BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN - Dale Earnhardt Jr. beat Kevin Harvick, his teammates and darkness to win his first pole of the season in qualifying Friday for the Pepsi 400.
Rain delayed the start of the session by nearly four hours at Michigan Speedway, and visibility was waning as the last of the 44 cars took a time at about 8:30 p.m. EDT.
Earnhardt drove his to a lap of 189.668 mph for his fifth career pole as Chevrolets swept the top five spots. It's his first pole since last November, and his second at Michigan.
He holds the track record of 191.149, set two years ago.
``It wasn't perfect,'' Earnhardt said. ``I got loose in Turns 3 and 4 and had to lift a little over there.
``I made a commitment this week to try to do what I can to help this team do better, to try to get ourselves back to Victory Lane where I think we should be. This is a good step in that direction.''
Harvick, the final car to run, was a tick slower at 189.026.
``This track is pretty weather sensitive,'' he said. ``We had a good draw today and we'll take it. We'll take the good and roll along with it.''
Earnhardt teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park were next, followed by Robby Gordon.
Dodge teammates Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield nailed down the next two positions. Dale Jarrett, Ryan Newman and John Andretti rounded out the top 10.
Earnhardt has struggled since his victory in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega in May moved him to fifth in the point standings. He only has two top-10s in the 13 races since, and he's slipped to 17th in points.
``There's a lot of mistakes I've made and a lot of the things the team's done,'' Earnhardt said of his recent slide. ``You get to a point where you get sick of it, and you're going to want to take yourself out of the equation.
``So I'm going to do everything I can this weekend to take myself out of the equation.''
Elliott, looking for his third victory in four races, picked up more than a half- second from his best practice lap. He'll start in the top 10 for the fifth straight time, driving the same car he won with at Pocono and Indianapolis.
``I'm proud of my guys,'' Elliott said. ``We unloaded and we were decent, but they just keep chipping away at it making it better and better.''
For Park, his run capped a day during which he signed a one-year contract extension with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
``I just drove it for all it was worth,'' he said. ``I must have been concentrating so much that when I got out of the car, I was huffing and puffing and took a big breath. I know I can hold my breath for 38 seconds.''
Jimmie Johnson, the leading Rookie of the Year contender who's third in points, crashed his car in practice and had to use backup. He ran the 29th-best lap.
``The best thing about it is that this team never gives up,'' Johnson said. ``We've always got a great hot rod waiting for me in the trailer. I actually think we're going to be better off on Sunday with this race car.''
Point leader Sterling Marlin, the defending champion of this race, qualified 26th, and Mark Martin, his closest pursuer, was 17th.
Jeff Gordon, trying to snap a 30-race losing streak, will start 19th.
Saturday
January 18th, 2025
7:28PM
