Edwards has pole for Indy’s NASCAR race

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

Carl Edwards will be on the pole for the Brickyard 400, where passing could be at a premium today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Edwards turned a lap at 183.484 mph Saturday to move to the top starting spot. But he then had to see if two-time race winner and Indiana native Tony Stewart would bump him from the pole.

Stewart was fastest in the first round of qualifying and drew a rousing ovation from the hometown crowd. He was the last driver on the track in the second round of qualifying, and Edwards watched from pit road as Stewart circled the track. The three-time NASCAR champion had to get off the gas in the final turn and wound up fourth.

“Tony had me nervous,” said Edwards, who put his Toyota on the pole for the second consecutive week. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also won the pole last weekend at New Hampshire, where teammate Kyle Busch won for the third time in four races.

JGR last week had three drivers in the top seven, and had four of the top five at Kentucky two weeks ago.

Stewart is having the worst season of his career, and returned to his favorite race track with just one top-10 finish all season. He admitted last month that his confidence is shattered, but said finding speed Saturday gave him a boost.

“That’s exactly what I needed,” he said. “I’m excited about being in the top two rows right now. I’m definitely happier about that than being mid-pack right now.”

But he cautioned it might not translate into a strong run Sunday.

“I could go and be a natural disaster tomorrow, so it could all be for nothing,” Stewart said. “But it’s the way you want to start the weekend, for sure, is to have two good runs in qualifying and have a decent starting spot. That’s definitely what we were looking for.”

Joey Logano, who along with Brad Keselowski is trying to give Roger Penske his first NASCAR win at Indy, qualified second. He went 183.139 mph in his Ford.

David Ragan was third in a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing and followed by Stewart and Kyle Larson in a pair of Chevrolets. Stewart teammate Kevin Harvick was sixth and followed by MWR’s Clint Bowyer.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was eighth in the highest-qualifying Hendrick Motorsports car, and he was followed by Busch, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Jimmie Johnson.

Chevrolet has won the last 12 Brickyards, and 16 of 21 in all.