Todd Bodine lands record pole in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Todd Bodine not only wanted to win a pole -- he needed to.

Bodine, driver of the No. 66 Ford owned by Haas Carter Motorsports, came into the UAW-GM DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway without a sponsor for the rest of the season. He started things off on a good roll by laying down a record-breaking run of 172.850 mph (31.241 seconds).

Starting outside of Bodine will be rookie Ryan Newman in the No. 12 ALLTELL Ford. Rounding out the first two rows will be the hometown favorite of Kurt Busch in the No. 97 Rubbermaid Ford with Jimmy Spencer in the No. 41 Target Doge starting outside of him.

Ryan Newman (left) and Todd Bodine will start on the front row Sunday. Credit: AP

This is the fifth Bud Pole Award for Bodine in 148 Winston Cup Series starts. However, this one doesn't have the usual celebratory tones that usually come with a top-spot start.

"We came out here with the intention to qualify well," Bodine said. "We made some changes after talking with Joe (Nemechek, Bodine's teammate) and that helped us out some.

The sponsorship issue has been hanging over the team's head since Kmart Corp. announced they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. Kmart and the team agreed to terms for the first two races of the season, but team opted to run Las Vegas without financial help.

"We really didn't feel like we had something to prove by getting the pole," Bodine said. "We qualified sixth here last year and I won the Busch Series race, as well. We've always run well here.

"The money to come out here was already spent on hotel rooms and flight reservations. The only thing we didn't spend money on already are the tires. It was really a no-brainer to come out here.

Bodine went on to say that there was a reason for making the long haul from Charlotte, N.C. without a sponsor on the car.

The sponsorless No. 66 Ford of Todd Bodine. Credit: AP

"We wanted to be on TV without a sponsor," he said. "We want to show people we need sponsorship and there's no better way to show we're a good race team than to come out here and win a pole without sponsorship.

"We're talking with people, but nothing is even close to being a deal.

"Right now, we're going to decide on Monday if we are going to Atlanta. To be quite blunt, I don't think we're going to be in Atlanta. This is the worst time of the year to be looking for money because everyone already has their budgets decided."

For Newman, this is the second time he's raced in Las Vegas and his outside pole start is much better than his last visit to the track.

"We started 35th and finished 33rd last year," Newman said. "Starting second allows us to get out in the clean air and run a little better. This gives Todd and I an opportunity to break out and a to pick a good spot on pit road, as well."

Starting in the row behind Newman will be Kurt Busch who can attest to the statement that there's no place like home. This will be his second Winston Cup Series start in his hometown, something that Busch says gets him excited.

"I think I got all those Vegas fans up on their toes on that last qualifying lap," Busch said. "I'm one of the few drivers on the circuit that actually gets to race at a track in his hometown. I'd love to win for those Las Vegas fans on Sunday."

The rest of the top-five rows will consist of Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, last week's race winner Matt Kenseth, Ricky Craven and Dave Blaney.

Derrike Cope was the only car that didn't qualify while Jeff Burton, last year's winner, had to take a provisional and will start 39th.

Jeff Gordon won this race last year after starting 24th. He also took home the No Bull $1 million bonus that he and a lucky fan were eligible for through the promotion. This year, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby Hamilton and Matt Kenseth are the five drivers who can claim the bonus cash.

Green flag is at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday for the 267-lap race that can be seen live on FOX and heard on PRN Radio.