Stenhouse claims first Cup pole at Atlanta

NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed his first pole position in the series at Atlanta.

Unlike most rivals, Stenhouse chose to run low on the racetrack for his pole shot. The tactic paid off as he usurped Roush Fenway team-mate Carl Edwards with a 189.688mph/29.227sec lap, taking pole by a tenth of a second.

On the day that his Earnhardt Ganassi replacement was revealed as Kyle Larson, Juan Pablo Montoya qualified third fastest. Denny Hamlin joins him on row two, followed by Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., who is driving with a fractured wrist this weekend. Championship leader Jimmie Johnson starts 10th.

After his run of strong qualifying results, Kurt Busch could only manage 32nd this time.