BUSCH SERIES Truex smashes record -- and car

Bobby Hamilton Jr. will be at the front in today's race.
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Martin Truex shattered the Nashville Superspeedway track record with a lap of 166.515 mph Friday, then earned a trip to the back of the 43-car field by crashing in practice.
Truex crunched the right front corner of his Chevrolet after hitting the wall, was treated and released from the infield care center.
He didn't appear injured as he worked with his crew to prepare his backup car before the final practice session ended.
"I wrecked it, plain and simple," Truex said. "It's just a shame. It was the dumbest thing I've ever done I swear. I'm so mad at myself.
"The car, it was so fast. I was out there, and I knew I had a good car. I was passing cars, and I wanted to stay out there."
But his car became less stable with each lap, and he hit the wall. His crew got him into the backup car for some practice laps.
"It's not set up the same right now," he said. "We kind of ran out of time. We'll put that setup we had in the other car and try it," Truex said.
Moving forward
With Truex switching to a backup car, the inside line will slide forward today, putting Bobby Hamilton Jr. at the front in a Ford. He was third-fastest qualifier at 165.67.
Tewnty-one drivers topped the qualifying record of 163.324 set by Randy LaJoie before last year's Pepsi 300, starting with Kenny Wallace in the second car out on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
But Truex, third-fastest in the first practice session, added another pole to the one he took at Daytona after Johnny Benson came up just short of matching his pace. They were the only drivers to top 166 mph with Benson coming in at 166.475 in his Dodge.
Truex credited his success to racing at Nashville last year in his own car. This year, he drives for a team owned by NASCAR Nextel Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"The first time I pulled on the track I felt like I had an edge, that confidence that I could go out and drive my car as hard as I wanted and not worry about anything," he said. "At the same time, I had a great car underneath me.
"We didn't come here and test, just put in some things we learned over the course of the year, went out and had a really great car out of the trailer."
At the front
Benson qualified second, followed by Hamilton, Jason Keller and Johnny Sauter. Defending race champion and series points leader David Green qualified 10th.
Some Nextel Cup regulars who took advantage of the off weekend didn't fare as well. Robby Gordon will start 11th, and Michael Waltrip 22nd.
Tennessee already has been good to Truex, who won last month at Bristol. He's second in points.
Benson believes Truex is doing a tremendous job.
"He's with a great race team. That part is obviously pretty good. They're doing great," Benson said.
Benson had tested his Nextel Cup car here for a half-day, which he said helped. He joked with Truex, asking if he scared him with speed.
But after starting 39th at Texas last week, Benson doesn't mind being second.
"I was going to be happy with anything in the top 10 first time here, so I'm ecstatic with second. That's great," Benson said.
This will be the sixth Busch race at this track, but it hasn't changed much because of the concrete.
"I think some other tracks need to copy this place because this place is pretty sweet," said Stacy Compton, who qualified seventh. "They've done a good job with it. They came in here and ground it, and it just has a boatload of grip right now."