BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Kyle Busch won his first career pole at Bristol Motor Speedway with a track record qualifying lap.
Busch turned a lap at 129.535 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to take the top starting spot for Sunday’s race. It beat the record of 128.709 set by Ryan Newman in 2003, which had been the first sub-15 second lap at Bristol.
Busch’s lap was 14.813 seconds, besting Newman’s lap of 14.908.
Kasey Kahne qualified second in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports with a lap at 128.995, and Busch’s teammate Denny Hamlin was third at 128.960. Brian Vickers was fourth in a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing and Paul Menard was fifth in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Defending series champion Brad Keselowski was the highest qualifying Ford driver in seventh.
