Smith Qualifies 15th in Phoenix

November 12, 2011

On a tricky track surface, Regan Smith qualified 15th for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

In Saturday's time trials at the newly-paved track, Smith's No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet covered the one-mile oval with a lap time and speed of 26.613 seconds at 135.272 miles per hour.

"The combination of a new track surface and different conditions than what we practiced in Friday resulted in a challenging qualifying session for all of us," said Smith. "I think we saw more sliding and slipping than we did all year. But our Furniture Row Chevrolet came through pretty good and we're okay with where we're starting. It could have been a lot worse."

The pole winner was Matt Kenseth (137.101 mph). Rounding out the top-five in order were: AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr.

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

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