Truex Jr on Busch Pole in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - NASCAR Busch series points leader Martin Truex Jr. won his seventh pole of the season in qualifying Friday at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Truex, 144 points ahead of Kyle Busch, sped around the three-quarter-mile oval in a Chevrolet at 120.198 mph. But that lap - just off Jeff Green’s four-year-old qualifying record of 120.267 - was achieved only after some hard work.
Truex, a five-time winner on the circuit this season, had the second-fastest lap in practice behind Ron Hornaday. But adjustments before qualifying gave Truex the top spot for Saturday’s Sam’s Town 250.
“We didn’t have the best car when we started, and we worked real hard and figured out a way to make our car faster than everybody else’s,” Truex said.
Truex, who has won only once from the pole, qualified 10 spots ahead of Busch. But Truex doesn’t figure Busch will make it easy for him.
“For some reason, we just can’t get away from each other,” Truex said. “We can start 30th and first, and at the end of the race, we’ll be fifth and sixth.”
Former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, running in his first Busch race in more than 10 years, qualified second in a Dodge. Elliott, racing only occasionally on the Nextel Cup circuit, went 119.601.
