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Kurt Busch Wins Michigan Pole

Info Manager | , RacinToday.com Saturday, 18 June 2011

Kurt Busch won the pole at Michigan on Saturday afternoon. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Alan Marler)

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Kurt Busch won this third straight Sprint Cup pole  Saturday as he and his Penske Racing Dodge laid down the fastest lap for Sunday’s Heluva Good! 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Busch’s lap was 38.156 seconds (188.699 mph).

Busch also won poles at Kansas and Pocono this month, and the 15th of his career. It was also the fourth consecutive pole for Penske Racing – Brad Keselowski started the streak at Charlotte in May.

“It’s great and an amazing feeling to have three poles in a row,” Busch said. “It goes back to the guys and all the hard work, dedication, commitment and most of all, believing in each other.  I didn’t realize that we’ve been in the top 10 all year long in points.  At one point, there was this feeling of, ‘Wow, we’re going to lose this edge if we don’t steer in a different direction’.  I’m thankful that everyone was able to pull together and understand that we should just try something different.  Whether it was right, wrong or indifferent.

“It’s great to see the results pop up so soon.  I had no idea that we were right around the corner.  But, this is a game of thousandths (of a second) and I just saw the 00’s time, he was three-thousandths-of-a-second behind us.  I went Pro Stock racing earlier this year in the NHRA and three-thousandths can be the difference between hero and zero and that’s what we have today.  We have the pole and I have all my guys to thank for it.  A dialed-in Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.  It’s been a great week up here in Michigan at the Dodge headquarters, seeing the Chrysler and Mopar folks, SRT group and the Viper guys.  It’s just a good family feeling up here in Michigan and it’s good to show results out on the track.”

Busch edged David Reutimann (188.684 mph) by .003 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s race.
Reutimann said a slight wiggle in a turn kept him from winning the pole.
“About three-quarters of the way through the corner,” he said. “I put too much wheel to it and let it get loose and bobbled it.  I don’t know why I did that.  I should’ve wound the wheel through there, right?  That’s what’s common.  I felt like I cost us and you feel like you cost yourself a poll especially when it’s that close.
“I’m disappointed. I mean I’m happy that we qualified, but we should’ve been better than that.  We should’ve had enough there.  And, there’s sometimes when you go out there and you leave it all on the race track and when you come in you’re like, ‘I don’t know what I could’ve done different to go any faster.’  This is just not one of those times, unfortunately.”
Matt Kenseth (188.620 mph) qualified third, followed by Brian Vickers (188.157 mph) and Regan Smith (187.607 mph).
“That was a really good lap for us,” Kenseth said. “We were just too lose in three and four and couldn’t quite carry the speed I needed to carry there. I am not the best qualifier in the world but that felt like we got all of it out of it today. That was really good for us.”

Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and Denny Hamlin will start from positions six through 10, respectively. Trevor Bayne qualified 17th for his first Cup race since being sidelined by illness after the April 17 event at Talladega.

Tony Raines, Brian Keselowski and Mike Skinner failed to qualify for the 43-car field.

Info Manager | , RacinToday.com Saturday, 18 June 2011
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