DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Richard Childress locked Jeff Burton
in a bearhug and didn't want to let go.
The NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner made a big financial and
emotional investment during the winter to get his team back to the
sport's top echelon. The changes paid their first dividend Sunday,
with Burton putting his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the
pole for the Daytona 500.
"It's big," said Burton, who hadn't won a pole in more than
five years. "Hopefully, it's another sign that this team is
getting ready to turn things around."
Childress had one of the strongest teams in the sport until
longtime driver and friend Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash
during the 2001 Daytona 500. Kevin Harvick had a good season for
RCR after replacing Earnhardt the following week at Rockingham, but
the team has struggled in the years since.
Childress was determined to turn things around, making numerous
personnel changes and radically improving the team's equipment
since the end of the 2005 season. This was the first big test.
"Yeah, it's emotional," Childress said. "We've struggled for
the last few years. We've got to put it all together and we've got
to start winning."
Burton outran 57 other competitors to earn the top starting spot
for the Feb. 19 race, his third career pole and first since the
fall 2000 race in Richmond, when he was driving for Roush Racing.
His fast lap of 189.151 mph on a windy, chilly day at Daytona
International Speedway was the fastest qualifying run on the
2.5-mile, high-banked oval since Dale Jarrett's 191.091 in February
2000.
"We knew we had a fast car yesterday, we just didn't know how
fast these others guys really were," Burton said.
Qualifying times of Jimmie Johnson and two-time Cup champion
Terry Labonte were disallowed Sunday night after their cars failed
a lengthy inspection.
The drivers will start Thursday's first qualifying race in the
back of the field, but NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter left open the
possibility that their cars could be confiscated by the governing
body. Additional penalties also could follow.
Hunter said Johnson's Chevrolet did not meet template
specifications and Labonte's Chevy had unapproved modifications to
the carburetor.
Three-time and defending Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, one of
the last drivers to take to the track on the windy afternoon, came
close to knocking Burton's Chevrolet off the top spot with a lap of
188.877 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Harvick, the star of the team's driving trio, was among the
fastest in practice on Saturday and was one of the favorites to win
the pole. But he wound up 13th in qualifying. Teammates Burton and
rookie Clint Bowyer both made it into the top 10, though.
Bowyer led the large 2006 first-year class at 187.786, good for
seventh.
"RCR has always been pretty good at plate racing," the
youngster said.
NASCAR requires horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates
at Daytona and Talladega to keep the cars under 200 mph in the
interest of safety.
Burton's success in Sunday's qualifying came as no surprise to
the pole winner.
"After we tested down here [in January], I went home and told
my wife, 'You know, we have a shot at the pole in Daytona.' She
said I was crazy," said Burton, whose only victory at Daytona came
in the July race in 2000. "But we were a little lucky, too. We
caught the wind just right. I looked up and saw one flag was almost
laying flat and the other one was blowing across the track. I
thought, 'This could be big.' "
Only the top two qualifiers locked in starting positions in the
500. The rest of qualifying results are used to set the lineups for
Thursday's two 150-mile qualifying races.
The top 35 teams in last year's standings are guaranteed
starting positions in the race, leaving just eight positions for
the rest of the entries. The two top-finishing nonqualified drivers
from each of Thursday's races will make the field, along with
the fastest remaining drivers from Sunday's time trials.
Robert Yates Racing teammates Jarrett and Elliott Sadler just
missed the front row with laps of 188.849 and 188.810 in a pair of
new Ford Fusions. They were followed by Bobby Labonte, making his
first start for Petty Enterprises, at 187.935 in a Dodge.
Among the other big names before the disqualifications, top 2005
rookie Kyle Busch was 10th, followed in 11th by older brother and
former series champion Kurt Busch, making his debut for Penske
Racing South. Reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart was 18th, 2005
runner-up Greg Biffle 25th, third-place Carl Edwards 26th and fan
favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., 39th.
The fastest of the drivers not guaranteed a starting position
was two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott, eighth at 187.715.
Travis Kvapil and Hermie Sadler, 19th and 20th, were next fastest
among the entries who must drive into the race.
Those three will make the 43-car field, either by racing in on
Thursday or because of their qualifying speeds.
Terry Labonte is still guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. If
he doesn't make it as one of the top 14 in his qualifying race, he
will get the 43rd spot as the most recent series champion not in
the top 35 in points.