Pocono II: GM teams qualifying notes

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Captures Pole at Pocono
Team Chevy Drivers Score Five of Top-10 Starting Positions for the Pennsylvania 500

Long Pond, PA - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Junior), No. 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo SS, captured the pole for Sunday's running of the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. It is Junior's first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series pole since Kansas, 2002 and the seventh of his Cup career.

But Junior's pole was not without drama. Scheduled 40th in the order of the 47 cars attempting to qualify for the 21st race of the season, he had rolled off pit road, taken the green flag and started lap one of his qualifying effort when rain started to fall around the 2.5-mile track. Instead of taking the white flag to complete his first lap, quick thinking saw Junior dive down pit road and stop before the start/finish line.

NASCAR waited for the shower to pass, dried the track, allowed Junior's Tony Eury, Jr.-led crew to cool down the car and put a new set of tires on and Junior headed out to attempt his qualifying run in full. He snagged the pole with a lap of 52.949-seconds/169.975 mph.

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS will roll of third for the 200-lap/500 mile race.

A total of five Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS drivers secured top-10 starting positions. Two-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo SS will roll of sixth followed by Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, also a double winner at Pocono, in sixth.

Casey Mears, No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Monte Carlo SS, will start in eighth position.

There will be 18 Bowtie drivers in the field when the green flag flies at 2:00 p.m. EDT. ESPN will provide live coverage of the Pennsylvania 500 with pre-race starting at 1:00 p

-credit: gm racing