The Joe Gibbs Racing Qualifying Report

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Food City 500

Date: March 20, 2009
Event: Food City 500
(Race 5 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-Mile Oval)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports (15.256 seconds at 125.773 mph)


JGR Lineup:
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Snickers Toyota (Starts 19th – 15.521 seconds at 123.626 mph)
Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Starts 23rd – 15.534 seconds at 123.523 mph)
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota (Starts 24th – 15.538 seconds at 123.491 mph)

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Snickers Toyota will lead Joe Gibbs Racing’s three-car contingent in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.
Busch qualified 19th with a lap of 15.521 seconds.

"The Snickers Toyota was just too tight,” said Busch. “The guys worked on freeing the car up during practice, but it still just plowed through the corners. We did about four race runs in practice and the car was really good in race trim. We'll tool on the race setup some more tomorrow and get ready for Sunday."

Joey Logano will start the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol from the 23rd position after qualifying with a lap of 15.534 seconds.

"I wish I picked up a little bit more than that,” said Logano. “I've got room to improve that's for sure. We looked at some things and I'm going to take that for now. We'll work on the car tomorrow in race trim and hopefully get up there tomorrow. I think that's respectable for where we're at.”

Meanwhile Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota will start 24th after posting a lap of 15.538 seconds.

“We improved all morning in practice then didn't back it up on our qualifying run,” said Hamlin. “The FedEx team always races well here. On race day we'll have plenty of time to get to the front of the field. Tomorrow we'll work on race set-up and on Sunday we'll race and run well."

Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports captured the pole with a time of 15.256.

The Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN begins Sunday 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.