ES: Dover: Series qualifying report

Gresham Earns Dover Top Spot
Second pole award for JGR rookie; Whitt qualifies second

DOVER, Del. -- An up-and-down season for Max Gresham has the potential to end on a high note as the Joe Gibbs Racing rookie captured the pole for today's Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway.

Gresham drove the No. 18 Gresham & Associates Toyota to a fast lap of 23.523 seconds (153.042 mph) to his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light Friday morning at the "Monster Mile." It was the same car in which fellow JGR development driver Matt DiBenedetto set the series' qualifying record a year ago.

Gresham, from Griffin, Ga., enters the season finale seventh in points, but has experienced a roller coaster season. He has recorded two wins and three podium finishes overall, but the balance of the previous nine races have resulted in finishes outside the top 10.

Cole Whitt will have one last shot this year to earn his first win as he starts on the outside of the front row later today. A top contender along with Darrell Wallace Jr. for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, Whitt posted a fast lap of 23.569 (152.743).

The second row will consist of Gresham's JGR teammate and defending race winner, Brett Moffitt, who posted a lap of 23.601 (152.536) along with Kevin Swindell at 23.701 (151.191).

Sergio Pena, Ryan Truex, Ryan Gifford, Dustin Delaney, Matt Kobyluck and Eddie MacDonald rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.

Truex needs only to take the green flag in this evening's race to clinch his second-consecutive K&N Pro Series East title.

Danica Patrick posted the 13th-fastest time in qualifying while Wallace, who enters the race second in the season standings, qualified 19th.

The 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season will conclude later today at Dover. The Sunoco 150 will take the green flag at 4:45 p.m.

-source: nascar