Kyle Busch
takes pole for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400; is joined on the front row at Daytona by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth swept the front row for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch turned a lap at 193.723 mph in Friday qualifying to win the pole. Kenseth was second at 193.299.
It’s Busch’s third pole of the season and 13th of his career, but his first for a restrictor-plate race.
“I’ve not had many opportunities for me to win poles at restrictor-plate races, so I’ve got to thank the team, all the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing that did such a good job building a slick race car,” Busch said. “It’s a team effort coming to these places and having great race cars.”
“It’s cool to sit on the pole here and knowing that I have a fast race car and qualifying well.”
Kenseth led 86 laps at Daytona in February and was out front with teammates Busch and Denny Hamlin right behind him when his engine failed. Two laps later, Busch was headed to the garage with his own race-ending failure.
“We were lined up 1-23 when I broke and Kyle broke shortly after that,” said Kenseth. “Our plate stuff has been really fast this year. Qualifying doesn’t always mean a lot at a superspeedway, but it’s nice to start up front. Hopefully we can keep it up and stay in front of any potential trouble.”
Clint Bowyer qualified second and Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. was fifth as Toyota drivers took four of the first five spots. Kasey Kahne wedged his Chevrolet in at fourth.
Paul Menard was sixth in a Chevrolet, and MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip was seventh in another Toyota.
Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was eighth, followed by rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate, Greg Biffle, as the highest-qualifying Fords.
Danica Patrick wound up qualifying 11th in her return to Daytona, where she became the first woman to start from the pole in the season-opening Daytona 500.
DEVELOPMENTS
Kenseth wins: Matt Kenseth won the Nationwide Series Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday.
Kenseth was leading when the race resumed with two laps to go after a red-flag stoppage of nearly 10 minutes. James Buescher hooked onto his back bumper and the two broke away from the pack.
Third went to Elliott Sadler.
Kurt Busch finished fourth in a car designed with the City Chevrolet paint scheme from the 1990 movie “Days of Thunder.”
Ground broken: The In- ternational Speedway Organization broke ground Friday on the redevelopment of Daytona’s front stretch.
The project, which is expected to be completed in January 2016, will cost between $375 million and $ 400 million. The expected result will be five expanded and redesigned fan entrances along International Speedway Boulevard, wider seating, and more restroom and concessions throughout.
Mercedes cars dominate: At Nuerburgring, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominated the first practice for the German Grand Prix on Friday, and the new tires supplied by Pirelli held up.
Leading drivers have threatened to withdraw from Sunday’s Formula One race if tire problems persist. The tires became an issue at last week’s British GP, where five cars had blowouts, leading drivers to express concern for the safety of everyone at the track. This weekend, the belt on the rear tires will be made of Kevlar instead of steel in an effort to reduce punctures.
Hamilton set the pace in practice Friday, completing the fastest lap in 1 minute, 31.754 seconds.
Rosberg, winner of two of the last three races, was .219 seconds behind. Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third and Force India’s Adrian Sutil was fourth.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel, still looking for his first win on home soil, was eighth fastest. His closet challenger, Fernando Alonso, failed to complete a lap in his Ferrari, apparently due to electrical problems.