Toyota Red Bull Racing Team driver Brian Vickers continued the No. 83 team’s forward momentum by winning his series-leading sixth pole of the season, and eleventh of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, by turning a lap of 38.453 seconds and 187.242 mph. The pole marks Vickers’ third pole in a row at Michigan International Speedway. June's Michigan winner Mark Martin will start outside the front row.
Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex, Jr. completed the first five qualifiers.
Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Bill Elliott and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 10.
“The car was decent in practice,” said Vickers, “but we made some changes to make the car better for qualifying – and it worked. Turns one and two were fantastic; in turns three and four, I felt like I left a little on the table. I think we could have run an even faster lap.”
Qualifying for the pole position is especially important at MIS because of the guarantee of pit stall number one.
“The first pit stall in Michigan is the closest of any pit stall on the circuit to the scoring line, the exit line,” explained Vickers.
“That is why teams put more emphasis on qualifying here.” “But you know, you never wish a good thing away, but I would probably give up every one of this season’s poles for a win.”
And that is exactly the goal of Vickers and the No. 83 team – win the race on Sunday by capitalizing on their starting position at the front of the field. With four races to go before the cut off to make NASCAR’s Chase, Vickers sits in 14th position, 96 points out of 12th. n “I feel good about the position we are in. We are less than one hundred points out and we’re headed upwards not downwards,” said Vickers.
“The momentum is going in the right direction. I think our chances are as good as anyone in that bubble area. For us, the target is in front of us and we know what we have to do and we just have to go do it.”
Results
| POS |
CAR |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
SPEED |
TIME |
BEHIND |
| 1 |
83 |
Brian Vickers |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
187.242 |
38.453 |
Leader |
| 2 |
5 |
Mark Martin |
Chevrolet |
Kellogg's / Carquest |
187.013 |
38.500 |
-0.047 |
| 3 |
42 |
Juan Montoya |
Chevrolet |
Target |
186.819 |
38.540 |
-0.087 |
| 4 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet |
Lowe's |
186.432 |
38.620 |
-0.167 |
| 5 |
1 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Bass Pro Shops / Tracker |
186.263 |
38.655 |
-0.202 |
| 6 |
2 |
Kurt Busch |
Dodge |
Miller Lite |
186.157 |
38.677 |
-0.224 |
| 7 |
39 |
Ryan Newman |
Chevrolet |
Haas Automation |
185.912 |
38.728 |
-0.275 |
| 8 |
20 |
Joey Logano* |
Toyota |
The Home Depot |
185.850 |
38.741 |
-0.288 |
| 9 |
21 |
Bill Elliott |
Ford |
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center |
185.807 |
38.750 |
-0.297 |
| 10 |
9 |
Kasey Kahne |
Dodge |
Budweiser |
185.783 |
38.755 |
-0.302 |
| 11 |
82 |
Scott Speed* |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
185.778 |
38.756 |
-0.303 |
| 12 |
25 |
Brad Keselowski |
Chevrolet |
GoDaddy.com |
185.730 |
38.766 |
-0.313 |
| 13 |
44 |
A.J. Allmendinger |
Dodge |
Super 8 |
185.634 |
38.786 |
-0.333 |
| 14 |
77 |
Sam Hornish Jr. |
Dodge |
Mobil 1 |
185.577 |
38.798 |
-0.345 |
| 15 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
National Guard / Amp Energy |
185.486 |
38.817 |
-0.364 |
| 16 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
FedEx Office |
185.447 |
38.825 |
-0.372 |
| 17 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
3M Scotch Tough Duct Tape |
185.385 |
38.838 |
-0.385 |
| 18 |
14 |
Tony Stewart |
Chevrolet |
Office Depot / Old Spice |
185.309 |
38.854 |
-0.401 |
| 19 |
26 |
Jamie McMurray |
Ford |
Crown Royal |
185.266 |
38.863 |
-0.410 |
| 20 |
12 |
David Stremme |
Dodge |
Penske Racing |
185.057 |
38.907 |
-0.454 |
| 21 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
DuPont |
184.938 |
38.932 |
-0.479 |
| 22 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
Shell / Pennzoil |
184.871 |
38.946 |
-0.493 |
| 23 |
33 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
Cheerios / Hamburger Helper |
184.587 |
39.006 |
-0.553 |
| 24 |
7 |
Robby Gordon |
Toyota |
Moen |
184.303 |
39.066 |
-0.613 |
| 25 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
Dewalt |
184.186 |
39.091 |
-0.638 |
| 26 |
47 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Toyota |
Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox |
184.171 |
39.094 |
-0.641 |
| 27 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Chevrolet |
Caterpillar |
183.974 |
39.136 |
-0.683 |
| 28 |
09 |
Mike Bliss |
Dodge |
Miccosukee Resort & Gaming |
183.941 |
39.143 |
-0.690 |
| 29 |
34 |
John Andretti |
Chevrolet |
Carfax |
183.894 |
39.153 |
-0.700 |
| 30 |
55 |
Michael Waltrip |
Toyota |
NAPA Auto Parts |
183.753 |
39.183 |
-0.730 |
| 31 |
00 |
David Reutimann |
Toyota |
Aaron's Dream Machine |
183.702 |
39.194 |
-0.741 |
| 32 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Aflac |
183.496 |
39.238 |
-0.785 |
| 33 |
96 |
Bobby Labonte |
Ford |
DLP |
183.290 |
39.282 |
-0.829 |
| 34 |
19 |
Elliott Sadler |
Dodge |
Stanley Tools |
183.253 |
39.290 |
-0.837 |
| 35 |
98 |
Paul Menard |
Ford |
Moen / Menards |
183.220 |
39.297 |
-0.844 |
| 36 |
171 |
David Gilliland |
Chevrolet |
TaxSlayer.com |
183.173 |
39.307 |
-0.854 |
| 37 |
6 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
UPS |
182.964 |
39.352 |
-0.899 |
| 38 |
187 |
Joe Nemechek |
Toyota |
NEMCO Motorsports |
182.866 |
39.373 |
-0.920 |
| 39 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
Interstate Batteries |
182.746 |
39.399 |
-0.946 |
| 40 |
43 |
Reed Sorenson |
Dodge |
Auto Value / Bumper to Bumper |
182.315 |
39.492 |
-1.039 |
| 41 |
66 |
Dave Blaney |
Toyota |
Prism Motorsports |
182.274 |
39.501 |
-1.048 |
| 42 |
07 |
Casey Mears+ |
Chevrolet |
Jack Daniel's |
181.616 |
39.644 |
-1.191 |
| 43 |
36 |
Mike Skinner |
Toyota |
Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich |
181.708 |
39.624 |
-1.171 |
|
|
Did Not Qualify |
|
|
|
|
|
| 44 |
37 |
Tony Raines |
Dodge |
Long John Silver's |
181.484 |
39.673 |
-1.220 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
