JGR Qualifying Report - Atlanta
Event: Atlanta 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Greg Biffle of Roush Fenway Racing (28.807 seconds at 192.453 mph)
JGR Lineup: Denny Hamlin (18th, 29.213 seconds at 189.779 mph)
J.J. Yeley (22nd, 29.228 seconds at 189.681 mph)
Tony Stewart (30th, 29.301 seconds at 189.209 mph)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Chevrolet, qualified 18th to lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent during time trials for Sunday’s Atlanta 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin turned a lap of 29.213 seconds at 189.779 mph on the 1.54-mile oval.
“That wasn’t quite what we wanted,” said Denny Hamlin, who finished eighth in this race a year ago. “But we’ve got all day tomorrow to get it better.”
Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – J.J. Yeley in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet and Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet – qualified 22nd and 30th, respectively. Yeley turned a lap of 29.228 seconds at 189.681 mph, while Tony Stewart stopped the clocks in 29.301 seconds at 189.209 mph.
“We’ve been up and down in qualifying this year,” said Yeley, whose No. 18 team has six victories at Atlanta. “This car qualifies better than any other car we have. It was comfortable and I was barely out of the throttle and just in and out. I didn’t feel like I had to put much steering in the car and I didn’t do anything stupid and I’m kind of confused how we ended up 22nd. It’s a little bit baffling since both Denny and I were faster on the second lap, where most of the other guys were faster on the first lap. I guess we will take our starting spot and work on race trim and look toward Sunday.”
“We picked up a little bit (from practice), but not as much as I thought we would,” said Tony Stewart, who is the defending race winner of the Atlanta 500. “We’ll work on it some more tomorrow and get it right for Sunday.”
Greg Biffle captured his fourth career pole position, his first of the season and his first at Atlanta with a time of 28.807 seconds at 192.453 mph. Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Kurt Busch (28.811 seconds at 192.427 mph), Dale Jarrett (28.927 seconds at 191.655 mph), Kasey Kahne (28.936 seconds at 191.595 mph) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (28.952 seconds at 191.489 mph).
Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the Atlanta 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Dave Reutimann, Burney Lamar, Sam Hornish Jr., Ward Burton and Mike Skinner.
As far as manufacturers went, Ford took the top spot thanks to Biffle’s pole. Dodge was next best at the hands of Busch, while Jarrett carried the flag for Toyota. The top Chevrolet came via Earnhardt.
The Atlanta 500 gets underway on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. EDT. ABC will broadcast the event live and in high-definition beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.
