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BRISTOL, Tenn. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned an event-record qualifying lap Thursday to win the pole for the NASCAR Busch series Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt had a fast lap of 126.570 mph for his first pole in a Busch event since July 2003 at Daytona and his ninth in the series overall.
Tony Raines was second-fastest at 126.537 mph, and Kenny Wallace was next at (126.071.
Wallace held the pole with 49 of the 51 cars finished qualifying. The last two, however, were Earnhardt and Raines.
"I'm kind of glad Junior beat me that bad because I would have been really disappointed if Tony caught me out of leftfield," Wallace said.
WALLACE UPDATE: Stephen Wallace, the 17-year-old son of NASCAR star Rusty Wallace, was released from the hospital after sustaining injuries in a wreck at Bristol Motor Speedway. Stephen Wallace was hurt Wednesday night when his car hit the wall during the Hooters Pro Cup Race. He was airlifted to Bristol Regional Medical Center, where he spent the night. He was released Thursday, said his brother, Greg, who often serves as the family spokesman. No details about the injuries were released.