By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Scott Riggs, driving a Chevrolet, practices at Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer 300. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

SPARTA, Ky. - Arriving with literally minutes to spare, both Todd Bodine and Mike Wallace qualified for today's Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway as well as Sunday's Sirius 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Wallace, of Biagi Bros. Racing, and Bodine, of Herzog-Jackson, qualified at Michigan in the afternoon, then shared a private jet to Kentucky, got on a helicopter at the airport and landed at Kentucky 10 minutes before Bodine was scheduled to qualify.

"It's the miracle of modern aviation," Bodine said. "We got here; I got a good lap in. We knew it was going to be close, and NASCAR was going to allow us to bump down a few spots if we needed to, but fortunately we didn't."

Bodine qualified 14th for the Meijer 300, and Wallace will start 25th. Both fared better at Kentucky than Michigan, where Bodine had to grab a provisional spot after qualifying 41st. Wallace drove the 34th-fastest car at Michigan.

Wallace and Bodine flew back to Michigan on Friday night and will practice there today before returning to Kentucky to race.

WALL PROBLEMS: Regan Smith turned in the fastest practice speed of the day, 172.844 mph, and then crashed his car into the wall on the next lap. That forced him to qualify in his backup car. He earned the second provisional spot and will start from the 38th spot.

FULTZ GOES 1-FOR-2: Blue Ash native Jeff Fultz qualified seventh and raced in Friday's Kodak Southeast Series "Kentucky 150." But he didn't qualify or even try to qualify for today's Meijer 300.

Fultz originally planned to race in the Kodak and the Busch Series races at Kentucky, but he was unable to find a sponsor for his Busch car and didn't bring it to the track. He has run two Busch races this season and plans to run another two or three, he said. The primary hindrance is finding a sponsor willing to cover the escalating costs. Fultz's best finish in a Busch race this season is 15th place at Charlotte, where he won $13,510, barely enough to cover tire costs.

"Busch just doesn't pay anything," Fultz said. "That's why you've got to have the sponsor. It costs thirty thousand just to run an engine in the Busch Series. That's per race. It takes money and equipment, and for that you need a good sponsor."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com