Quals crash sends hopeful Ragan to back of start grid

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- David Ragan sure isn't making it easy on himself or his No. 6 Ford team.

For the second time in three weeks, Ragan will have to go to a backup car after crashing his car during qualifying. Ragan got big-time loose off Turn 4 and couldn't hold it, smacking the wall with both ends of the car after spinning wildly down the front stretch (watch video).

"I just got a little free and I felt like I would have enough track to chase it and just didn't get out of the throttle," Ragan said. "In a normal situation I would have cracked the throttle and just slowed down a little, but I felt like I could hold on for that extra split-second and still get a good lap in.

"Our AAA Ford was fast in practice [seventh overall], so we'll have to put some of the same stuff that worked well in practice on our backup and try to make the best of a bad situation."

For Ragan, it's a big blow. Coming into Bristol, he was tied for 13th place in the driver standings, with Clint Bowyer, just 26 points behind 12th-place Denny Hamlin. His lap at 16.019 seconds, 119.783 mph was good for 27th, but he'll have to drop to the rear at the start [Saturday] night. His average finish at Bristol is 29.3.

Bowyer, on the other hand, made a solid run and was one of three drivers to post the same time and speed -- 15.979 seconds, 120.083 mph. He will start 22nd, trailed by 12th-place driver Hamlin and Aric Almirola.

Bowyer has two top-five and three top-10 finishes in five starts at BMS and his average finish is a respectable 14.3.

Hamlin was the first car out and desperately needed a decent run to protect his lead over Bowyer and Ragan. He timed in at 15.979 seconds, 120.083 mph, two-tenths of a second quicker than he was in practice. "We picked up, so that was good, because we never pick up after practice here," Hamlin said. "It's just so close."

Hamlin, who will start 21st, has a 16.6 average finish at Bristol.

Tony Stewart, sitting at the very top of the Chase Bubble in sixth with a 162-point lead on 13th place, made a calculated move after watching Ragan crash. As the next car out, Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli made the decision to adjust air pressures to tighten up the car just before he went out, and he slowed down by two-tenths of a second.

Smoke's lap at 16.021 seconds, 119.768 mph put him 28th. Stewart has a victory and five top-five runs at Bristol in 19 starts, finishes at a 16.8 clip and has led 1,352 laps in those races. (Continued)