Nextel Cup
October 26, 2007
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HAMPTON, GA - Greg Biffle won his first pole in more than a year, nipping Kurt Busch for the top spot in Nextel Cup qualifying Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Biffle turned a fast lap of 192.453 mph, while Busch had a 192.426 on the 1.5-mile oval. The time difference between the top two laps was 0.004 seconds.
"They're just giving me good cars to drive and that's all a guy can ask
for," Biffle said. "I normally don't ask for them this good; I just want a
good racecar. But this thing is excellent.
"We were pretty good in race trim and we'll see [in practice Saturday]
morning and in the later session how we end up and be ready to go Sunday."
"I was ecstatic with the lap at the time I did it," Kurt Busch said. "I'm
not so happy now. Congratulations to 'The Biff,' he put a great lap
together."
Dale Jarrett was third fastest as Toyota is starting to show its horsepower
muscle.
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"It's just been that kind of year," said Jarrett, who will run a limited schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing at the beginning of next season before retiring from the cockpit. "You don't know what to expect. My guys put a new body on this chassis from early in the year and it was really fast."
Series leader Jeff Gordon qualified eighth, while runner-up Jimmie Johnson, 53 points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate heading into Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500, will start just ahead of the four-time Cup champion in sixth.
Among the drivers failing to qualify for the 43-car field was the IRL's biggest winner Sam Hornish Jr., who has come up short in six tries to make his Cup debut this year despite driving for the mighty Penske team. His two teammates, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman were 2nd and 9th respectively.
Results
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Lumber Liquidators | 192.453 | 28.807 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 192.426 | 28.811 | -0.004 |
| 3 | 44 | Dale Jarrett | Toyota | UPS | 191.655 | 28.927 | -0.120 |
| 4 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 191.595 | 28.936 | -0.129 |
| 5 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 191.489 | 28.952 | -0.145 |
| 6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 191.199 | 28.996 | -0.189 |
| 7 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | Coors Light / St. Jude Hospital | 190.975 | 29.030 | -0.223 |
| 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Nicorette Cinnamon Surge / DuPont | 190.719 | 29.069 | -0.262 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 190.719 | 29.069 | -0.262 |
| 10 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 190.706 | 29.071 | -0.264 |
| 11 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Cheerios / Betty Crocker | 190.548 | 29.095 | -0.288 |
| 12 | 01 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 190.509 | 29.101 | -0.294 |
| 13 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | M&M's | 190.365 | 29.123 | -0.316 |
| 14 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 190.247 | 29.141 | -0.334 |
| 15 | 25 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | National Guard / GMAC | 190.058 | 29.170 | -0.363 |
| 16 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 189.818 | 29.207 | -0.400 |
| 17 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DEWALT NANO Technology | 189.818 | 29.207 | -0.400 |
| 18 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | FedEx Express | 189.779 | 29.213 | -0.406 |
| 19 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | CARQUEST / Kellogg's | 189.759 | 29.216 | -0.409 |
| 20 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 189.740 | 29.219 | -0.412 |
| 21 | 42 | Juan Montoya* | Dodge | Texaco / Havoline | 189.694 | 29.226 | -0.419 |
| 22 | 18 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries | 189.681 | 29.228 | -0.421 |
| 23 | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | 189.642 | 29.234 | -0.427 |
| 24 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 189.610 | 29.239 | -0.432 |
| 25 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Crown Royal | 189.532 | 29.251 | -0.444 |
| 26 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 189.428 | 29.267 | -0.460 |
| 27 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | Sears Auto Center / Valvoline / Stanley | 189.409 | 29.270 | -0.463 |
| 28 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | AT&T Mobility | 189.370 | 29.276 | -0.469 |
| 29 | 49 | John Andretti | Dodge | Paralyzed Veterans of America | 189.273 | 29.291 | -0.484 |
| 30 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | The Home Depot | 189.209 | 29.301 | -0.494 |
| 31 | 84 | A.J. Allmendinger* | Toyota | Red Bull | 189.092 | 29.319 | -0.512 |
| 32 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Target / Breast Cancer Awareness | 188.796 | 29.365 | -0.558 |
| 33 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Ford | Jim Beam | 188.482 | 29.414 | -0.607 |
| 34 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | 188.079 | 29.477 | -0.670 |
| 35 | 70 | Johnny Sauter | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 188.034 | 29.484 | -0.677 |
| 36 | 15 | Paul Menard* | Chevrolet | Johns Manville / Menards | 187.786 | 29.523 | -0.716 |
| 37 | 6 | David Ragan+* | Ford | AAA | 187.354 | 29.591 | -0.784 |
| 38 | 88 | Ricky Rudd+ | Ford | Snickers Halloween | 187.076 | 29.635 | -0.828 |
| 39 | 45 | Kyle Petty+ | Dodge | Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil | 186.679 | 29.698 | -0.891 |
| 40 | 96 | Tony Raines+ | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV | 186.478 | 29.730 | -0.923 |
| 41 | 66 | Jeremy Mayfield+ | Chevrolet | Best Buy | 185.934 | 29.817 | -1.010 |
| 42 | 22 | Dave Blaney+ | Toyota | Caterpillar | - | - | - |
| 43 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Little Debbie | Champion's Provisional | ||
| Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | 00 | David Reutimann* | Toyota | Dominos.com | 188.758 | 29.371 | -0.564 |
| 45 | 208 | Burney Lamar | Dodge | rhino's energy drink | 188.738 | 29.374 | -0.567 |
| 46 | 06 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 188.655 | 29.387 | -0.580 |
| 47 | 4 | Ward Burton | Chevrolet | State Water Heaters | 187.697 | 29.537 | -0.730 |
| 48 | 36 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | 360 OTC | 187.665 | 29.542 | -0.735 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
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