ROSSBURG, Ohio – Ken Schrader has become the oldest pole winner in a NASCAR series when he turned the fastest lap for Wednesday night's Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway.
The 58-year-old Schrader had a lap of 91.329 mph on the half-mile dirt track. Dick Trickle was 57 years old when he won the pole for the June 1999 Nationwide Series race at Dover.
Schrader hadn't won a Truck Series pole since 2004 and a race since 1995. He's officially the pole winner, though he may not start first. There are five qualifying races and a last-chance race that will set the starting order.
The last time one of NASCAR's top touring series competed on dirt was Sept. 30, 1970, when Richard Petty won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (called the Grand National Division at that time) race at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
The dirt drought ends at Tony Stewart-owned Eldora.
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