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Pole sitting

Skinner paces field in Pennsylvania 500 qualifying

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Posted: Friday July 23, 1999 07:01 PM

Mike Skinner will start at the front of the Pennsylvania 500 after qualifying with 170.451 mph at Pocono Raceway. AP

POCONO, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Mike Skinner won his first pole of the season Friday and will lead the field for Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Skinner captured his third career pole by completing a top lap in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo at 170.451 miles per hour. He covered the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 52.801 seconds.

Mark Martin qualified second in a Ford Taurus. He is still looking for his first victory at Pocono after three second-place finishes, including last year to Jeff Gordon.

Ken Schrader and Bobby Labonte make up the second row, followed by John Andretti and Wally Dallenbach.

Labonte won the Pocono 500 in June for his second victory of the year. He and Rick Mast are the only drivers this season who have completed every race they have started. Labonte has top-fives in five of his last seven races and is fourth in the Winston Cup points standings.

Gordon qualified seventh in a Chevrolet as he tries to defend his title. He has finished first or second in seven of the last eight races at Pocono. In 13 races on the tri-oval, Gordon has three victories, two poles, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s, leading in all but three events for a total of 542 laps.

Gordon has had mixed results this year despite starting from the pole a series-high six times. He has finishes of 21st or worse in six races to go along with four wins. Gordon, who finished second in last month's race at this track, is 389 points behind Dale Jarrett in the Winston Cup standings.

A two-time winner of the Pennnsylvania 500, Jarrett qualified 15th today. He has a 240-point edge over Jeff Burrton in the standings, and this race may be where title pretenders fall by the wayside.

Jarrett has been enjoying a nearly flawless season with 14 top-fives and three victories. He has finished in the top 10 in 16 consecutive races, including third here in June.

The leader of the Winston Cup standings at the halfway mark of the season has gone on to win the championship in each of the past six years.

Ward Burton, Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek rounded out Friday's top 10 qualifiers.

Notables who failed to make the field on Friday included Ricky Rudd, Bobby Hamilton, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty and Geoffrey Bodine. The 43-car field will be completed after Saturday's second round of qualifying.

 

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