Clint Bowyer earned his first Craftsman Truck Series pole. Credit: HSP/Nate Mecha

Bowyer sets record in Texas qualifying

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Clint Bowyer's taking quite a liking to the Craftsman Truck Series.

	Silverado 350K Top 10 Qualifiers No. Driver Make 1. 46 Clint Bowyer Chevy 2. 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 3. 10 Terry Cook Ford 4. 21 Bobby East Ford 5. 17 David Reutimann Toyota 6. 9 Ted Musgrave Toyota 7. 14 Rick Crawford Ford 8. 15 Kyle Busch Chevy 9. 33 Ron Hornaday Chevy 10. 22 Bill Lester Toyota • Complete lineup, click here

Bowyer's lap of 184.464 mph around the Texas Motor Speedway's 1.5-mile oval earned him the pole for Friday night's Silverado 350K -- and a new track record.

That makes three top-five starts for Bowyer in three races this season.

Mike Skinner, who had won four consecutive Texas poles, barely missed carding his fifth. His lap of 184.332 mph was just .021 seconds slower than Bowyer.

"We definitely didn't leave anything out there," said Skinner, who lost the June Texas race to Todd Bodine on the final lap. "If you gave me 10 more tries, I don't know if I could have run any faster."

Bowyer, who led both his previous series starts with a best finish of seventh at Martinsville Speedway, agreed that breaking Skinner's TMS stranglehold and track record was a significant accomplishment.

"Everyone knows that Skinner can get around this place," Bowyer said. "So to be able to knock him off and keep that record is a testament to this team. They're really strong. I'm fortunate to be in good equipment that makes your job a whole lot easier."

Terry Cook, Bobby East and David Reutimann rounded out the top five.

Nine drivers qualified faster than Skinner's record of 183.206 recorded on June 8.

Bodine, winner of three of the last four races at Texas, will have to work his way through traffic to earn a fourth win. He'll roll off 26th of the 36 trucks that qualified.