WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Kyle Busch showed the aces at Watkins Glen International that he has developed a mastery of the road courses, too.

With a lap at 126.421 mph, Busch, the last driver to make a qualifying attempt in Saturday's time trials, knocked A.J. Allmendinger off the pole for Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, in a session that saw 15 drivers beat Jeff Gordon's 2003 track record of 124.580 mph.

Busch, who earned the eighth pole award of his career and his first of the season, didn't think his lap would be good enough -- either immediately before he qualified or immediately after.

"I was actually surprised there with my lap time," said Busch, who won his first road-course pole. "I came to the checkered, and I'm like, 'Eh, it was OK. It wasn't great.' I felt like I screwed up a little bit here, a little bit there, maybe. But maybe those were good screw-ups.

"It's really quick out there, as a matter of fact. Getting into the braking zones [is] kind of crucial -- and being able to make sure that you can get the throttle down off the corners and get turned. The bus stop [inner loop] has obviously been a crucial area here [Saturday] with everybody qualifying. We seemed to hit it right, so great job by the team."

Out Front with Miss Coors Light: Busch on track record

Allmendinger will start second after a lap at 126.041 mph, followed by Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose (125.984 mph). Jimmie Johnson (125.663 mph) claimed the fourth starting position, and Juan Montoya (125.654 mph), last year's race winner, will start fifth in the 22nd Sprint Cup race of the season.

Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, series points leader Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Regan Smith will start from positions six through 10, respectively.

Ambrose, who was fastest in Friday's final practice session, said he underdrove the car slightly on his qualifying lap.

"It would have been great to be on the front row with A.J., but we'll start third for the race," said Ambrose, who would like to add his name to the list of first-time winners this year. "We've got a great package. I feel really confident, and we'll just see how the day unfolds.

"It's going to be interesting to see how it goes on fuel strategy and brake wear and all those factors that come into play on a road course. Hopefully, we make the right judgment calls in getting the car ready for the race."

Dave Blaney, Brian Simo and P.J. Jones failed to qualify for the 43-car field.

Hamlin spins in quals, will start 42nd

Denny Hamlin will start Sunday's race from a familiar place -- the rear of the field.

But during Saturday's qualifying session, Hamlin found a new way to get there.

Determined not to give in to conservatism during time trials, Hamlin spun, slapped the guard rail with the right side of his car and failed to complete a qualifying run. Accordingly, the driver who has dropped to the rear because of engine issues four times this year will start from the 42nd position on an owners' points provisional.

Video: Watch Hamlin's qualifying mishap

Hamlin said an aggressive approach to qualifying led to the spin.

"I committed to not giving up," he said. "It's just our car was super, super fast. We wrote down in our notes the last two years that I wasn't nearly aggressive enough in qualifying. I was more content on hitting my marks and making sure it was a smooth lap and we always qualify about 25th -- wasn't going to do that this time.

"I was aggressive, and obviously we got a little loose, and you see what happened. But I'm excited about how fast our car was, to be honest with you."

Despite the contact with the fence, Hamlin's team opted to repair the primary car, rather than go to a backup.

"It barely touched the wall, and, really, the wheel wasn't out of alignment at all. It just looked like some minor body stuff -- and we'll get them [Sunday]."

Hamlin is 11th in the Cup standings and 23 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified 25th.