The Joe Gibbs Racing Qualifying Report

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Atlanta 500

Date: March 6, 2009
Event: Kobalt 500 (Race 4 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54 Mile quad-oval)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports (29.64 seconds at 187.045)

JGR Lineup:
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota (Starts 6th – 29.78 seconds at 186.165 mph)
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&Ms Toyota (Starts 9th - 29.82 seconds at 185.891 mph)
Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Starts 42nd – 30.47 seconds at 181.938 mph)

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota will lead Joe Gibbs Racing’s three-car contingent to the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway after posting the sixth-best qualifying effort tonight of 29.78 seconds.

"It was a little better,” said Hamlin. “We don't typically qualify very well, so it's a good change for us."

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota was first onto the track tonight and took one lap at 29.82 seconds which held up as the ninth best effort.

"We've struggled since we unloaded and we just didn't hit it right,” said Busch. “It was loose over the bumps and tight off of (turn) four - just not a great lap really."

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota qualified 42nd with a lap of 30.47 seconds. This is Logano’s first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I’m just really upset with myself,” said Logano. “The car bottomed out real bad. It’s frustrating, but we’ll work on the car in practice tomorrow and try to make it better.”

Mark Martin earned the pole with a lap of 29.64 seconds. Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Greg Biffle round out the top-five qualifiers.

The Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, GA begins Sunday, March 8 at 2 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 PM. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
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