Stenhouse wins first Sprint Cup pole

HAMPTON, Ga., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the first pole of his Sprint Cup career Friday, turning in the best qualifying time for Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Stenhouse, a rookie this season, turned in a lap of 189.688 miles per hour. His first pole came in his 30th start in the Sprint Cup series. His previous best qualifying performance had been a third in Kansas four months ago.

Carl Edwards qualified second at 189.021 mph to give the Roush Fenway team both spots on the front row.

Juan Pablo Montoya had the third-fastest qualifying time, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon. Points leader Jimmy Johnson qualified 10th.