Advertisement

Kyle Busch wins New Hampshire pole; Scott Dixon tops IndyCar qualifying

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was all smiles Friday after qualifying first for the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
(Nick Laham / Getty Images)
Share

Kyle Busch went from upside down to top of the field.

Busch continued the season-long trend of track record qualifying speeds, turning a lap of 138.130 mph Friday to win the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

It’s the second pole of the season for Busch, who will be joined on the front row by reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray completed the top five. Points leader Jeff Gordon starts 11th. Daytona winner Aric Almirola starts 19th.

Advertisement

Busch starts first a week after he rolled over at Daytona. He was involved in a 25-car wreck that ended with Busch getting flipped upside-down in his No. 18 Toyota.

“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. “Lap felt good. It didn’t feel that good, but it felt good.”

It was the 13th track record set this season.

::

Scott Dixon will start from the pole for Saturday’s IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway in Newton.

Dixon will be joined on the top line by Target Chip Ganassi teammate Tony Kanaan after single-car qualifying on Friday.

Helio Castroneves will start third, followed by Ryan Briscoe, Carlos Munoz and Sebastien Bourdais.

Team Penske has three of the top four drivers in the points chase with co-leaders Castroneves and Will Power as well as last week’s winner, Juan Pablo Montoya.

Advertisement

But Penske has never won in seven starts at Iowa, while Andretti Autosport drivers have won four consecutive races on Iowa’s short track. The pole winner has never gone on to win an IndyCar race in Iowa.

::

Erik Jones led for 131 of 200 laps and won the NASCAR Trucks series race in Newton, Iowa, giving Kyle Busch Motorsports its seventh win in nine races this season.

It’s the second career win for the 18-year-old Jones, and the sixth victory of 2014 for the No. 51 truck.

Ryan Blaney was second, followed by Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter and German Quiroga Jr.

Advertisement