It took two tries, but Dale Earnhardt Jr finally prevailed and grabbed the Bud Pole at Pocono. Earnhardt Jr was on the track qualifying when rain wiped out his first qualifying attempt, after a 45 minute rain delay Earnhardt was first out and romped around a cool, fast track to a speed of 169.975 and his first Bud Pole of the year.

It’s Budweiser and Miller Lite for an all brew front row at Pocono.

“I beat the Miller car, that’s all that matters” quipped Earnhardt Jr. after seeing he knocked Busch off the pole.

It’s Earnhardt Jr’s seventh Bud Pole and first Bud Pole since Kansas in 2002, an amazing 171 races since he last sat on the pole. Ironically, Pocono also marks the return of crew chief Tony Eury, who was recently suspended for rules infractions by NASCAR.

“I tried to get them, but they are hard to get.”

Kurt Busch was quickest in practice in his Miller Lite Dodge and qualified second fastest with a speed of 169.863. Rounding out the top 5 were Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

Bud Pole qualifying started on time and Kurt Busch sat on the provisional pole until the rain came. Dale Earnhardt Jr was on the track in the middle of his qualifying effort when the rain started to fall. Earnhardt Jr pulled off the track midway through his qualifying lap, NASCAR agreed and threw the caution flag delaying qualifying until the rain was over.

Earnhardt Jr then spent the next 45 minutes signing autographs for fans on pit lane until the qualifying.

Earnhardt Jr was the first of 10 cars to qualify on a decidedly cooler and faster track. Earnhardt Jr took full advantage of the conditions and rocketed to his first Bud Pole of the year,

With only six races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup which begins in New Hampshire, Earnhardt Jr currently sits in 12th place, currently just inside the bubble to make the Chase. Kurt Busch sits just outside the bubble in 13th place for the Chase, and just 13 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With one win and six top 5 finishes, Kurt Busch has been one of the toughest drivers to beat at Pocono and will look to slip inside the bubble for the Chase.

A.J. Allmendinger and David Ragan both hit the wall during morning practice and were forced to qualify using their backup cars. Ragan made the race, but Allmendinger, Mike Bliss and Kenny Wallace all failed to qualify.

Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 marks the first race of the year that ESPN will provide the TV coverage.

Open wheel driver Bobby Santos III grabbed the pole for the ARCA RE/MAX Pennsylvania 200 in his Scuderia O2 Toyota as a development driver for Bill Davis Racing.

Results

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