Biffle wins pole at Dover; Kurt Busch to start second

DOVER, Del. -- Powering his No. 16 Ford around Dover International Speedway in 23.193 seconds Friday, Greg Biffle won the pole for Sunday's Best Buy 400 at the Monster Mile.

The 26th driver to make a qualifying run, Biffle (155.219 mph) knocked Sprint Cup point-leader Kyle Busch (153.767 mph) from the top spot (watch video). Subsequently, 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch knocked his brother from the front row after posting a lap at 153.971 mph to grab the second starting spot.

Best Buy 400

Lineup

Pos.	Driver	Speed	Time
1.	G. Biffle	155.219	23.193
2.	Ku. Busch	153.971	23.381
3.	Ky. Busch	153.767	23.412
4.	J. Johnson	153.754	23.414
5.	J. McMurray	153.597	23.438
6.	B. Vickers	153.413	23.466
7.	J. Gordon	153.368	23.473
8.	A.J. Allmendinger	152.912	23.543
9.	E. Sadler	152.873	23.549
10.	J. Mayfield	152.847	23.553

• Lineup | Videos | Photos

Three-time Dover winner and two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth at 153.754 mph, followed by Jamie McMurray (153.597 mph). Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler and Jeremy Mayfield will start from positions six through 10.

The pole was Biffle's second of the year and the sixth of his career. Ironically, Biffle nailed down the top starting spot despite spending Friday's practice session on race setup. With rainstorms in the forecast for Saturday, threatening to limit or eliminate Cup practice time, Biffle's car spent Friday's practice in race trim (Speeds).

"It's funny," Biffle said. "The less time we spend on qualifying, the better we qualify. At the end of practice, we tried a little different spring in the front of the car, and it picked the speed up about a tenth of a second a lap.

"We left that spring in for qualifying, and it probably sped the car up -- the car was perfect."

Kurt Busch indicated that recent testing in Charlotte had helped his Penske Racing team arrive at a workable setup for the No. 2 Dodge. Even with the improvement, Busch was no match for Biffle on Friday.

"I was trying to chase down Biffle, but he ran an incredible lap," Busch said.

Of those required to qualify on speed, Sam Hornish Jr., whose No. 77 Dodge currently is 36th in owner points, jumped from out of the race to the 16th starting position on his second qualifying lap. Bill Elliott had a past champion's available to him but didn't need it, after qualifying the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 24th position.

Chad McCumbee, substituting for Kyle Petty, and Jason Leffler, trying to make his first start in the No. 70 Haas CNC Chevrolet, failed to make the race.

Mayfield, subbing for the injured Dario Franchitti in the No. 40 Ganassi Racing Dodge, showed that his track qualifying record of 161.522 mph (June 4, 2004) was no accident. Mayfield's run Friday marked the 11th time he will begin from a top-10 starting spot in 26 career Dover races.