
David Starr, who'd gone 65 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts without a Bud Pole, won the No. 1 starting position for Sunday's Las Vegas 350 with a record lap speed of 163.112 mph around 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Starr, second among 38 to take to the track, watched a half-dozen challengers also top the old record of 161.803 shared by Stacy Compton and Jack Sprague.
Brendan Gaughan came closest to Starr's Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet at 162.685. Gaughan, however, wrecked his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge in final practice and will have to start from the rear of a 36-truck field in a backup truck. Rick Crawford, No. 2 in series points standings, qualified his Circle Bar Racing Ford third at 162.543, followed by Ryan Hemphill in the Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge at 162.470. Defending Las Vegas 350 winner Ted Musgrave took the No. 5 position in his Mopar Performance Dodge with a lap speed of 162.104. Points leader Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Coy Gibbs, Dennis Setzer and Terry Cook completed the top 10 qualifiers. Starr's Bud Pole also was the first for team owners Wayne and Connie Spears -- whose Southern California team has appeared in all but two of the tour's 189 events. "It's an honor for me as well as Wayne and Connie. It's a way of telling people thanks for giving me the opportunity of my first, full-time ride," said Starr. The lineup: 1.(75)David Starr, Chevrolet, 163.112 (record, old 161.803)
2.(62)Brendan Gaughan, Dodge, 162.685
3.(14)Rick Crawford, Ford, 162.543
4.(4)Ryan Hemphill, Dodge, 162.470
5.(1)Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 162.104
6.(16)Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 161.963
7.(2)Jason Leffler, 161.934
8.(20)Coy Gibbs, Chevrolet, 160.414
9.(46)Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 160.342
10.(29)Terry Cook, Ford, 159.763
11.(60)Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 159.363
12.(8)Bill Lester, Dodge, 158.945
13.(63)Carl Edwards, Ford, 158.758
14.(88)Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 158.553
15.(18)Robert Pressley, Dodge, 158.251
16.(50)Jon Wood, Ford, 157.909
17.(07)Jason Small, Chevrolet, 157.885
18.(15)Andy Houston, Ford, 157.476
19.(90)Lance Norick, Chevrolet, 157.398
20.(43)Carlos Contreras, Dodge, 157.384
21.(58)Chris Horn, Chevrolet, 156.922
22.(86)Lance Hooper, Chevrolet, 156.667
23.(72)Randy MacDonald, Chevrolet, 156.318
24.(39)Steve Portenga, Chevrolet, 156.255
25.(21)Morgan Shepherd, Ford, 156.087
26.(89)Stan Boyd, Chevrolet, 155.898
27.(66)Lonnie Cox, Ford, 155.186
28.(25)Brian Rose, Chevrolet, 154.101
29.(34)Eric Jones, Chevrolet, 153.780
30.(27)Doug Keller, Chevrolet, 153.392
31.(08)Bobby Dotter, Chevrolet, 153.035
32.(79)Jerry Hill, Dodge, 151.963
33.(23)Dana White, Chevrolet, provisional
34.(28)Conrad Burr, Chevrolet, provisional
35.(0)Loni Richardson, Chevrolet, provisional
36.(19)Ricky Sanders, Ford, provisional
Failed to qualify:
37.(93)Jerry Allec Jr., Chevrolet, 149.589
38.(55)Tom Powers, Dodge, 145.553![]()