Montoya wins New Hampshire pole

Juan Pablo Montoya captured his first pole of the season and his second straight at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Montoya ran a lap of 132.337 mph, 28.781 seconds in Friday's qualifying session, beating Kasey Kahne for the top starting spot in Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Montoya himself was surprised by his pole-winning lap after he got loose in Turn 3.

"It was a good lap until Turn 3, where I got sideways," Montoya said. "I got sideways, still in the gas, and I thought, 'They're going to kill me.' I was about to press the button and say, 'Sorry, guys, I got loose,' and they go, 'Oh, good job!'


This is Montoya's third career pole. Rounding out the top five are Kurt Busch, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman.

Bobby Labonte, who ended his contract with TRG Motorsports this week, had a rough day Friday in the No. 7 car for Robby Gordon Motorsports. The 2000 Sprint Cup champion wrecked in Turn 4 in the first practice session and had to go to a backup car. Time expired for the No. 7 team to make their qualifying run, but they made the field based on owner points and will roll out 42nd in Sunday's race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s qualifying run was delayed after a fuel pump cable broke twice on the No. 88 car during practice. He will start 31st.

Reed Sorenson will be making his first start in the No. 83 car, sitting in for Brian Vickers, who is undergoing treatment for blood clots. Sorenson is the third driver to pilot the ride in Vickers' absence, following Casey Mears and Mattias Ekstrom. He will start in the 29th position.

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 will be broadcast live Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on TNT. Green flag is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET.


Starting lineup:

1. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 132.337.
2. (9) Kasey Kahne, Ford, 132.158.
3. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 132.062.
4. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 131.998.
5. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 131.966.
6. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 131.875.
7. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 131.742.
8. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 131.633.
9. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 131.556.
10. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 131.456.
11. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 131.329.
12. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 131.315.
13. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, 131.279.
14. (12) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 131.211.
15. (82) Scott Speed, Toyota, 131.189.
16. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 131.18.
17. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 131.103.
18. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 131.049.
19. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 131.035.
20. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 131.017.
21. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 130.945.
22. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 130.801.
23. (36) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 130.734.
24. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 130.626.
25. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 130.599.
26. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 130.586.
27. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 130.456.
28. (43) A J Allmendinger, Ford, 130.367.
29. (83) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 130.313.
30. (19) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 130.3.
31. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 130.22.
32. (13) Max Papis, Toyota, 130.024.
33. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 130.02.
34. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 129.714.
35. (46) J.J. Yeley, Dodge, 129.626.
36. (66) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 129.6.
37. (55) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 129.278.
38. (26) David Stremme, Ford, 129.221.
39. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 128.893.
40. (71) Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 127.997.
41. (34) Kevin Conway, Ford, Owner Points.
42. (7) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Owner Points.
43. (64) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 128.178.

Did not qualify:
(38) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 127.679.
(09) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 127.436.