Rookie in front

Rookie Patrick Carpentier grabbed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

The Canadian driver, whose last pole came in a Champ Car in 2004 on the road course in Laguna Seca, Calif., was among the drivers who had to wait out a nearly two-hour rain delay before getting a shot at qualifying for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

“It’s amazing,” said Carpentier, who took his first pole on an oval track with a fast lap of 129.776 mph.

The rain began while series points leader Kyle Busch, the 24th driver in the 45-car qualifying line, was on the mile oval. He completed one lap that was good for 16th best at that point before officials called him in.

The time trials were delayed for 1 hour, 54 minutes before resuming with Busch given a second chance to qualify, this time on a dry track. He was quicker, but still wound up 27th overall.

Although the track was very slick and there was little rubber remaining after the rain, several cars were faster than Reed Sorenson, the leader before the rain delay with a speed of 128.828 mph.

Kevin Harvick followed Busch onto the track and, despite nearly hitting the wall on his fast lap, took over the top spot with a lap of 128.976. Bobby Labonte then went out and took the top spot from Harvick with a lap of 129.059.

But it was Carpentier, one of the last drivers to make an attempt, who wound up on top in his 16th Cup race. His best previous Cup start was fourth last month at Richmond.

Scott Riggs was fourth, also at 128.976, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 128.885, Sorenson, rookie Dario Franchitti at 128.824, Martin Truex Jr. at 128.645 and Matt Kenseth and A.J. Allmendinger, both at 128.624.

Mears out at Hendrick

Casey Mears will bid farewell to Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2008 season.

“There are no hard feelings anywhere,” he said. “And now we’ve just got to focus and buckle down and do our jobs like we know how.”

Biffle gets extension

Greg Biffle reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing.

He said the long-anticipated deal includes primary sponsorship by 3M.

IndyCar Series

Andretti Green Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti will start on the front row in the SunTrust Indy Challenge tonight at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.

Kanaan posted a four-lap average of 167.876 mph on the 0.75-mile oval, the shortest run by the series. Andretti’s average speed was 167.795 mph.