Carl Edwards doesn't have crew chief Drew Blickensderfer to help with his Nationwide Series ride anymore, but new crew chief Dan Stillman doesn't seem to be exactly hurting the team.
Stillman and Edwards earned their first pole together on Saturday morning at Auto Club Speedway, claiming the top spot for the Stater Bros. 300 tonight in Southern California.
When Blickensderfer became Matt Kenseth's Sprint Cup crew chief (and now a Daytona 500 champion), Stillman stepped in to try and help continue Edwards' winning ways in the second-tier series.
Edwards' lap of 179.695 mph was enough to put his Roush Fenway Racing Ford ahead of Kyle Busch (178.860) and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing car.
Both drivers are running the full schedule this season.
"It was a great lap, and we've got 150 more of them," Edwards said. "It's going to be a good points race all season."
JTG Racing's Michael McDowell, a rookie in the series, qualified a surprise third. He was followed by Phoenix Racing's Mike Bliss and Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle.
Jeff Burton (Richard Childress Racing), Joey Logano (Gibbs), David Ragan (Roush Fenway), Kevin Harvick (Kevin Harvick Inc.) and Michael Waltrip (Michael Waltrip Racing) rounded out the top 10.
Rookie Michael Annett (Germain Racing) wrecked during his qualifying lap and will have to use a backup car for the race.
Scott Wimmer (Key Motorsports) was the biggest name to fail to qualify for the race, but three others also went home: Johnny Borneman III (Trail Motorsport), Mike Harmon (Mike Harmon Racing) and Andy Ponstein (Stott Classic Racing).
The Stater Bros. 300 is scheduled to begin tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST.
2009 Stater Bros. 300 Starting Lineup
| Pos | Driver | Car # | Make | Qual. Speed |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 60 | Ford | 179.695 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | 178.860 |
| 3 | Michael McDowell | 47 | Toyota | 178.116 |
| 4 | Mike Bliss | 1 | Chevrolet | 177.918 |
| 5 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 177.475 |
| 6 | Jeff Burton | 24 | Chevrolet | 177.296 |
| 7 | Joey Logano | 20 | Toyota | 177.122 |
| 8 | David Ragan | 6 | Ford | 177.000 |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 33 | Chevrolet | 176.609 |
| 10 | Michael Waltrip | 99 | Toyota | 176.427 |
| 11 | Brendan Gaughan | 62 | Chevrolet | 176.393 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | 32 | Toyota | 176.380 |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | 88 | Chevrolet | 176.035 |
| 14 | John Wes Townley | 09 | Ford | 175.975 |
| 15 | Steve Wallace | 66 | Chevrolet | 175.708 |
| 16 | Terry Cook | 91 | Chevrolet | 175.374 |
| 17 | Justin Allgaier | 12 | Dodge | 175.144 |
| 18 | Jason Leffler | 38 | Toyota | 174.931 |
| 19 | Jason Keller | 27 | Ford | 174.834 |
| 20 | Brandon Whitt | 61 | Ford | 174.359 |
| 21 | Dennis Setzer | 196 | Dodge | 174.102 |
| 22 | Casey Atwood | 85 | Chevrolet | 174.073 |
| 23 | Scott Lagasse Jr. | 11 | Toyota | 174.060 |
| 24 | Ken Butler III | 23 | Chevrolet | 173.934 |
| 25 | DJ Kennington | 81 | Dodge | 173.930 |
| 26 | Kertus Davis | 49 | Chevrolet | 173.896 |
| 27 | Morgan Shepherd | 89 | Chevrolet | 173.800 |
| 28 | Joe Nemecheck | 87 | Chevrolet | 173.737 |
| 29 | David Reutimann | 10 | Toyota | 173.682 |
| 30 | Tony Raines | 234 | Chevrolet | 173.410 |
| 31 | Brian Keselowski | 26 | Dodge | 172.911 |
| 32 | Kenny Hendrick | 171 | Dodge | 172.852 |
| 33 | Danny O’Quinn Jr | 01 | Chevrolet | 172.699 |
| 34 | Derrike Cope | 20 | Chevrolet | 172.463 |
| 35 | JC Stout | 0 | Chevrolet | 172.191 |
| 36 | David Green | 07 | Toyota | 172.092 |
| 37 | Kenny Wallace | 28 | Chevrolet | 171.270 |
| 38 | Eric McClure | 24 | Ford | 170.685 |
| 39 | Johnny Chapman | 90 | Chevrolet | 169.763 |
| 40 | Scott Gaylord | 52 | Chevrolet | 169.727 |
| 41 | Justin Ashburn | 05 | Chevrolet | 151.385 |
| 42 | Michael Annett | 15 | Toyota | - |
| 43 | Stanton Barrett | 31 | Chevrolet | 171.990 |
| 44 | Scott Wimmer | 40 | Chevrolet | DNQ |
| 45 | John Borneman III | 22 | Ford | DNQ |
| 46 | Mike Harmon | 84 | Chevrolet | DNQ |
| 47 | Andy Ponstein | 102 | Chevrolet | DNQ |
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