Busch Qualifies 20th at Martinsville Speedway
April 2, 2011
Photo courtesy of Autostock
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 2, 2011) - Kurt Busch and the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger team led the Penske Racing NASCAR Cup Series qualifying effort for the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
Busch recorded the 20th fastest lap during the qualifying session as he lapped the .526 mile oval in 19.8360 seconds, or 95.463 miles per hour. Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski will start 22nd in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
"We're slip-sliding around with the cool track conditions," said Busch. "It's funny, I'm looking at the weather forecast and it's supposed to be 81 and sunny on Monday. I want to thank all the fans for toughen it out today; this track has had some tough times with the weather. It's going to be a great show on Sunday because these tires are wearing out so fast, nobody has any idea what to expect for the race. It's going to be a lot of slip-sliding around. There's going to be a bunch of ping pong balls bouncing around out there."
"The track is not taking the rubber in, something different than what we've seen here in the past. Maybe they missed it a little on the chemical in the tires as far as laying down the rubber. What's happening is the tires are shredding so fast, they aren't developing heat and we're chafing the rubber right off the tires."
"We might have worked too hard to get some heat in the tires before that qualifying lap," said Keselowski. "We have a really fast Miller Lite Dodge Charger, it's a 500-lap race and we have plenty of time to get to the front if we run smart. We'll keep a close eye on the truck race today and see what happens there. It should give us an indication of what we can expect tomorrow."
The Goody's Fast Relief 500 will air live at 1:00 p.m. ET on the FOX network on Sunday, April 3. Race coverage will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Busch recorded the 20th fastest lap during the qualifying session as he lapped the .526 mile oval in 19.8360 seconds, or 95.463 miles per hour. Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski will start 22nd in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
"We're slip-sliding around with the cool track conditions," said Busch. "It's funny, I'm looking at the weather forecast and it's supposed to be 81 and sunny on Monday. I want to thank all the fans for toughen it out today; this track has had some tough times with the weather. It's going to be a great show on Sunday because these tires are wearing out so fast, nobody has any idea what to expect for the race. It's going to be a lot of slip-sliding around. There's going to be a bunch of ping pong balls bouncing around out there."
"The track is not taking the rubber in, something different than what we've seen here in the past. Maybe they missed it a little on the chemical in the tires as far as laying down the rubber. What's happening is the tires are shredding so fast, they aren't developing heat and we're chafing the rubber right off the tires."
"We might have worked too hard to get some heat in the tires before that qualifying lap," said Keselowski. "We have a really fast Miller Lite Dodge Charger, it's a 500-lap race and we have plenty of time to get to the front if we run smart. We'll keep a close eye on the truck race today and see what happens there. It should give us an indication of what we can expect tomorrow."
The Goody's Fast Relief 500 will air live at 1:00 p.m. ET on the FOX network on Sunday, April 3. Race coverage will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.