FORT WORTH, Texas, April 4 (UPI) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the pole Friday for Sunday's running of the Samsung 500 on a wreck-marred day of qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway.
Early in the qualifying session, Michael McDowell's car spun out of control, hit the wall in the first turn at 200 mph and rolled over seven times before coming to a stop. McDowell was able to walk away from the accident.
The incident delayed further qualifying for an hour and when things resumed Earnhardt turned a lap on the 1.5-mile track in 28.286 seconds.
It was the first pole of Earnhardt's season and the eighth of his Sprint Cup career.
Carl Edwards qualified second, followed by Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson.
Jeff Burton, who leads the season-long points race, qualified 35th. Burton became the first two-time winner in the 11-year history of this track last year.
The race at the high-speed Texas oval follows two races on the relatively slow-speed short tracks in Bristol, Tenn., and Martinsville, Va.
