Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisNascar Dodge Challenger 400 Qualifying at Darlington
May 10th 2008 01:25
During the morning practice at Darlington today, Jimmie Johnson spun and crashed into the wall after putting down his fastest lap of the day (5th fastest overall). He had to go to the team's backup car after the crash. The "Track Too Tough to Tame" lived up to its name in afternoon practice, where Robby Gordon, Paul Menard, and again Jimmie Johnson all crashed. Also, more than half of the forty-five cars practicing ended up with a Darlington Stripe by the time practice was over. The newly-repaved track (which took over 15,000 tons of asphalt to cover) allowed drivers to reach speeds higher than the track record, which would continue later in qualifying.
During Nationwide Series qualifying, Denny Hamlin, who was fastest in practice and the winner of this race for the past two years, went out late and could have easily qualified. Instead, he overdid it a bit while trying to win the pole and crashed during the end of his first lap. This made him one of the "go-homers" for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200. Carl Edwards won the pole while breaking Ryan Newman's series record for this track with a speed of 179.994 MPH. It was Edwards's eighth series pole. The top five on the starting grid was rounded out by Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, David Stremme, and Kyle Busch.
As the track cooled down slowly, it was now time for Sprint Cup Series qualifying. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rolled off early to qualify, and took the pole with a new series record on the track for the moment. He held on to the top spot on the grid for a few drivers, but then Greg Biffle took his laps. Biffle set the new track record at 179.442 MPH and took over the pole. He would hold on to the pole while the rest of the field kept coming up short. Junior would hold on for the outside of the front row. When it was all over, 41 of the 43 drivers who qualified beat Ward Burton's old track record, confirming that the new asphalt is going to speed things up all weekend long. With just 45 cars trying to make the field, the only drivers that failed to qualify were Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter. Pole note: The only driver in the past 31 years to win a Sprint Cup series race at Darlington was Dale Jarret in the spring race of 1997.
Race Time: Saturday May 10, 2008 at 7:00PM EST (US) on FOX
Here is how the field will line up:
Pole: Greg Biffle
2 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
3 Jimmie Johnson (even after crashing two cars in practice)
4 Tony Stewart
5 Kurt Busch
6 Kyle Busch
7 Elliot Sadler
8 Jeff Gordon
9 Scott Riggs
10 Bobby Labonte
11 Kevin Harvick
12 Jeff Burton
13 Dave Blaney
14 Sterling Marlin
15 David Ragan
16 Regan Smith
17 Joe Nemechek
18 Michael McDowell
19 Juan Pablo Montoya
20 Bill Elliot
21 Denny Hamlin
22 Martin Truex, Jr.
23 Sam Hornish, Jr.
24 Travis Kvapil
25 Jamie McMurray
26 A.J. Allmendinger
27 Mark Martin
28 Brian Vickers
29 Casey Mears
30 David Reutiman
31 J.J. Yeley
32 Ryan Newman
33 David Gilliland
34 Matt Kenseth
35 Kyle Petty
36 Carl Edwards
37 Michael Waltrip
38 Clint Bowyer
39 Reed Sorenson
40 Robby Gordon
41 Paul Menard
42 Kasey Khane
43 Patrick Carpentier
During Nationwide Series qualifying, Denny Hamlin, who was fastest in practice and the winner of this race for the past two years, went out late and could have easily qualified. Instead, he overdid it a bit while trying to win the pole and crashed during the end of his first lap. This made him one of the "go-homers" for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200. Carl Edwards won the pole while breaking Ryan Newman's series record for this track with a speed of 179.994 MPH. It was Edwards's eighth series pole. The top five on the starting grid was rounded out by Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, David Stremme, and Kyle Busch.
Greg Biffle
As the track cooled down slowly, it was now time for Sprint Cup Series qualifying. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rolled off early to qualify, and took the pole with a new series record on the track for the moment. He held on to the top spot on the grid for a few drivers, but then Greg Biffle took his laps. Biffle set the new track record at 179.442 MPH and took over the pole. He would hold on to the pole while the rest of the field kept coming up short. Junior would hold on for the outside of the front row. When it was all over, 41 of the 43 drivers who qualified beat Ward Burton's old track record, confirming that the new asphalt is going to speed things up all weekend long. With just 45 cars trying to make the field, the only drivers that failed to qualify were Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter. Pole note: The only driver in the past 31 years to win a Sprint Cup series race at Darlington was Dale Jarret in the spring race of 1997.
Race Time: Saturday May 10, 2008 at 7:00PM EST (US) on FOX
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Here is how the field will line up:
Pole: Greg Biffle
2 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
3 Jimmie Johnson (even after crashing two cars in practice)
4 Tony Stewart
5 Kurt Busch
6 Kyle Busch
7 Elliot Sadler
8 Jeff Gordon
9 Scott Riggs
10 Bobby Labonte
11 Kevin Harvick
12 Jeff Burton
13 Dave Blaney
14 Sterling Marlin
15 David Ragan
16 Regan Smith
17 Joe Nemechek
18 Michael McDowell
19 Juan Pablo Montoya
20 Bill Elliot
21 Denny Hamlin
22 Martin Truex, Jr.
23 Sam Hornish, Jr.
24 Travis Kvapil
25 Jamie McMurray
26 A.J. Allmendinger
27 Mark Martin
28 Brian Vickers
29 Casey Mears
30 David Reutiman
31 J.J. Yeley
32 Ryan Newman
33 David Gilliland
34 Matt Kenseth
35 Kyle Petty
36 Carl Edwards
37 Michael Waltrip
38 Clint Bowyer
39 Reed Sorenson
40 Robby Gordon
41 Paul Menard
42 Kasey Khane
43 Patrick Carpentier
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