SPARTA, Ky., June 28 (UPI) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. set a qualifying record Friday in winning the pole for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
Earnhardt turned in a lap of 183.636 miles per hour, edging Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.
The nine leading qualifiers all broke the previous track record of 181.818 mph set last year by Johnson.
It was the 12th pole for Earnhardt in the Sprint Cup series and his first since last September at Richmond, Va. His last victory in the series came in June 2012 at Michigan.
Edwards qualified second for Saturday night's race at 183.306 mph, followed by Johnson at 183.144. Johnson, winner of the series championship five times, is the 2013 leader with a 25-point advantage over Edwards.
Kyle Busch was fourth fastest, followed by Marcos Ambrose, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya. Keselowski won this race last year on his way to the series title.
