Kenseth captures The Winston pole

CONCORD, N.C. -- Matt Kenseth posted far and away the fastest time during pole qualifying for The Winston on Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, bettering second place Michael Waltrip by nearly an entire second as three Roush Racing Fords will start in the top five in Saturday’s all-star event.

Matt Kenseth. Credit: Autostock

Kenseth started the round with the night’s fastest four-tire pit stop -- a blistering 13.23 seconds -- then made three laps, all in a combined 112.938 seconds. That easily earned him his first career pole in The Winston.

The pit stop proved to be the vital portion of the run.

“That was pretty cool, but the pit crew was the reason,” Kenseth said. “My laps didn’t seem very good, and we still went out and beat ‘em.”

Waltrip, the 1996 winner of The Winston, sat atop the qualifying sheet until Kenseth, the next to last driver to qualify, took to the track. Waltrip agreed that Kenseth’s pit crew was the determining factor.

“I had faster lap times than Matt did, but he took advantage of a faster stop,” Waltrip said.

Pit stops will be even more crucial Saturday. Under the event’s new format -- 90 laps total, broken down into three segments of 40 laps, 30 laps and 20 laps -- only the top 20 cars in the running order qualify for the second round. Only the top 10 cars in the second segment move on to Round 3.

During the initial segment, teams must make a green flag four-tire stop.

“The pit crew will be really important tomorrow night,” Kenseth said. “They did it for me at Rockingham and they did it here tonight. To win a Winston Cup pole, I knew I’d need help from my team. I knew I couldn’t do it myself.”

Michael Waltrip. Credit: Autostock

Waltrip will start second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin. Rusty Wallace would have started third, but was penalized three seconds for a loose lug nut on his Ford. Subsequently, Wallace will roll off 19th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who by winning The Winston in 2000 became the lone rookie to ever win the affair, will start 24th.

Kenseth finished 14th last season in his only career start in The Winston. By earning the pole Friday, he earned $50,000. That pales in comparison to the $750,000 he would bank by taking the checkers Saturday night.

“The guys did a great job tonight,” said Kenseth of his crew. “This was a great team effort that these guys put together. We try to give them as much incentive as we can, and Robbie (crew chief Reiser) does a great job at it. It really helps to start up front.

“It was a two- or three-month project to build this car like we wanted it. I guess it turned out pretty good. Even without looking at the speeds, this is the best driving car I’ve ever had at Charlotte.”

That’s saying something. Kenseth won the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.