KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kurt Busch had never run all that well in Kansas, and a spinout during practice Friday certainly didn’t make it look as if he was about to turn that around.
Less than 24 hours and a few tweaks later, Busch captured the pole for today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway and reversed a decade of tough luck at the 1 1/2-mile track.
Busch, who had never started higher than seventh in 10 career starts in Kansas and has never finished in the top five, topped the leaderboard at 174.752 mph in his No. 22 Dodge on Saturday.
Busch snapped out of an extended funk with a fourth- place finish last week. He had to have front-end damage repaired following Friday’s spin, and that and other changes helped produce his first pole since Michigan last June and the 13th of his career.
“I have to thank my guys for standing behind me, not just through (Friday) but through some of the tough times we’ve been through as of late,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing world, the world of motorsports. One day you’re down, the next day you’re up.”
Juan Pablo Montoya will start second, followed by Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers. Joey Logano qualified fifth, giving Toyota three cars in the top five.
“A lot better than we expected,” Kyle Busch said. “The guys did a good job with it and gave me a good piece to run a good lap. That’s all we can ask for. We’ve been having sort of a struggle this weekend so far and trying to make something out of nothing here.”
Jamie McMurray, who grew up in nearby Joplin, Mo., and visited the tornado- ravaged city Thursday, will start sixth.
Sprint Cup points leader Carl Edwards, also a Missouri native, will start seventh — the highest of any of the Fords in the field.
“I’m not going to tell you exactly what I did wrong, but I know it was something,” Edwards said. “I think we are going to have a really good shot at this race.”
Today’s races
NASCAR STP 400 Site: Kansas City, Kan.
TV: 10:30 a.m., KDVR-31 Track: Kansas Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps
Next race: Pocono 500, June 12, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
Online:
NHRA Full Throttle Supernationals Site: Englishtown, N.J.
TV: 2:30-5 p.m., ESPN2, (tape)
Track: Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Next event: Thunder Valley Nationals, June 17-19, Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
Online:
