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Qualifying report

Hornish earns Nationwide pole in JGR 1-2-3

Joe Gibbs Racing came out on top of NASCAR Nationwide qualifying after their three drivers teamed up against the other nine competitors in the final round.

Polesitter Sam Hornish Jr.

Polesitter Sam Hornish Jr.

Getty Images

In his first Nationwide start of 2014, Sam Hornish Jr. made a statement by earning the pole for Saturday's race at Talladega Superspeedway. He and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Elliott Sadler and Darrell Wallace Jr. ran in formation and behind the main pack for a majority of the third round.

When they began to catch up, they gained a lot of speed via the effect of the draft and the result was a JGR 1-2-3 with Sadler 2nd and Wallace 3rd. Brian Scott, Ty Dillon, and Ryan Reed made a last ditch effort in the final seconds to overthrow the JGR fleet but failed to do so. It's the sixth career pole for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 champion.

Tanner Berryhill in trouble
Tanner Berryhill in trouble

Photo by: Getty Images

For Gibbs, it's their 90th pole in the Nationwide Series. Hornish's lap speed of 51.258 seconds (186.783mph) was just .002 thousandths quicker than teammate Elliott Sadler.

During the three round session, there was one major incident. In the first round, Kyle Larson attempted an aggressive move between Regan Smith and Tanner Berryhill. There wasn't quite enough room and Berryhill was sent spinning into the outside wall.

Many notable drivers had poor sessions due to botched strategy. The three Jr. Motorsports cars will all start 31st or worse (Kasey Kahne 31st, Regan Smith 32nd, and Chase Elliott 37th).

Chad Boat and Derrike Cope were the two drivers who failed to make the race.

Top 10 Qualifiers

1.) Sam Hornish Jr. (#54) Joe Gibbs Racing

2.) Elliott Sadler (#11) Joe Gibbs Racing

3.) Darrell Wallace Jr. (#20) Joe Gibbs Racing

4.) Ryan Reed (#16) Roush-Fenway Racing

5.) Dakoda Armstrong (#43) Richard Petty Motorsports

6.) Ryan Blaney (#22) Team Penske

7.) Ty Dillon (#3) Richard Childress Racing

8.) Chris Buescher (#60) Roush-Fenway Racing

9.) James Buescher (#99) RAB Racing

10.) Brian Scott (#2) Richard Childress Racing

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Previous article Sam Hornish Jr. hits Talladega high banks for first Nationwide start of 2014
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