Nascar – Stenhouse Jr takes his first pole in Atlanta

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has yet to score a top ten finish this season, but things could soon change for the rookie. The Roush Fenway Racing driver earned his first Sprint Cup Series pole by posting a time of 29 on the Atlanta oval, ahead of his teammate Carl Edwards by a tenth. “It's a good thing to achieve something this year because we haven't really achieved the objectives we had set for ourselves so far,” comments the pole sitter.

Juan-Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing), replaced by Kyle Larson next year, further highlighted himself by setting the third fastest time ahead of Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports). Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) will start from sixth position ahead of Martin Truex Jr (Michael Waltrip Racing), Dale Earnhardt Jr (Hendrick Motorsports), Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports).

Two races before the Chase, the pressure is increasing for certain competitors. Joey Logano (Penske Racing), currently in tenth place in the Championship, will start from 11th place. Ryan Newman (Stewart-Haas Racing) will start from 17th position just ahead of Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports). Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing) only set the 23rd fastest time in qualifying, beating Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing) to the wire. Kurt Busch (Furniture Row Racing) only managed 32nd place.