RICHMOND, Va. — Kyle Busch won the pole for tonight’s NASCAR Crown Royal Heath Calhoun 400 at Richmond International Raceway with a fast lap at 127.077 mph.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned the lap as the 19th of 47 cars attempting to qualify, easily beating David Reutimann (126.618) for the top spot.
The pole, just the sixth Busch has earned in 196 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, gave him his choice of pit stalls as he defends his victory in this race a year ago.
“It’s nice to sit on the pole every once in a while,” Busch said of his first pole position since March 2009 in Las Vegas. “I only get the opportunity maybe once a year.”
Seeking his first Sprint Cup Series victory since last August at Bristol, Busch said he feels as if he’s getting closer all the time to ending a 21-race winless streak.
“We’ve had some opportunities where we should have won races,” he said. “We’ve also had opportunities where we should have run 15th or 18th and we finished top 10.”
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who said the air has been cleared in their well-publicized feud, will start in the second row.
Regan Smith of Denver-based Furniture Row will start 29th in tonight’s race.
Smith’s No. 78 Chevrolet covered the .75-mile oval in 21.565 seconds at 125.203 mph.
“We were looking for a better lap than that,” Smith said, “but we will continue to battle hard and look to bring home a solid finish in (tonight’s) race.”
Footnotes.
Brad Keselowski led most of the last 192 laps and then rallied from fourth in a two-lap sprint to win his second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
• Hendrick Motorsports locked crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson into long-term contract extensions.
• John Force (funny car), Tony Schumacher (top fuel), Mike Edwards (pro stock) and Craig Treble (pro stock motorcycle) held the provisional top spots in their respective divisions as rain washed out most of qualifying in the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill.
• Ryan Briscoe had a four-lap average of 212.145 mph at Kansas Speedway and ended Will Power’s bid for a record-tying fourth consecutive pole in the IndyCar series. Denver Post wire services
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP Heath Calhoun 400 Site: Richmond, Va.
TV: 5 p.m., KDVR-31
Track: Richmond International Raceway (oval, 0.75 miles)
Race distance: 300 miles, 400 laps
Next race: Southern 500, May 8, Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.
On the Net:
IZOD INDYCAR Road Runner Turbo Indy 300
Site: Kansas City, Kan.
TV: 11:30 a.m., KMGH-7
Track: Kansas Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps
Next race: Indianapolis 500, May 30, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
On the Net:
NHRA AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals qualifying
Site: Madison, Ill.
TV: 7 p.m., ESPN2
Track: Gateway International Raceway
Next race: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 14-16, Atlanta Dragway.
On the Net:
