RIS – Kurt Busch continued his comeback season by winning the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.  Busch, the SHR driver suspended for the first three weeks of the season, captured the pole for the Duck Commander 500. His teammate, two-time 2015 race winner amd 2014 Cup Champion Kevin Harvick, will start beside him for the race Saturday night as his qualifying speed of 193.722 mph was just short of Busch's 193.847 mph on the 1.5-mile track.

"He [Harvick] has a couple of wins," Busch said. "So we still have our work cut out for us to keep up with his pace. But in short runs, qualifying sessions, things like that, it's great to push each other and to have the information go back-and-forth cleanly. It's an exciting time."

Suspended for the first three races after a family court commissioner determined he committed an act of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend in September, Busch has run well since his reinstatement that followed the Delaware attorney general deciding not to file charges. Busch has won two poles in his four qualifying sessions in his first full season being paired with veteran crew chief Tony Gibson.

"His veteran status in this garage is what helps put me at ease," Busch said. "I love his experience level. You put trust in guys and go for it. I'm happy we've got two poles."

Drivers and their teams often have a way of focusing on the task at hand, and Busch's team isn't alone in that task. Last week, NASCAR issued a 75-point penalty to Ryan Newman, a $125,000 fine to crew chief Luke Lambert and six-race suspensions to Lambert and two other Richard Childress Racing crewmen for doctoring tires so air would bleed out of them. Lambert and the crewmen are still allowed to participate pending the outcome of the team's appeal Thursday.

Ford drivers who continued to be fast.  Brad Keselowski will start third and Joey Logano goes out sixth.

Newman will start seventh Saturday.

"We're good," Newman said. "We're just here to race."

Asked about saying he wasn't worried about NASCAR's investigation two weeks ago at Martinsville, Newman responded: "Still not." He didn't elaborate, although team owner Richard Childress said in a statement Thursday that his team has a compelling case for an appeal.

Among those who face immediate adversity for the race Saturday night are the Toyota drivers. Carl Edwards is the highest-starting Toyota driver at 16th with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth starting 17th, Denny Hamlin at 18th and David Ragan 30th.,

Both Michael Waltrip Racing drivers, Clint Bowyer (27th) and Brett Moffit (36th), couldn't muster speed as well.

One driver who surprisingly had a bad day was Earnhardt, who failed to advance to the second round of qualifying for the first time this year. He will start 25th.

"I'm not surprised," said Earnhardt, whose car was fast in race trim but slow in qualifying trim in practice earlier in the day. "I'm disappointed. We didn't have the speed. ... We just didn't have it today, but I feel like we'll race great.

"It's a wide track, so we'll certainly pass guys and work our way to the front".

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the midle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2015, Issue 3, Posted 2:06 AM, 04.11.2015