Earnhardt Jr. earns pole for Sunday's Texas Cup race

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The thunderous cheering that erupted Friday at Texas Motor Speedway when Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted his pole-winning qualifying lap stood in sharp contrast to the stunned silence that followed rookie Michael McDowell's frightening crash earlier in the session.

Earnhardt will start from the top spot for Sunday's Samsung 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas after touring the 1.5-mile track in 28.286 seconds (190.907 mph), a lap that second-place qualifier Carl Edwards described as "screaming fast."

McDowell can thank recent safety innovations -- soft walls and NASCAR's new racecar, in particular -- for being able to start at all, after slamming nose-first into the outside wall when his car spun out of control in Turn 1 on his second qualifying lap (watch video | read more). McDowell will take the green flag in 40th position, on an owner-points provisional.

McDowell's crash held up qualifying for 72 minutes while speedway crews welded steel L-plating to the damaged area of the wall. The track cooled during the delay, benefitting those who qualified after the unscheduled break.

Earnhardt attributed much of his success to the No. 88 Chevrolet built for him by Hendrick Motorsports, the organization he joined this year after eight full seasons in Cup racing with family-founded Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"That's a good lap, obviously," said Earnhardt, who claimed his first pole of the season and the eighth of his career. "They just build fast cars, man. It's a lot of fun. I'm surprised we were able to do as good as we did when we were racing against 'em."

Edwards grabbed his spot on the outside of the front row with a lap at 189.487 mph. Kyle Busch was third at 189.069 mph, followed by Ryan Newman (189.043 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (188.772 mph). David Reutimann, David Ragan, Matt Kenseth, Mike Skinner and Kasey Kahne claimed starting positions 6-10.

The second driver to make a qualifying attempt, Edwards was disappointed his lap didn't stand up, but he was thankful that he didn't have to qualify after McDowell's accident.

"I went and looked at the car," Edwards said. "That's a hard hit. That's all you can say about it. I'm just glad he walked away. I'm glad I didn't have to go after that -- I'm glad I went before it. That would have been hard to get out of your mind."

Notes: Subbing for Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Dodge, Chad McCumbee failed to qualify for the race. Burney Lamar and Dario Franchitti also failed to make the field. ... Reutimann, McDowell's teammate, was the fastest of the drivers outside the top 35 in owner points who had to make the field on speed. ... Bill Elliott qualified 28th in the Wood Brothers Ford and did not have to use a past champion's provisional. ... Sam Hornish Jr. (17th) was the fastest rookie qualifier.