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Truex takes pole for race in Texas
By The Associated Press
Saturday, November 03, 2007 | No comments posted.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Earlier this year, Martin Truex Jr. got his first NASCAR Nextel Cup win. Now he has his first pole, too.
The 27-year-old Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver turned a lap of 193.105 mph Friday at Texas Motor Speedway to grab the top spot for the Dickies 500. The pole came in the 79th race of Truex’s Cup career and it came in a Chevrolet that had to undergo major repairs after a crash Sunday at Atlanta.
“I’ve got to hand it to all the guys on this team,” Truex said. “They rebuilt this car from last week. It’s my favorite car and it has been for a good part of the season. They made it as good as new.”
Having the car ready for this weekend hardly looked possible after Denny Hamlin bogged down on a late restart with what was later diagnosed as water in his fuel line, and Truex rammed him from behind — hard.
The crew of Truex’s No. 1 Chevy never hesitated, starting to work immediately after getting the battered car back to the garage.
Still, even with his favorite car, Truex, who has been second in qualifying three times, was a bit surprised to finally be on the pole.
“There’s been a few times when we’ve been second or somewhere else in the top 10 where we thought we had a great shot at the pole,” he said. “Today, I wasn’t really sure.”
His pole wasn’t assured until series leader Jeff Gordon, the second to last of 48 drivers to make a qualifying attempt on the 1.5-mile oval, came up just short at 192.424.
Gordon was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya at 192.417, Kevin Harvick and A.J. Allmendinger, both at 192.239, Kurt Busch at 192.164 and Hamlin at 192.130.
Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion who trails Gordon by just nine points going into Sunday’s race, qualified eighth. Third-place Clint Bowyer, 111 points out of the lead, was the slowest of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the championship, qualifying 29th.
Asked if outqualifying Johnson will make a difference Sunday, Gordon said, “I think it’s too early to tell. I think tomorrow’s practice will tell more.”
Truex became the 17th driver to win a Cup pole this season, one shy of NASCAR’s modern era record set in 1997 and matched in 2001.
The 27-year-old Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver turned a lap of 193.105 mph Friday at Texas Motor Speedway to grab the top spot for the Dickies 500. The pole came in the 79th race of Truex’s Cup career and it came in a Chevrolet that had to undergo major repairs after a crash Sunday at Atlanta.
“I’ve got to hand it to all the guys on this team,” Truex said. “They rebuilt this car from last week. It’s my favorite car and it has been for a good part of the season. They made it as good as new.”
Having the car ready for this weekend hardly looked possible after Denny Hamlin bogged down on a late restart with what was later diagnosed as water in his fuel line, and Truex rammed him from behind — hard.
The crew of Truex’s No. 1 Chevy never hesitated, starting to work immediately after getting the battered car back to the garage.
Still, even with his favorite car, Truex, who has been second in qualifying three times, was a bit surprised to finally be on the pole.
“There’s been a few times when we’ve been second or somewhere else in the top 10 where we thought we had a great shot at the pole,” he said. “Today, I wasn’t really sure.”
His pole wasn’t assured until series leader Jeff Gordon, the second to last of 48 drivers to make a qualifying attempt on the 1.5-mile oval, came up just short at 192.424.
Gordon was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya at 192.417, Kevin Harvick and A.J. Allmendinger, both at 192.239, Kurt Busch at 192.164 and Hamlin at 192.130.
Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion who trails Gordon by just nine points going into Sunday’s race, qualified eighth. Third-place Clint Bowyer, 111 points out of the lead, was the slowest of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the championship, qualifying 29th.
Asked if outqualifying Johnson will make a difference Sunday, Gordon said, “I think it’s too early to tell. I think tomorrow’s practice will tell more.”
Truex became the 17th driver to win a Cup pole this season, one shy of NASCAR’s modern era record set in 1997 and matched in 2001.
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