Bowyer on pole for All-Star race
Clint Bowyer joked about what he would do if he wins his first NASCAR All-Star race Saturday night and its $1 million prize.
“A lot,” Bowyer said with a big smile.
NASCAR’s funnyman took a big step toward making that celebration a reality by edging Kyle Busch to capture the pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night in Concord, N.C., leaving him jacked up.
“It is a million dollars and I don’t care if you are Warren Buffett or the guy that is going to pick up the grandstands after tonight’s race, a million dollars is a million dollars,” Bowyer, 39, said. “If you think it doesn’t mean anything different to me than it does to you, you’re crazy.”
Bowyer’s best finish in an AllStar race was a second-place finish in 2011.
Bowyer hasn’t been the strongest at qualifying.
His previous pole in a Cup Series points race came in 2007 — an ongoing string of 417 races.
But he got it done in this nonpoints race.
Bowyer completed three qualifying laps and one four-tire pit stop in 1 minute, 58.794 seconds to edge Busch, who was seeking his fourth career All-Star pole.
“We put ourselves in a position to take their million bucks tomorrow night and that is all you can ask for,” Bowyer said.
Defending champion Kevin Harvick qualified third in his pink No. 4 Ford.
Bowyer said the qualifying format for the All-Star race makes him nervous, but said that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He was so proud of his pit crew that he brought them over to get in a picture after the race.
“My pit crew has been doing a jam up job all year long,” Bowyer said. “That is a victory for them.”
This year’s All-Star race will feature a four-stage format — 30 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps followed by a 15-lap shootout.
Rookie Daniel Hemric grabbed the pole Saturday for the Open race. Three drivers will advance from the Open into the AllStar race. One other driver will receive the fan vote to round out the field of 19.
IndyCar
Juncos Racing will work overnight if needed to have a car ready to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Kyle Kaiser crashed the car early on “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the near-airborne wreck destroyed the entry. Juncos lost both its primary sponsors right before practice began this week for the May 26 race, but Kaiser had managed an impressive three days on track until the accident.
Team owner Ricardo Juncos praised Kaiser and the crew for not bowing to the adversity.
Juncos said they’ve “consistently improved our times each day” and now are faced with the challenge of getting the backup car on track and set for qualifying.
He says he’s confident “this group will not stop working until we get back on track. We will be working hard all day and night.”
The two-day qualifying process begins Saturday.