Take a look at the full Bristol Motor Speedway starting lineup below.
Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota to the pole in qualifying for the Food City 500 Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Busch’s fast lap of 14.813 seconds at 129.535 mph around the .533-mile oval broke the previous track qualifying record of 14.908 seconds at 128.709 mph set by Ryan Newman on March 21, 2003. This was Busch’s 11th career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his first at Bristol. It was also the 63rd Sprint Cup pole for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).
“We never really worried too much about qualifying runs with our M&M’s Camry here at Bristol,” said Busch, who has five Sprint Cup wins at Bristol, including a sweep of the track’s two Sprint Cup races in 2009. “But this new car, I like driving it because you can drive it a lot more like the older car we had years ago where you can abuse it a little bit and try to drive a little bit harder. The old car was about being smooth and precise. This one, you can make more speed by trying a little harder.”
Busch’s JGR teammates – Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry – qualified third and 12th, respectively. Hamlin posted a time of 14.879 seconds at 128.960 mph, while Kenseth clocked in at 15.008 seconds at 127.852 mph.
Kasey Kahne will start alongside Busch on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 14.875 seconds at 128.995 mph. Hamlin, Brian Vickers (14.929 seconds at 128.528 mph) and Paul Menard (14.949 seconds at 128.356 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-four drivers attempted to qualify for the 43-car field. Scott Riggs was the lone driver who did not make the race.
Toyota took the top spot among manufacturers via Busch’s record-setting pole run. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Kahne. Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to seventh-quick Brad Keselowski (14.966 seconds at 128.211mph).
The Food City 500 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 17 with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 12:30 p.m.
Bristol Motor Speedway Starting Lineup (Food City 500)
Pos. No. Driver Car Speed
1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 129.535 mph
2. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 128.995
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 128.960
4. (55) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 128.528
5. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 128.356
6. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 128.288
7. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 128.211
8. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 128.005
9. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 127.946
10. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 127.877
11. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 127.869
12. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 127.852
13. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 127.835
14. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 127.792
15. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, 127.588
16. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 127.512
17. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 127.470
18. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 127.453
19. (78) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 127.393
20. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 127.377
21. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 127.360
22. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 127.360
23. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 127.300
24. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 127.258
25. (83) David Reutimann, Toyota, 127.132
26. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, 126.595
27. (95) Scott Speed, Ford, 126.578
28. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 126.52
29. (51) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 126.420
30. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 126.403
31. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 126.237
32. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 125.947
33. (7) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 125.848
34. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, 125.740
35. (36) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 125.732
36. (19) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 125.708
37. (93) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, Owner Points
38. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Owner Points
39. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Owner Points
40. (35) Josh Wise, Ford, Owner Points
41. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Owner Points
42. (33) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Owner Points
43. (32) Terry Labonte, Ford, Owner Points
Failed to qualify: (44) Scott Riggs, Ford, 124.452.
