INDIANAPOLIS — Carl Edwards will be the polesitter for the Brickyard 400, where passing could be at a premium Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Edwards turned a lap at 183.484 mph Saturday to move into the top starting slot. But he then had to see whether two-time race winner and Indiana native Tony Stewart would bump him from the pole.
Stewart was the fastest in the first round of qualifying and drew a rousing ovation from the hometown crowd. He was the last driver on the track in the second round of qualifying, and Edwards watched from pit road as Stewart circled the track. The three-time NASCAR champion had to get off the gas in the final turn and wound up fourth.
“Tony had me nervous,” said Edwards, who put his Toyota on the pole for the second consecutive week. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also won the pole last weekend at New Hampshire, where teammate Kyle Busch won for the third time in four races.
JGR had three drivers in the top seven last weekend, and had four of the top five at Kentucky two weeks ago.
Stewart is having the worst season of his career, and returned to his favorite race track with just one top-10 finish all season. He admitted last month that his confidence is shattered, but said finding speed Saturday gave him a boost.
“That’s exactly what I needed,” he said. “I’m excited about being in the top two rows right now. I’m definitely happier about that than being midpack right now.”
Joey Logano, who along with Brad Keselowski is trying to give Roger Penske his first NASCAR victory at Indy, qualified second. He went 183.139 mph in his Ford.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. failed to advance to the final round of 12 drivers by a mere four-hundredths of a second. He will start in the 13th slot Sunday.
