BROOKLYN, MICH. — Regan Smith regained the No. 1 season starting average after posting a fifth-place qualifying effort for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
In today’s time trials, Smith’s Denver-based No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet lapped the two-mile oval in 38.378 seconds at 187.607 miles per hour.
It will be the eighth time in 15 races this season that Smith will start in the top-five. His Sprint Cup leading qualifying average is 9.226.
“It was a good qualifying effort,” Smith said. “We had some work to do on the car yesterday after practice and the right adjustments were made. I left a little bit out there, I didn’t come through turn four the way I wanted to — we lost some time there. But overall it was another strong qualifying run for our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”
The pole winner was Kurt Busch (188.699 mph). Rounding out the top-five in order were: David Reutimann, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Smith.
The Micigan 400 will be televised on TNT, beginning with a 60-minute pre-race show at 10 a.m. MDT.
It was another pole victory for Busch. This is a drill he’s happy to get used to.
“To be on the pole three weeks, what it does — there are so many benefits behind the scenes,” Busch said. “Picking your pit selection first, having track position right away in the race. … You could have a slow pit crew, and you have that first pit box, that’s going to help you get out in front of guys throughout the day.”
It was Busch’s third consecutive pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. He’s the first driver to win three straight poles since Brian Vickers in 2009, and two qualifying sessions were canceled during that streak. The last person to win three poles in three races was Ryan Newman in 2007.
Busch is sixth in the points standings and has finished in the top 10 three straight races, including a second-place showing last weekend at Pocono Raceway. He has not won in 2011, but he’s enjoyed better results after taking his Penske Racing team to task earlier this season.
“I’m thankful that everybody was able to pull together and understand that we should just try something different,” he said. “It’s great to be able to see the results pop up so soon. I had no idea that we were right around the corner.”
Busch was forced to a backup car last weekend after damaging his No. 22 Dodge in practice. There’s been less drama this time around as he prepares for Sunday’s 400-mile race.
“This was a conventional weekend, so to speak,” he said.
Busch was the pole-sitter in Michigan last June as well, and he finished third.
David Reutimann (188.684 mph) was second in qualifying, and Matt Kenseth (188.620) was third. Vickers, who was fourth, was the leader at one point but Kenseth, Busch and Reutimann all posted faster laps toward the end.
“Right there at the end a big cloud came over and it cooled down quite a bit,” Vickers said. “I’m sure it helped those guys and they ran pretty good, too.”
Vickers is 26th in the standings. He missed the last 25 races of last season after he was diagnosed in May with a hole in his heart and blood clots down his left leg. Heart surgery in July repaired the hole but also showed he was suffering from May-Thurners syndrome, which caused the clots. He had surgery for the clots the next day.
“I’ve felt great (since the procedure),” Vickers said. “Everything’s been great.” Kenseth, who is seventh in the points standings, will start near the front Sunday, and that’s not necessarily a familiar feeling. Kenseth qualified in the top 10 for only the fourth time this season, and he has a hard time relating to Busch, with his three consecutive poles.
“I don’t think I’ve had three poles in 12 years,” said Kenseth, who won only his fifth career pole in Las Vegas in March.
