Ragan Puts Roush Fenway On First Pole At Brickyard
July 30, 2011 | By Paul Kelly
David Ragan continued Roush Fenway Racing’s domination of the first two days of the Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com, winning the pole Saturday, July 30 with a lap of 182.994 mph.
Roush Fenway ruled all three practice sessions at this event, with Matt Kenseth leading the opening practice Friday and Greg Biffle on top of the second practice Friday and pre-qualifying practice Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But Ragan stole the show in qualifying, claiming the first Brickyard 400 pole for himself and Roush Fenway late in the session in the No. 6 UPS Hall of Fame/Ned Jarrett Ford.
“It sounds good,” Ragan said. “Brickyard winner would sound even better. This is the first step to winning the race tomorrow. Our UPS Ford has been fast. It’s been fast in qualifying trim. We still need to work on it a little bit for race trim. We’re just a little off, but I have a lot of confidence in our team that we can make the right decisions tomorrow and be up front.”
The 160-lap race starts at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday.
Kasey Kahne will join Ragan on the front row after turning a lap of 182.927 in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. Three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson will start third in the No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet after a qualifying lap of 182.801.
Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski qualified fourth and fifth, respectively, trying to deliver 15-time Indianapolis 500-winning car owner Roger Penske his first Brickyard 400 victory.
Busch was fourth at 182.671 in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, with Keselowski fifth at 182.556 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
The first four spots in the starting field are occupied by each of the four manufacturers competing in NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon will start eighth after a lap of 182.242 in the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet.
Indiana natives and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart share the 12th row in the starting lineup. Newman qualified 23rd at 181.320 in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, with Stewart 24th at 181.251 in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet.
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2011 Brickyard 400 tickets: Tickets for the Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com remain available Race Morning.
Fans wanting to attend the race need to go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road or to one of the satellite ticket offices, located outside of Gates 3, 6, 9 and 10. All ticket offices will open at 6 a.m. and remain open until 1 p.m. Fans holding print-at-home tickets will be admitted only at Gates 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10.
Tickets start at $30 for general admission. Children 12 and under will receive free general admission when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.