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CONCORD, N.C. - Sports car veteran Bill Lester won the first pole of his NASCAR career in Craftsman Truck series qualifying Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Lester locked up the top spot for tonight's Hardee's 200 with a lap at 175.893 mph in a Dodge. He edged Jason Leffler, whose Dodge got around the 11/2-mile oval at 175.530.
The 42-year-old Lester became the first black driver to win a NASCAR pole since Wendell Scott started first in a Grand National race in 1962. Lester is a University of California graduate who gave up a high-tech career to race professionally last year and finished second in the rookie standings.
"I'm on top of the world," he said. "I'm living a dream, and things are starting to pay off for me."
Lester, who'll make his 32nd series start, hopes to improve on a career-best finish of 11th.
"I predicted a top-10 finish," he said. "I'm thinking about race day now."
Winston Cup driver Kevin Harvick qualified third in a Chevrolet with a speed of 175.251. Jon Wood locked up the fourth spot in a Ford at 175.239.
MOTORSPORTS MONTH: Gov. Mike Easley declared May "Motorsports Month in North Carolina," another gimmick in the state's campaign to keep NASCAR from moving its annual all-star race.
The Winston has been held at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord 16 consecutive years, and all but once in event history. But NASCAR has been considering rotating the non-points race to other venues.
So city and business leaders launched a $650,000 campaign this spring aimed at convincing NASCAR the event should stay where it is.
INDY 500: Another Borg-Warner trophy could mean an extra $50,000 for Helio Castroneves.
The trophy awarded annually to the winner usually comes with a $130,000 check and an additional $20,000 for back-to-back wins. The bonus increases each year there is not a back-to-back winner, so last year, Castroneves took home $160,000 in bonuses.
This year, the automotive company is offering Castroneves a $50,000 payout if he becomes the first driver to win three straight Indy 500s.
CART CHAMP CAR: Paul Tracy held a 26-point lead in the standings going into the series' European swing and came away tied with Bruno Junqueira after finishes of 17th in England and 12th in Germany.
"The European stint has been disappointing," said Tracy, who won the first three races of the season. "We came in with a 26-point lead and we leave tied for first. This was not the best car I have ever driven by far."
Tracy said the Team Player's engineers used a setup in the car for the two races that had tested well last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway but did not handle well in the cooler weather they encountered in Europe.