DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., July 3 (UPI) -- Joe Nemechek used a solid second lap Wednesday night to secure his third straight Busch series pole at Daytona, edging Scott Wimmer for the top spot in the Stacker 2/GNC Live Well 250.
Driving a Pontiac Grand Prix, Nemechek averaged 185.793 miles per hour on his second tour around the 2 1/2-mile tri-oval to knock Wimmer off the pole. Nemechek, a regular on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, also started from the pole at the EAS/GNC Live Well 300 in February and at the NAPA Auto Parts 300 in February 2001.
"It really doesn't matter where you start here," Nemechek said. "The draft is the big equalizer, and you can get to the front. The only thing about starting at the front is you are the first guy to get hung out."
He should know. Nemechek finished 32nd and last in his previous two Busch series starts here. Wimmer posted a top lap of 185.452 mph in his first race behind the wheel of the Siemens Dodge Intrepid.
"We brought the same car that David Green sat on the front row with," said Wimmer, who is sixth in the Busch series standings. "Our guys worked really hard on the car. It's a great race car. I'm just proud of my guys working really hard to get the car ready."
Randy LaJoie qualified third in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo at 184.691 mph and was followed by the Chevrolet of Jay Sauter and the Pontiac of Kevin Lepage.
Stacy Compton, Bobby Hamilton Jr., rookie Scott Riggs, points leader Jack Sprague and red-hot Greg Biffle filled out the top 10.
