INDIANAPOLIS —
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Hamlin’s time of 49.244, (182.763), was two tenths faster than Carl Edwards (181.984), who will start on the outside of row one. “It’s a great day,” said Hamlin. “I’m very confident. Usually when we qualify well, we race well.”
The top slot made this Hamlin’s second pole of the season and 11th in his Sprint Cup career for Joe Gibbs Racing. He feels the choice of the number one pit stall will give him a definite advantage for today’s 19th running at the Brickyard, and keep him in the hunt in The Chase. Hamlin is currently in 5th place with seven races to go before the championship session begins.
Hamlin has made seven previous starts at Indianapolis, but has always come up short. However, Hamlin knows his team can do it. “The stats don’t always show just how good we’ve been at this track. I feel like this is one of our strong racetracks with our team even though stats wise it may not show that. I feel like when we come here, we can win every single time. You ask me that about a couple other tracks, I would say no. This is very, very high up on my list of tracks to want to win. I consider it as high as the Daytona 500 personally.”
Hamlin is the 16th different pole sitter in 19 races at the Brickyard. In fact the last 15 poles have all been different drivers.
Joey Logano put his JGR machine in the inside of row two with a speed of 181.756, followed by Aric Almirola at 181.679 and Greg Biffle at 181.532. For Edwards and Logano, this is their best starts at Indianapolis. Almirola is making his Indianapolis debut.
“This is huge for us,” said Edwards, “and I think it's a testament to our whole team and everybody at the shop, the ability to rally around a cause. After Loudon we were all scratching our heads. It's a great lap for us. I know it's just one lap; anything can happen in the race, but it's really good.”
Despite some problems, Logano was happy. “Felt like we had a shot at the pole. Didn't feel like I hit my lap as good as I needed to, and our car was just a little bit too tight. But either way, we definitely made some big improvements, and we were able to go back to race trim and make some gains there, too.”
Jimmie Johnson will start next to Biffle after qualifying at 181.357. Johnson car got a little loose on him during his run. “I’m much better with a loose car,” Johnson said. “I think we will have a really good day tomorrow.”
Kyle Busch and last year’s winner Paul Menard will start seventh and eighth. Busch turned in a 181.046 and Menard posted a 181.014.
Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth round out the top 10, while last year’s Sprint Cup Champion and Indiana’s own Tony Stewart did not qualify well. He will start 28th after turning in a lap of 178.862. Teammate and fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman fared much better and will start 11 with a speed of 180.611.
Regan Smith’s number 78 Furniture Row entry will carry the names of the 12 victims of the Aurora, CO, theater shooting. He will in the 14th position. The Furniture Row Racing shop is just seven miles from the site of the tragedy. One victim of the shooting was a friend of a Furniture Row employee. Both were at the movies that night.
Today’s running of the Brickyard begins at 1 p.m. Public gates open at 6 a.m. beginning at 8:30 a.m. Big Machine recording artists, Sunny Sweeney, Greg Bates, Justin Moore and The Mavericks will perform on the Brickfest Stage. The Band Perry will perform at 11:50 a.m. trackside.
ESPN’s coverage begins at noon.
Auto Racing
Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
- Auto Racing
-
-
TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. -
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. -
Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
Ed Carpenter is on the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The native of Marshall, Ill., earned the No. 1 spot for the May 26 race with a strong run in the Fast Nine competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. He is the first American driver on the pole since 2006. -
TRACKSIDE: Rain still a pain for Wabash Valley racing organizers
Soggy weather conditions, which have rightfully drawn the ire of Wabash Valley race fans and crews in recent days, continue to plague promoters where it hurts the most — their pocketbooks.
-
TRACKSIDE: Tough to rise from sprint-car racing, especially in challenging financial times
Open-wheel sprint-car racing, whether it be at the national or local level, has earned a reputation over the years of generating its share of thrills and excitement for its fans and a valuable training ground for drivers seeking to hone their skills that someday might elevate them to the “major leagues” of their sport.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
-
East gets jump at SUMAR Classic
In his relatively brief but successful racing career, young Bobby East has at times unfairly been labeled as a driver who could master the pavement ovals but one who was still a work in progress on the dirt.
-
Hurtubise, Sumar races on Action Track slate this weekend
Championship racing is scheduled this weekend at the Terre Haute Action Track with U.S. Auto Club features set for today and Saturday.
One USAC championship will be decided and the spread in the other division could widen or tighten up as a result of the races.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic for sprint cars is today. Only 26 points separate three drivers in the point totals. -
TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
IndyCar celebrates return to Pocono
IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter had the chance to take a drive around Pocono Raceway, and promptly handed the car keys to racing great Mario Andretti.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rain forces postponement of Jim Hurtubise Classic
Rain and the chance of inclement weather forced postponement of the Jim Hurtubise Classic scheduled for Saturday evening at the Terre Haute Action Track.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: USAC points leader Levi Jones out for season
Levi Jones, the five-time and reigning United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car champion, will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair two herniated discs in his neck. While a full recovery is expected, the 12-week rehabilitation period will not allow for Jones to finish out the 2012 season, where he has competed in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car and TRAXXAS Silver Crown divisions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR).
-
TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
-
JJ joins hero Mears among four-time winners of Brickyard
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jimmie Johnson is a master at the Brickyard.
-
Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
-
Keselowski gives Penske first stock-car win at IMS
Brad Keselowski made history Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he took the checkered flag at the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide race.
-
Bordais, Popow take checkered flag after downpour
While it never rained a drop during the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Super Weekend at the Brickyard certainly saw its share Friday as both the inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series met with the wet stuff.
-
TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
-
Red-hot Hunter-Reay goes for fourth straight at Edmonton
Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for his fourth straight victory Sunday in IZOD IndyCar Series action in Canada.
-
Clayton wins at Don Smith Classic
They call Daron Clayton, “The Modern Day Cowboy.”
-
The King of Speed
Born in Terre Haute, Roger Curtis grew up on Franklin Street, moved to Riley with his family when he was in sixth grade and attended Thornton Elementary School and Honey Creek Junior High before graduating from Terre Haute South High School in 1985.
-
Jones occupies driver’s seat: Six-time THAT winner leads Sprint Week series
When you think of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, thoughts of Levi Jones shouldn’t be far behind.
-
TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
-
Kenny Wallace realizes Action Track dream
Kenny Wallace won the UMP modified feature, leading flag-to-flag for the victory on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Wallace, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from 1990-2008, couldn’t have more thrilled to become part of a racing revival at the venerable dirt oval. -
TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
-
Franchitti mired in post-Indy 500 slump
Dario Franchitti hopes to get back on track in IndyCar Series action Sunday in Canada.
-
TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
-
Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
-
Atchison, Virgilio win weekend races at Crossroads Dragway
Troy Atchison and Tony Virgilio won feature races in weekend racing at Crossroads Dragway.
-
TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
- More Auto Racing Headlines
-
TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic




