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3 Indy 500 Champs Qualify For Cup Race

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2007

AVONDALE, Ariz. - It was a good day for Indianapolis 500 winners in NASCAR qualifying.

Sam Hornish Jr. joined Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya as former Indy 500 winners to earn a spot in Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway - marking the first time in NASCAR history three former Indy champions will be in the field.

Carl Edwards won his first pole in almost two years Friday by turning a fast lap of 132.773 mph around the mile oval in his Roush Fenway Ford. Martin Truex Jr., who had the pole last week in Texas and finished third, qualified second at 132.758.

It was Edwards' first pole start since Homestead in 2005.

"Three-thousandths of a second is a little tough to swallow," Truex said. "That's the third time we've been second by about that much this year."

Jeff Gordon, who trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 30 points in the Nextel Cup standings, qualified third under overcast conditions in the desert. Gordon is a three-time Phoenix pole winner and won here in April to tie the late Dale Earnhardt on NASCAR's career wins list.

"I'm happy that we're third," Gordon said. "We'd rather be first, but I'm glad I'm not 10th or 15th or further back. With this car at this racetrack, it just seems like unless you've really found something good, it's hard to come up through the field."

Johnson will start sixth.

Those masters of the open-wheeled Indy machines won't be starting near the front, though.

Hornish, a three-time IndyCar Series champion, will be 26th on the starting grid in his Nextel Cup debut. He failed to qualify in his first six attempts, and his performance came one day after he told The Associated Press he will switch full-time to NASCAR next season.

Villeneuve, who made his Cup debut at Talladega last month, will start 27th. Montoya, in his first full NASCAR season, took the 14th position.

TOYOTA-BOUND: Hall of Fame Racing is following Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota.

The team said that J.J. Yeley would drive a Toyota Camry in 2008. The team drove Chevrolets the past two years, but because of its alliance with JGR, it will follow the team to Toyota.

Hall of Fame Racing recently was purchased by a group that includes Jeff Moorad, a former top sports agent and now co-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks logo is on the car this weekend.

Yeley currently drives a Chevrolet.

VETERAN MOVE: Petty Enterprises will have the Paralyzed Veterans of America as a primary sponsor for Kyle Petty's No. 45 Dodge for two races next year at Richmond and Pocono.

The organization will be an associate sponsor for the other 34 NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

LIVING A DREAM: Clint Bowyer was driving home from his second-place finish in Charlotte, N.C., a month ago and was not happy.

He thought he should have passed Gordon at the end for a victory. Then there was that moment of clarity, where Bowyer remembered just how far he had come.

"Who would have thought the day would have come in my life where I was mad that I didn't pass Jeff Gordon on the last lap?" Bowyer said.

It's been that kind of year for the 28-year-old driver from Emporia, Kan., who finds himself third in the Chase behind Johnson and Gordon with two races to go. And it's just Bowyer's second season on the circuit.

In the eight Chase races, Bowyer has one pole, his first career victory, three top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes.

Now he's back at Phoenix International Raceway, where he made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in April 2005.

BUYING IN: Best Buy has bought in to NASCAR. The electronics retail chain will be primary sponsor for driver Elliott Sadler's No. 19 Dodge in 15 Sprint Cup races next year.

The car had been sponsored by Dodge dealers.

Best Buy spent the past several seasons with Haas CNC Racing.

The Associated Press

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