Kurt Busch Takes Pole at Michigan

Kurt Busch won his third straight pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Saturday,

finishing first in qualifying at Michigan International Speedway with a lap of 188.699 mile per hour. He’s the last person to win three poles in three races since Ryan Newman did so in 2007.

Busch is sixth in the overall points standings and has finished in the top 10 three straight races, which includes a second place finish last weekend at Pocono Raceway. Busch has yet to win a race in 2011, despite enjoying better overall results for his Penske Racing team.

David Reutimann was second in qualifying with a lap of 188.684 mph, Matt Kenseth was third at 188.620 and Carl Vickers was forth. Points leader Carl Edwards was 23^rd, and after last weeks win at Pocono was 31^st. Ryan Newman, who set the track’s qualifying record in 2005 at 194.232 mph, was 13^th this time around. Jimmie Johnson was 21^st and Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified in 15^th place.