NASCAR Sonoma starting lineup: Jamie McMurray wins pole
SONOMA, Calif. -- Jamie McMurray, road-course ace?
McMurray, not known as one of NASCAR's top road racers, took advantage of a new qualifying format on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway to take the pole position for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.
The group qualifying session, which had previously been used only in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, saw the field divided into eight groups of five or six cars each. The cars were then sent out onto the track five seconds apart and drivers had five minutes to post their laps.
McMurray recorded the fastest speed (94.986 mph) and topped pre-qualifying favorite Marcos Ambrose -- whose engine bizarrely shut off right before he began his lap, costing him momentum.
"It made it a little more interesting," McMurray said of the format. "It was cool how people would bump each other off. Good format."
McMurray's lap wasn't a total shock, given that he also won the pole here in 2007, but it was at least a mild surprise when he jumped ahead of Ambrose.
"I was like, 'I'm just going to go out and take what this car will give me and not push it to the very edge,'" he said. "I drove at about 95% and kept it on the track -- and it just all was put together."
Still, McMurray said Sunday's race would be about Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya, who starts 13th. McMurray has "about a fourth-to-eighth-place car," he said.
Ambrose might have been on the pole if not for his engine trouble. He said he "pretty much lost my mind there" in anger after it quit running, but the engine turned on again in time for Ambrose to record the second-fastest lap.
"We're thrilled to be on the front row," Ambrose said. "Anytime you get on the front row, you have to be proud of it."
Carl Edwards qualified third, ahead of teammate Greg Biffle and 2012 Sonoma winner Clint Bowyer.
"This is probably the best lap I've ever had here, so I'm pretty proud of that," Edwards said.
The qualifying format seemed to have problems at the start, but it the hiccups were soon resolved.
In the first group, David Stremme apparently didn't get a good start coming off pit road – and newcomer Victor Gonzalez Jr. was too close behind him. Gonzalez then wrecked in Turn 10 while chasing him down.
"Rookie mistake, I guess," said Gonzalez, a Puerto Rican who will become NASCAR's first-ever Caribbean driver in Sunday's race.
After that, the format was much smoother and cars had plenty of space between them.
The only other problem was when Martin Truex Jr. stopped his car on the track and climbed out as smoke came out of the cockpit. The problem turned out to be an electrical wiring issue.
Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10, just ahead of two-time Sonoma winner Tony Stewart.
Danica Patrick, who had expected to be a contender on Sunday, qualified a disappointing 31st.
Here's the starting lineup for Sunday's race at Sonoma:
- Jamie McMurray
- Marcos Ambrose
- Carl Edwards
- Greg Biffle
- Clint Bowyer
- Matt Kenseth
- Kurt Busch
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Jeff Gordon
- Tony Stewart
- Kevin Harvick
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kasey Kahne
- Paul Menard
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Jimmie Johnson
- Bobby Labonte
- Casey Mears
- Jacques Villeneuve
- David Ragan
- Boris Said
- Ron Fellows
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Burton
- David Stremme
- David Gilliland
- Ryan Newman
- Danica Patrick
- Aric Almirola
- Travis Kvapil
- Jason Bowles (driving for Brian Vickers)
- Josh Wise
- Justin Marks
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- David Reutimann
- Alex Kennedy
- Paulie Harraka
- Tomy Drissi
- JJ Yeley
- Victor Gonzalez Jr.