Darnell Streaks to Nashville Pole; McCumbee Rounds Out All-Rookie Front Row

Erik Darnell scored his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bud Pole Award in qualifying for today's Toyota Tundra 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway. Darnell went out early in the No. 99 Roush Racing Ford, and turned his quick lap aided by some lingering cloud cover. His quick lap of 29.601 seconds/162.116 miles per hour broke Mike Skinner's one-year-old qualifying record. Skinner's record was 29.725 seconds/161.440 miles per around around the 1.33-mile concrete tri-oval.

Darnell held off a stiff charge from a surprising Chad McCumbee. McCumbee, in the No. 08 TheGPSStore.com/Garmin Chevrolet, also caught the cloud cover just right and ran a fast lap of 29.624 seconds/161.990 miles per hour to claim his first ever front row start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. With Darnell and McCumbee on the front row, it marks the first all-Raybestos Rookie front row since David Reutimann and Robert Huffman swept the front row at Atlanta in 2004.

After leading the pack in practice yesterday, Jack Sprague qualified the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota in third with a 29.675 sec/161.712 mph lap. Timothy Peters was second-fastest behind Sprague in practice, and was again one position behind the three-time series champion in qualifying, timing in fourth-fastest in the BHR No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge with a 29.722 sec/161.456 mph lap. Bill Lester rounded out the top five qualifiers with a 29.797 sec/161.050 mph effort in the No. 22 SunTrust Toyota.

David Starr was sixth in the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota, Mike Skinner was seventh in the No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota, Mike Bliss was eighth in the No. 16 Xpress Motorsports Chevrolet, Bobby East was ninth in the No. 21 Edy's Dibs Ford, and Ron Hornaday rounded out the top ten in the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet.

Other notables in qualifying include last week's winner Rick Crawford in 12th, former Nashville pole winner Chad Chaffin in 16th, defending series champion Ted Musgrave in 17th, current championship leader Todd Bodine 21st, and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. in 24th. Hamilton was among the fastest drivers in yesterday's practice session before a blown right rear tire sent him into a spin and backwards into the turn three wall. His qualifying lap was the first time he had been on the track in his backup truck.

All 36 drivers that took time will start the Toyota Tundra 200. There were no incidents in qualifying.