Regan Smith Qualifies 18th in Michigan

August 17, 2012

Regan Smith will start 18th in Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

In Friday afternoon's time trials at Michigan International Speedway, Smith's No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet covered the 2-mile oval in 36.694 seconds at 196.217 miles per hour.

"We were looking for a better starting position than 18th after our strong practice session," said Smith, who was 12th fastest in practice. "The good news, and the most important news, is that our car was real solid in race trim today. We have two practices tomorrow and I feel our Furniture Row/Farm American Chevy will continue to be strong as we will fine-tune the setup for Sunday. I came into this race with plenty of confidence and my feelings have not changed."

Starting on the pole will be veteran Mark Martin, who recorded a speed of 199.706 miles per hour. Rounding out the top-10 in order were: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Trevor Bayne, Martin Truex Jr., Marcos Ambrose, Landon Cassill and Paul Menard.

Sunday's race will be televised on ESPN, beginning with a 60-minute prerace show at 10 a.m. MT (noon ET).