Carl Edwards Turns a Heluva Good! Lap to Claim Pole

Carl Edwards (#99 Aflac Ford, 124.432mph) will start Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen from pole position after borrowing a set up from his team mate Greg Biffle (#16 3M Ford). “I’ve got to thank my guys,” said a happy Edwards. “We went and asked Greg and his guys for help and they were kind enough to help us out,” he continued. Biffle had set fastest laps in both of Friday’s practice sessions and went on to qualified 7th Carl shouted into his radio after his qualifying run, “I don’t care if that holds up, that’s a hell of a way to qualify!”

2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray secured the second starting spot with a lap at 123.814mph. “We’re having a great year,” said Jamie.

Former Formula One racer Juan Pablo Montoya locked down the third starting spot after going 123.699mph. “I didn’t make any mistakes. It was a good lap. When you only have one lap, it’s better to put down a safe lap than to go all out.” said the Columbian.

Rounding out the top 5 starting positions are AJ Allmendinger (#43 Insignia HDTV Ford) and Kurt Busch (#2 Miller Light/Vortex Dodge)

5-time Watkins Glen International winner Tony Stewart will line up 6th in Sunday’s race. “It’s still going to be a better starting spot than last year,” said Tony. “So we’ll be in good shape. I was happy with my car at the end of the day yesterday.”

7th place starter Greg Biffle said, “I got a little loose putting the power down. I tried to be a little conservative. I didn’t want to put it in a ditch and have to start from the back.”

Sonoma winner Jimmie Johnson (#48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) will start the race from the inside of the 5th row, alongside Kyle Busch (#18 M&M’s Toyota).

Marcos Ambrose, who had just put his Nationwide car on pole position for today’s ZIPPO 200, will start 11th. “I tried to be conservative, but then got a little greedy in some corners. This should keep us in the front part of the field, so I’m happy with where we are.”

Another Watkins Glen crowd favorite, Boris Said will start 13th. “I don’t know if it’s going to last,” said Boris. “Not the qualifying lap I was looking for. I was a bit too aggressive,” he continued.

The best of the “Go or Go Home” drivers was Patrick Carpentier (#26 Air Guard Ford) who will start 17th. “I’m really happy. I’ve got a great race car,” said the Canadian open wheel veteran.

Following qualifying, Jeff Gordon (#24 Dupont Chevrolet) was penalized for unapproved modifications during impound. He will start the race from the back.

The stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take the green flag for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen on Sunday, August 8 at 1:00pm.