Efforts pay off for pole

JOLIET, Ill. – Finding speed hasn’t been a huge problem for Jamie McMurray this NASCAR season. It’s the consistent results that have so far eluded him.

McMurray won the pole position for tonight’s race at Chicagoland Speedway, turning a lap of 183.542 mph in his Chevrolet on Friday.

It is the third pole of the season and sixth of his career for McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 in February but has been struggling of late.

“We’ve had good speed all year, and we haven’t been able to capitalize on enough good finishes,” McMurray said. “We’ve had good results. It seems like we either have a chance to win the race or we finish 30th, and we’ve got to get a little bit better, more consistent there. But again, the speed is the hardest thing to find.”

McMurray was followed in qualifying by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart.

Johnson planned to fly home to Charlotte, N.C., right away to spend time with his wife and newborn daughter. He will return in time for tonight’s race.

Busch triumphs

Kyle Busch pounced on Joey Logano on a restart in overtime, then pulled away to win the Nationwide series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

It was the seventh Nationwide victory of the season for Busch, who also won the Nationwide race at Chicagoland in 2008.

Toyotas swept the top five spots Friday night as Logano finished second, followed by Brian Scott, David Reutimann and Jason Leffler.

Danica Patrick finished 24th, two laps behind, for her best finish in five Nationwide races.