Motorsports

Bristol master starts at top

By TIMES WIRES
Published August 26, 2006

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Kurt Busch earned the pole Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway for tonight's Nextel Cup race, putting him in perfect position for a season sweep at his favorite track.

Busch ran a lap at 124.906 mph to put his No. 2 Penske South Dodge out front for the Sharpie 500. He beat Jeff Burton, who turned a lap at 124.808 to qualify second.

"It was on the edge, and it was fast," Busch said. "We've had a lot of good finishes here, but this is the best start we've ever had."

Busch has won five of the past nine races in Bristol, including the March event when he bumped former Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth out of his way to win.

But he never has started on the pole at the 0.533-mile high-banked oval. His previous best starting position was fifth in his 2003 victory when he drove for Roush.

"I guess I'm teamed up with a group that can qualify now," said Busch, who has three poles in his first season for Penske. "We've had some great runs this year and one of the best average starting positions at all the tracks so far."

Bobby Labonte qualified third followed by Kenseth and Tony Stewart. Chase for the Championship contender Jeff Gordon was 13th and points leader Jimmie Johnson 18th.

Kasey Kahne, 11th in points and battling to crack the top 10 in the final three races before the Chase begins, starts 31st. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is clinging to the 10th spot, struggled all day and qualified 40th.

"We can still get a good car for the race," Earnhardt said. "But we have some work to do.

"We don't have a good enough car to get to the front. It isn't showing any signs of having a car that will run in the top 10."

CHAMP CAR: Sebastien Bourdais bounced off a concrete wall early in provisional qualifying for the Montreal Grand Prix but still turned the fastest lap of the day in his damaged Lola. Qualifying continues today for Sunday's race.

Bourdais, a St. Petersburg resident, spun off the track but kept the engine running and pulled back onto the track - right in front of rival Paul Tracy.

Two weeks ago in Denver, Tracy collided with Bourdais on the final lap. Bourdais got out of his car and shoved Tracy.

Asked Friday if pulling in right in front of Tracy was Round 2, Bourdais replied acidly, "No, and anyway it would have been Round 20."

Also, the series seems unlikely to race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after Sunday's fifth edition. But don't expect the series to abandon Quebec for long.

"We want to be in Quebec and we will be," said Steve Johnson, Champ Car's president and CEO. "If it's not in 2007, we will be here in 2008. We're looking at a number of possibilities."

The American open-wheel series, which began racing in Montreal with great fanfare in 2002 and drew big crowds for the first couple of years, is expected to be replaced next season by a NASCAR Busch Series event.

Montreal allows only two auto racing events to be held in the park on Notre Dame Island. The Formula One race in June is a longtime fixture.

[Last modified August 26, 2006, 02:05:36]