The Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup Series brigade helped itself in its attempt to claim team owner Jack Roush’s 18th NASCAR national-level win at Bristol Motor Speedway by claiming both front row starting spots during pole qualifying on Friday afternoon for Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 at the track.
Carl Edwards claimed the top spot with an average qualifying speed of 128.014 mph, or a lap time of 14.989 seconds. Edwards was the only driver to turn in a sub-15-second lap during Friday’s qualifying session. Starting alongside him on the front row on Sunday will be RFR teammate Greg Biffle, who pulled off a 15.035 second lap at an average speed of 127.622 mph.
“Greg motivated me, as I didn’t think he would get that fast of a lap,” Edwards said. “I could not hear (crew chief) Bob (Osborne) on the radio, so I thought I must be slow on the first lap, and I drove my guts out on the second lap. Finally, I saw the board.”
Although Andy Lally’s lap time was within a second of Biffle’s …
Yardbarker: NASCAR