JR Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins pole for Atlanta Nationwide race
JR Motorsports owner/driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start from the pole in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
HAMPTON, Ga. – It might be just a NASCAR Nationwide Series pole, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally has reason to smile.
Earnhardt Jr., who has struggled through a disappointing season in the Sprint Cup Series, snared his first pole in either of NASCAR’s top two divisions Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday night’s V12 300.
Making his seventh appearance of the season in the No. 5 JR Motorsports entry he co-owns with Rick Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr. paced Nationwide qualifying with a lap of 174.121 mph.
“It’s just a great package,” Earnhardt Jr. said of his car. The pole is Earnhardt Jr.'s first in the series since winning from the front row in 2004 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet he co-owns with his wife, DeLana, will join Earnhardt Jr. on the outside of Row 1 thanks to a lap of 173.940.
Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan (173.635), Phoenix Racing’s Reed Sorenson and Braun Racing’s Kasey Kahne completed the top five.
Positions six through 10 belonged to Smith-Ganassi Racing’s David Gilliland, Michael Waltrip Racing’s Trevor Bayne, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Yates Racing’s Paul Menard and MSRP Motorsports’ Dave Blaney.
RAB Racing’s John Wes Townley, who crashed in the session, joined Cope/Keller Racing’s Derrike Cope, Faith Motorsports’ Morgan Shepherd, JD Motorsports’ J.C. Stout and Means Racing’s Tony Ave in failing to qualify and will miss the race.
The race is scheduled to begin just after 7 p.m. EDT Saturday.
