Dale Earnhardt Jr. waited out a short 45- minute rain delay then went out and captured the pole for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway. Going out as the first qualifier after the track was dried, the No.8 Budweiser Chevrolet driver circled the 2.5-mile, tri-oval in 52.949 seconds (169.975 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Junior’s first of the season and seventh of his Nextel Cup career. His last pole win was in 2002 at Kansas.

“The rain cooled the track down and the track dried fast so they didn’t have to run the blowers too much,” said Earnhardt Jr. “We kind of stole one today. We had a pretty good car, we were going to be about 10th or so, maybe 15th, so we have to credit the weather and Mother Nature for this one.”

Starting alongside Earnhardt Jr. will be Kurt Busch, who posted a time of 52.984 seconds.

“Each corner the car felt comfortable,” said Busch. “I drove it in really hard into each of the corners and I was able to get back in the gas soon. That comes from a good setup in the car. The crew did an awesome job.”

Kyle Busch (53.009) and Ryan Newman (53.023) will make up row two.

Miami Herald

STARTING LINEUP:

Start Pos, Car#, Driver, Manu, Qual Time, Qual Speed

1 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevy 52.949 169.975
2 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 52.984 169.863
3 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevy 53.009 169.782
4 12 Ryan Newman Mobil 1/alltel Dodge 53.023 169.738
5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 53.070 169.587
6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Chevy 53.097 169.501
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevy 53.153 169.323
8 25 Casey Mears National Guard/GMAC Chevy 53.170 169.268
9 42 Juan Pablo Montoya # Texaco/Havoline Dodge 53.281 168.916
10 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 53.367 168.644
11 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevy 53.428 168.451
12 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network/DOG The Bounty Hunter Ford 53.432 168.438
13 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy 53.476 168.300
14 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 53.496 168.237
15 07 Clint Bowyer Camping World Chevy 53.549 168.070
16 10 Scott Riggs Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge 53.590 167.942
17 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV/Rush Hour 3 Chevy 53.596 167.923
18 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevy 53.598 167.917
19 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 53.615 167.863
20 88 Ricky Rudd Combos Ford 53.639 167.788
21 21 Bill Elliott Air Force Ford 53.640 167.785
22 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 53.697 167.607
23 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevy 53.758 167.417
24 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Chevy 53.788 167.324
25 01 Mark Martin U.S. Army Chevy 53.809 167.258
26 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 53.822 167.218
27 18 J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevy 53.842 167.156
28 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 53.875 167.053
29 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 53.881 167.035
30 7 Robby Gordon Menards/MAPEI Ford 53.911 166.942
31 00 David Reutimann # Burger King Toyota 53.982 166.722
32 66 Jeff Green HAAS Automation/Garmin/Samsung 53.993 166.688
33 38 David Gilliland M&M’s Ford 54.026 166.586
34 40 David Stremme Target Dodge 54.133 166.257
35 15 Paul Menard # Menards/Energizer Chevy 54.196 166.064
36 6 David Ragan # AAA Insurance Ford 54.254 165.886
37 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 54.293 165.767
38 4 Ward Burton State Water Heaters/LUCAS Chevy 54.349 165.596
39 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 54.353 165.584
40 44 Dale Jarrett UPS Toyota 54.355 165.578
41 70 Johnny Sauter HAAS Automation Chevy 54.361 165.560
42-OP 45 Kyle Petty Marathon Dodge 54.632 164.558
43 36 Jeremy Mayfield 360 OTC Toyota 54.367 165.542

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