By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kasey Kahne looks over the wreckage of his car after he hit a wall in turn 4 during practice at Kentucky Speedway. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

SPARTA, Ky. - In 51 career NASCAR Busch Series races, 36-year-old Stacy Compton had never won a pole position.

The one-time up-and-coming driver had taken his share of poles in the Craftsman Truck Series and even grabbed a pole at the Winston Cup level, where he could never sustain a regular ride. But in the Busch Series, where he is racing his second full season, Compton couldn't get to the pole until Friday, when he set a track series record at Kentucky Speedway with a qualifying speed of 176.384 mph for today's Meijer 300. Compton's ST Motorsports team changed the shocks three times on his No. 59 Kingsford Chevy between morning practice and afternoon qualifying, giving him enough control to beat the track record of 174.831 mph set last year by Scott Riggs.

"To me it's huge," said Compton, who seeks his first Busch win. "I've won poles in everything, but we've really struggled to get a pole in the Busch Series."

The pole is the first for ST Motorsports since 1997.

"I don't know where that lap came from," Compton said. "This team has had a lot of good and bad - a lot of bad until the last two years - a lot of highs and lows. This team deserves to run up front."

Bobby Hamilton Jr. will start on the outside of Compton in his No. 25 Ford. Hamilton turned in the second-fastest lap at 174.402, .01 of a second better than the third qualifier, David Green. Hamilton attributed his car's speed and his own confidence to crew chief Harold Holly, who joined the team May 31 at Dover. Since then, Hamilton has finished sixth and fifth.

"Since we hired (Holly), every guy here respects what he does," Hamilton said. "And he hasn't been proven wrong since. We just have a lot of faith in him, and it gives me a lot of confidence in what I'm driving. Everybody believes in everybody else now."

Nearly every driver said he struggled with a bumpy track in turns one and two - everyone except Compton. The bumps gave his car trouble during practice, but he said he was surprised at the difference changing shocks made before qualifying. This is Compton's sixth top-five start this season.

The NASCAR journeyman said he feels more comfortable with his Busch Series team than he did at the Winston Cup level because the financial backing from Kingsford enables him to race a full season. Compton has raced off and on in Winston Cup since 1996, but never a full season.

"I feel as secure right now as with any team I've ever been with," Compton said. "I really struggled to find consistent sponsorship in Winston Cup. Everybody wants to be in Winston Cup, but I'd love to win a championship for this team."

First he has to win a race. His best finish this season is fourth, on March 15 in the Darlingtonraceway.com 200. Compton is 14th in the standings after three consecutive finishes outside the top 10.

"I want that just as bad," Compton said of his potential first win.

Compton and the rest of the 43-car field will race in front of an expected sold-out crowd of more than 70,000 for the third consecutive time at Kentucky Speedway. Sixty-three thousand tickets had been sold as of Friday night, and officials are projecting a standing-room-only situation based on last year's walk-up sales.

Last year's winner, Todd Bodine, will start from the 14th position after arriving in time for qualifying in the Meijer 300. He flew in from Michigan after qualifying earlier in the day.

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Meijer 300 Lineup

Friday's qualifying results at Kentucky Speedway

Lap length: 1.5 miles (Car number in parentheses)

1. (59) Stacy Compton, Chevrolet, 176.384 mph.

2. (25) Bobby Hamilton Jr., Ford, 174.402.

3. (37) David Green, Pontiac, 174.396.

4. (2) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 174.351.

5. (10) Scott Riggs, Ford, 174.076.

6. (48) Shane Hmiel, Chevrolet, 173.952.

7. (38) Kasey Kahne, Ford, 173.891.

8. (1) David Stremme, Dodge, 173.851.

9. (87) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 173.812.

10. (23) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 173.689.

11. (20) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 173.266.

12. (21) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 172.701.

13. (46) Ashton Lewis Jr., Chevrolet, 172.673.

14. (92) Todd Bodine, Chevrolet, 172.188.

15. (57) Jason Keller, Ford, 172.112.

16. (14) Casey Atwood, Chevrolet, 172.106.

17. (55) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 171.860.

18. (7) Randy LaJoie, Chevrolet, 171.838.

19. (5) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 171.794.

20. (44) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 170.783.

21. (58) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 170.773.

22. (17) Wally Dallenbach Jr, Ford, 170.611.

23. (96) Gus Wasson, Chevrolet, 170.063.

24. (75) Jay Sauter, Chevrolet, 169.561.

25. (4) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 168.982.

26. (70) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 168.750.

27. (12) Kerry Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 168.545.

28. (83) Jeff Streeter, Chevrolet, 168.392.

29. (97) Jimmy Kitchens, Pontiac, 168.303.

30. (30) Steadman Marlin, Dodge, 168.266.

31. (26) Lance Norick, Dodge, 168.109.

32. (56) Tim Sauter, Chevrolet, 168.004.

33. (81) Dwayne Leik, Chevrolet, 167.764.

34. (49) Shane Hall, Ford, 167.759.

35. (18) Coy Gibbs, Chevrolet, 167.572.

36. (91) Kenny Hendrick, Chevrolet, 167.307.

37. (27) Joey Clanton, Pontiac, Provisional.

38. (22) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, Provisional.

39. (77) Brad Teague, Ford, Provisional.

40. (16) Larry Gunselman, Chevrolet, Provisional.

41. (0) Jason White, Chevrolet, Provisional.

42. (73) Jason Schuler, Ford, Provisional.

43. (71) Ron Young, Chevrolet, Provisional.

Failed to qualify

44. (01) Jason Rudd, Dodge, 166.801.

45. (68) Rick Markle, Chevrolet, 165.512.

46. (39) Jamie Mosley, Ford, 162.729.

47. (61) Justin Ashburn, Chevrolet, 162.631.

48. (52) Mike Potter, Ford.

49. (85) John Hayden, Chevrolet.

50. (72) Stan Boyd, Chevrolet.