HAMPTON, Ga.– The Busch Brothers were going to start 1 and 2 when the green flag flew on Sunday at Atlanta, but a surprise circumstance gave the pole to Kurt.
Kurt Busch won the pole in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 28.938 and a speed of 191.582 mph. Brother Kyle originally won the pole, but his time was disallowed in post-qualifying inspection. The rear toe was askew according to Senior Vice-President of Competition and Racing Development Scott Miller. He said the car passed pre-qualifying inspection. Because this took place during qualifying, there will be no further penalties. Kyle will start 39th on Sunday.
The rear toe was askew according to Senior Vice-President of Competition and Racing Development Scott Miller. He said the car passed pre-qualifying inspection. Because this took place during qualifying, there will be no further penalties. Kyle will start 39th on Sunday.
Miller explained their new process for post qualifying that measures the rear toe and the reason for Kyle Busch’s disqualification.
This is Busch’s 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“It’s an awesome run that the car had in it,” said Busch. “The team did a good job to dial it in for the three rounds. I was just trying to make sure I didn’t slip a tire any extra. It’s really easy to overdrive Atlanta Motor Speedway. The track challenges the driver, the car and the tires. It’s a fun place to come and try to lay down a lap.”
“Overall,” he continued, “with the way the developments came up from tech inspection this shows the amount of enforcement that NASCAR is ready to apply their technical procedures on what a car has to do to comply to all specs.”
Jamie McMurray will start second in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.150 and a speed of 190.190 mph. Trevor Bayne will start third in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 29.181 and a speed of 189.987 mph. Ryan Newman will start fourth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.185 and a speed of 185.961 mph followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who rounded out the top-five in his No. 17 RFR Ford after posting a time of 29.200 and a speed of 189.863 mph.
Kevin Harvick will begin sixth in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Carl Edwards, who had to change a flat tire prior to the start of Round 2 but was allowed to continue on, will start seventh in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Austin Dillon will start eighth in his RCR Chevrolet, Martin Truex Jr. will start ninth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Brian Scott rounds out the top-10 in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Kasey Kahne will start 11th in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet while reigning Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin will start 12th.
Greg Biffle, despite being the lowest of the Roush contingent, gave the “Cat in The Hat” 21 and a half percent of the top-14 starters in his No. 16 Ford. Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson had a poor showing in qualifying and will start 19th. After sneaking his way into the second round, Ryan Blaney will start 23rd.
Complete Starting Lineup:
