Nascar
SONOMA, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- Kurt Busch is looking for anything to jump-start his otherwise disappointing season. He took another step toward doing so on Friday.
Busch dominated Friday night's NASCAR Nextel Cup qualifying at Infineon Raceway and will start from the pole in Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350.
It was the second pole this season and fifth career for Busch, who has struggled in his inaugural campaign with Penske Racing South.
"It feels good for our team to win a second pole," said Busch, who will start up front in a Dodge Charger on Sunday. "(It was the) first on a road course for me."
The often abrasive Busch entered this weekend just 16th in the Nextel Cup standings and has placed outside of the top 15 in seven of his last 10 starts.
But Busch has registered a pair of top-10 finishes in his last two starts, including running second in the Pocono 500 on June 11. He will get a chance to continue his recent success Sunday after clocking in at 93.055 miles per hour on Friday night.
The 2004 series champion had words of praise for crew chief Roy McCauley.
"Roy McCauley has a lot of creative ideas in this car," Busch said. "I wanted to take them all out on my first few laps, but we worked on it. It's given us a great starting position.
"We're going to work on the car tomorrow. We've got a lot of good cars behind me."
Busch will be joined on the front row by Jamie McMurray, who qualified at 92.948 mph in a Ford Fusion. McMurray, who replaced Busch at Roush Racing this season, finished second in this event in 2004 and hopes to end a string of 127 consecutive starts without a victory.
Kevin Harvick clocked in at 92.889 mph in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and will start third at Infineon's 1.99-mile road course. He will be flanked on the second row by Ryan Newman, who qualified at 92.812 mph in a Dodge.
Four-time race winner Jeff Gordon will start 11th in a Chevrolet, and defending race champion Tony Stewart will start 12th in a Chevrolet.
Current series points leader Jimmie Johnson, who heads into the weekend with a 74-point cushion over Matt Kenseth, will start 16th in a Chevrolet. Kenseth qualified ninth in a Ford.
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I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with.
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its not THAT much...ive seen and read longer posts
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