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Rain Puts Kyle Busch On Pole For Chase Opener

| Managing Editor, RacinToday.com Friday, September 12 2014

RacinToday.com

Rain at Chicagoland Speedway forced cancellation of Friday’s qualifying sessions for Sunday’s MyAFibStory.com 400, the first race in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and put Kyle Busch on the pole for the race.

The rain also forced postponement of Friday night’s Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland.

With the field ordered according to top speeds in Friday’s opening Sprint Cup practice session, Chase drivers Busch, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards will start from the top three positions, respectively.

Busch recorded a top average speed of 191.442 mph on his 21st and final practice lap in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, more than two miles-per-hour faster than Joey Logano’s 2013 track qualifying record of 189.414 mph.

Being the top car in practice also provided a boost of confidence to Busch, who has struggled in his last six races, finishing outside the top 35 four times. Matt Kenseth, Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, will start fifth on Sunday, adding to the critical mass of the JGR organization.

“I think today was a little bit better practice session for myself and the 20 (Kenseth),” Busch said. “I talked to Matt, and he felt a little more positive about things. Matt jumped up there to the top of the board early, and we were able to do so late…

“It’s a good representation of where we feel like we want to be and where we should be, but, again, it’s early—first practice, and not everybody at the end of that practice was in qualifying trim, making qualifying runs… There, later in practice, speeds certainly got quicker.”

Based on top speeds in Thursday NCWTS practice sessions at the 1.5-mile track, series leader Johnny Sauter will start on the pole for the postponed race, which will be run after Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, which begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.

The estimated starting time of the Truck Series race is 7 p.m. ET. Fox Sports 2 will televise the event, the 15th of the season in the NCWTS.

| Managing Editor, RacinToday.com Friday, September 12 2014
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