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| Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR |
Past the halfway point in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the tour's summer run enters a New England state to race at the 1.06-mile oval known as New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Nicknamed the 'Magic Mile', this weekend's 301 laps of competition is sought by many drivers and teams as a chance to summon on wishes for strength as they seek berths in the quickly-approaching 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In Friday's NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying session for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301, the Interstate Batteries sponsored #18 Toyota driven by Kyle Busch sailed around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at a 133.417 miles per hour average speed. The first pole of the 2012 season for Busch and the #18 car, the New Hampshire race on Sunday will be the first time since Watkins Glen this August that the pairing would start at the front of a NASCAR Sprint Cup field.
The qualifying success could not have come at a better time for Kyle Busch. The past 6 races have been a disaster for Kyle Busch and the #18 team. Only a single top-10 finish in the half dozen races has the Joe Gibbs Racing driver intent that the pole for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 could play a part in returning to more common form in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Short of just 0.003 seconds from the polesitter's time in qualifying, Kasey Kahne put his Hendrick Motorsports #5 Chevrolet on the front row becoming the lone non-Toyota in the top-5. Kahne also fractured what would have been an all-Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2 by placing ahead of the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin. Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer secured the final two spots in the top-5 for the start of the New Hampshire race Sunday.
Defending winner of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Ryan Newman starts in 6th place in the #39 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing. Earlier this week, the announcement that the US Army would not be returning to the team added increasing complexity to the negotiations for a contract extension with the driver Newman beyond 2012.
Hendrick Motorsport four-car fleet secured top-10 starting positions Friday with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr taking 7th through 9th on the grid for Sunday. Daytona Coke Zero 400 winner Tony Stewart put his #14 Chevrolet into 10th place.
With a 43-car set for Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 301, only the #19 car driven by Mike Bliss failed to make the race.
2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup
LENOX Industrial Tools 301
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Qualifying Results
| Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/ Car Make |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota |
| 2 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmers Insurance Chevrolet |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Toyota |
| 4 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota |
| 5 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-hour Energy Toyota |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | ARMY ROTC Chevrolet |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's Chevrolet |
| 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont Chevrolet |
| 9 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet |
| 10 | 14 | Tony Stewart | MOBIL 1 / Office Depot Chevrolet |
| 11 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M / WB Mason / Post-it Ford |
| 12 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Rheem Chevrolet |
| 13 | 27 | Paul Menard | Menards / Duracell Chevrolet |
| 14 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet |
| 15 | 55 | Brian Vickers | MyClassicGarage.com / Aaron's Toyota |
| 16 | 20 | Joey Logano | The Home Depot Toyota |
| 17 | 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet |
| 18 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Luke & Associates Toyota |
| 19 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports Ford |
| 20 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | DeWalt Ford |
| 21 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Fastenal / LENOX Ford |
| 22 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Dodge |
| 23 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Medallion Financial Ford |
| 24 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Shell Pennzoil / AAA Dodge |
| 25 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar Chevrolet |
| 26 | 10 | David Reutimann | Mohawk Northeast Chevrolet |
| 27 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | NESN Ford |
| 28 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate Chevrolet |
| 29 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota |
| 30 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota |
| 31 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Degree Chevrolet |
| 32 | 26 | Josh Wise | MDS Transport Ford |
| 33 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Ford |
| 34 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota |
| 35 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet |
| 36 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing Ford |
| 37 | 32 | Ken Schrader | Federated Auto Parts Ford |
| 38 | 49 | JJ Yeley | Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota |
| 39 | 38 | David Gilliland | Taco Bell Ford |
| 40 | 30 | David Stremme | Inception Motorsports Toyota |
| 41 | 23 | Scott Riggs | North Texas Pipe Chevrolet |
| 42 | 79 | Kelly Bires | Team Kyle / Bestway Disposal Ford |
| 43 | 33 | Stephen Leicht | LittleJoesAutos.com Chevrolet |
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