NASCAR Nationwide points leader Elliott Sadler will start from the pole position for tonight’s Dollar General 300 after turning a lap around the 1.5-mile superspeedway in 29.310 seconds (184.237 mph).
After briefly holding the top spot, rookie Austin Dillon was relegated to second for his lap of 29.347 seconds (184.005 mph).
“That’s all you want is to be in the top five,” Dillon said. “The car was good; it handled well. We have ourselves a little tighter than the No. 2 (Sadler), so I think we’ll be OK tonight. That was a hell of a lap he put up; it was good.”
Joey Logano will start third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth. TJ Bell, Joey Gase, Matt Carter and Morgan Shepherd did not qualify.
Elliott Sadler (No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet) – “(What made the car so fast?) Well, the guys working on it. It was easy to step on the loud pedal. The guys gave me a great race car. This just means a lot to me. It’s very personal to me to be able to come here, and it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we helped paint the start/finish line pink. We have pink on the car, my suit, my shoes. And it all came to fruition today. (How do you race tonight?) Well, I mean that’s what it’s all about, to come here and try to win the race. If we were able to pull that off tonight, we have a really good car. We had a good car last night in practice. As the track goes, we adjust to it and hope to be there at the end and see what happens.
JGR HAULER DRIVER WINS CHALLENGE – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tom McCrimmons was announced as the 2012 champion of the Pilot/Flying J Truck Driver Challenge Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was McCrimmons’ second title, having won in 2009. It was also the fifth win in nine years for a JGR driver.
McCrimmons pocketed $30,000 for his win in this year’s contest.
“I told him, ‘Hey it’s just like [NASCAR] drivers; you’ve gotta split that with us. It’s 50-50,’” Joe Gibbs Racing President JD Gibbs joked. “When the race is over, we all travel home, fly home, ride home. The guys who drive the trucks – your job just begins. So I just want to say thank you on behalf of what you guys do for the sport, the way you guys do it with safety, the way you guys do it with class. It’s a big deal.”
Eric Burgoyne of Champion Tire and Wheel finished second, earning $7,500, and Richard Petty Motorsports driver Bob Decker finished third, picking up $2,500.
The 2013 Pilot/Flying J Truck Driver Challenge will celebrate the event’s 10-year anniversary and will be supported by special advertisements created with the hauler drivers promoting highway safety.
CMS PR
- FRIDAY FEATURE – Mike Greci: Veteran Presence - March 29, 2013
- Video: Danica Patrick wrecks out at Phoenix - March 3, 2013
- Danica Patrick Phoenix Accident Quotes - March 3, 2013