2008 November Pole Sitter: #48-Jimmie Johnson, 134.725mph, finished 1st

2009 April Pole Sitter: #5-Mark Martin, 133.814mph, finished 1st

Track Qualifying Record: Ryan Newman, 11/2004, 135.854mph

Oldest Pole Winner: Mark Martin, 50 years, 3 months, 9 days, 4/18/2009

Youngest Pole Winner: Kyle Busch, 20 years, 11 months, 20 days, 4/22/2006

Fastest Last Practice Speed: #77-Sam Hornish Jr., 133.884mph, scheduled to qualify 24th out of 46 drivers

Truex Jr. wins Phoenix pole: #1-Martin Truex Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500(k) Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 135.120mph [in his first lap, even his 2nd lap of 134.887 would had won the pole] for his 3rd pole of the season and 4th career pole. #2-Busch was 2nd fastest followed by #48-Johnson, #9-Kahne, #11-Hamlin, #16-Biffle, #18-Busch, #14-Stewart, #07-Mears and #5-Martin.
Supposedly it is the first time ever that the #1 car has been on the pole and the #2 car starting 2nd.
The non Top-35 drivers who made the race: #71-Labonte, #13-Papis, #09-Gilliland, #66-Blaney, #87-Nemechek, #82-Speed, #36-McDowell and #37-Raines.
The three drivers who failed to qualify: #78-Smith, #70-Conway [so won't be running the triple] and #02-Ash.(11-13-2009)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Phoenix:
#1-Martin Truex Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 with a lap of 26.643 seconds, 135.120 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 152 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his third pole and 11th top-10 start in 2009. His last pole was recorded at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Labor Day weekend.
This is his first pole in eight races at Phoenix International Raceway.
#2-Kurt Busch (second) posted his 18th top-10 start of 2009 and his ninth in 14 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
#48-Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Phoenix International Raceway. It is his 25th in 35 races this season.
#13-Max Papis (23rd) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(11-13-2009)

Where the 2009 Chase Drivers start at Phoenix:
(in order of chase points standings coming into Phoenix)
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 3rd
2) #5-Mark Martin, starts 10th
3) #24-Jeff Gordon, 14th
4) #2-Kurt Busch, 2nd
5) #14-Tony Stewart, 8th
6) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 17th
7) #16-Greg Biffle, 6th
8) #11-Denny Hamlin, 5th
9) #39-Ryan Newman, 24th
10) #9-Kasey Kahne, 4th
11) #99-Carl Edwards, 25th
12) #83-Brian Vickers, 19th
(11-13-2009)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway is scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2009 at 5:45pm/et.
TV: ESPN2 - 5:30pm/et
Radio: MRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio
Qualifying Re-Air: none scheduled

Pole Progression: (who had the pole first, who got it next and who ended up with it)
#6-Ragan, 1st out to qualify, 132.812mph, starts 33rd
#29-Harvick, 3rd out, 132.930mph, starts 31st
#83-Vickers, 4th out, 133.680mph, starts 19th
#07-Mears, 5th out, 134.028mph, starts 9th
#11-Hamlin, 7th out, 134.228mph, starts 5th
#9-Kahne, 8th out, 134.293mph, starts 4th
#48-Johnson, 15th out, 134.454mph, starts 3rd
#1-Truex Jr., 25th out, 135.120mph, starts 1st [3rd pole of 2009]

How did the non Top-35 teams do in qualifying?
Fastest 7 get in, 8th [43rd] spot goes to most recent past champ not in the race already or 8th fastest
[46 entered for 43 spots]:
have qualified for the race:
#71-Bobby Labonte [PC1], 133.571
#13-Max Papis, 133.403
#09-David Gilliland, 133.087
#66-Dave Blaney, 132.925
#87-Joe Nemechek, 132.783
#82-Scott Speed, 132.333
#36-Michael McDowell, 132.275
#37-Tony Raines, 132.091
will miss the race:
#78-Regan Smith, 132.062
#70-Kevin Conway, 131.892
#02-Brandon Ash, 130.662

Rookie of the Year Candidates:
how fast were they and where do they start:
#13-Max Papis (X), 133.403mph, starts 23rd
#20-Joey Logano, 133.151mph, starts 27th
#82-Scott Speed (X), 132.333mph, starts 37th
(X) = needs to race their way in to the race
DNR = Did not race
DNQ = Did not qualify for race

Some Qualifying Notes:
none...yet

Practice Results:
Practice Speeds Page

Fastest Qualifier by Manufacturer::
Chevy: #1-Truex Jr., 135.120, starts 1st
Dodge: #2-Busch, 134.579, starts 2nd
Ford: #16-Biffle, 134.223, starts 6th
Toyota: #11-Hamlin, 134.228, starts 5th

Race info at: Race Info Page

Event Entry List

Past Champions Provisional page

All Time Sprint Cup Pole Winners

After the 5th race of the season, the current season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - First 35 by current Owner Points [team does not have to attempt all the races]
#2) - Last Years Cup Champ or the Event Champion if not already in the field
#3) - Car Owners whose team has won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#4) - Drivers who have won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#5) - Past Nextel Cup Champions not in by 1 thru 4
#6) - Qualifying Attempts with Owners points as the tie breaker
#7) - Qualifying Order Position
(all above apply as long as the team was entered by the entry deadline - usually 7-13 days before the race)