Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch was going to lead the Sprint Cup field to the green Sunday after winning his first career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday evening. However, in post qualifying inspection NASCAR said the rear toe was off on the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Busch and disallowed his qualifying time. NASCAR said there would be no further penalties, but Kyle will start from the back of the 39-car field and older brother Kurt will start from the pole. NASCAR made the announcement at 7:15 p.m.
Busch, who didn’t race here last year due to an injury, put down a lap of 28.925, 191.668 miles per hour near the 1:30 mark of the final five minute session, initially knocking off his older brother Kurt who had grabbed the pole near the three minute mark. Due to the time being disallowed however, Kurt Busch will now start on pole with Jamie McMurray moving up to the front row in the second starting spot. The pole is the 20th of Kurt’s career, and his first at Atlanta.
“It’s an awesome run that the car had in it,” Busch said after learning he had inherited the pole.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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