Burton Takes Hanes 500 Pole

Ward Burton bumped Mark Martin from the pole in first-round qualifying for the Hanes 500 stock car race in Martinsville, Va.

It was Burton’s third career pole, but first in a season in which he has dropped from eighth to 25th in the driver standings, started in the top 10 only three times and finished there three times.

Also at Martinsville Speedway, Ernie Irvan turned a lap at 92.420 mph to qualify second for today’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck series Hanes 250, alongside championship challenger Rich Bickle.

Mauricio Gugelmin’s 240.150 mph lap - the fastest unofficial lap ever run in an Indy-car - highlighted practice for the Marlboro 500 in Fontana, Calif. Canadian Patrick Carpentier, 26, the top rookie in the 1997 PPG CART World Series, was knocked unconscious in a crash. He soon regained consciousness and had no broken bones.