Kevin Harvick won the Busch Pole Award for Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway with a lap of 188.811 mph. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick has been the dominant force in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing this season.
In knockout qualifying on Friday at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford showed no sign of relinquishing his grip on NASCAR’s foremost series.
Harvick navigated the 1.5-mile speedway in 28.600 seconds (188.811 mph) in the final round of time trials to win the top starting spot for Sunday’s KC Masterpiece 400.
The Busch Pole Award was a record fourth for Harvick at Kansas, his second of the season and the 23rd of his career.
“This has been a really good place for us through the years, and obviously, when you look at qualifying day, it’s one of those places that fits what we do,” said Harvick, who has a series-best four victories to his credit this season, including last Sunday’s win at Dover.
“It’s been an entertaining day. We’ve had a lot of things to work through today (during practice and inspection), but it’s one of those days when you look at the team and go, ‘Man, those guys are really good at what they do.’ Nobody panics, and it really shows the experience and the patience that all those guys have.”
Harvick edged Ryan Blaney (187.826 mph) for the top spot on the grid by .015 seconds. Kyle Busch (187.552 mph) qualified third, followed by Aric Almirola (187.428 mph) and Brad Keselowski (186.748 mph).
Blaney had the fastest lap of the day in the first round (189.043 mph) but said the handling of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford tightened up in the second and third rounds.
Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr., Kurt Busch, Joey Logano and Chris Buescher completed the top 10. Buescher was the only Chevrolet driver to advance to the final round, as Fords took seven of the top 12 spots and Toyotas accounted for four.
Buescher claimed his best starting spot since qualifying ninth last year at Sonoma Raceway.
“I’m proud of the effort,” Buescher said. “Our Camaro ZL1 was good all three runs. We didn’t lose a bunch of speed throughout the whole thing, and I’m proud of that. It’s the second best start I’ve ever had in the Cup Series. That’s pretty awesome as well.”
In the second round, Kyle Larson, one of the favorites for the pole, spun off turn 4 and flat-spotted his tires. Larson failed to post a time in the round and earned the 22nd starting position, but the No. 42 will drop to the rear for the start of the race if the team opts to change tires.
“I was pretty tight that run, and I just got tight getting into the top there and got up in the marbles and got loose,” said Larson, who grazed the outside wall with his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. “I’m just thankful I didn’t get too much damage on our First Data Chevy.
“I haven’t looked at it, but it appears really minor. Wish I wouldn’t have done that because I feel like we had a shot at the pole.”
Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet made it through pre-qualifying inspection just in time to make a first-round qualifying run. But Johnson will start 23rd after opting not to make a run in the second round.
Jamie McMurray, the last driver to qualify in Round 1 after inspection issues, will start 24th after his car failed to fire for the second round.
The No. 14 Ford of local favorite Clint Bowyer failed to advance through inspection in time to qualify, sending Bowyer to the rear for the start of the race. Likewise, Matt Kenseth will start from the back of the field in his return to competition with Roush Fenway Racing, with his No. 6 Ford also failing to pass inspection.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS
KC Masterpiece 400 – May 11, 2018
Friday’s Qualifying Results
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1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 188.811 mph.
2. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 187.826 mph.
3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 187.552 mph.
4. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 187.428 mph.
5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 186.748 mph.
6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 186.445 mph.
7. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 186.200 mph.
8. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 186.194 mph.
9. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 185.899 mph.
10. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 185.695 mph.
11. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 185.471 mph.
12. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 185.128 mph.
13. (24) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 185.880 mph.
14. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 185.631 mph.
15. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 185.605 mph.
16. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 185.561 mph.
17. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 185.103 mph.
18. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 184.420 mph.
19. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 184.231 mph.
20. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 184.168 mph.
21. (43) Darrell Wallace, Jr. #, Chevrolet, 183.880 mph.
22. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 188.692 mph.
23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 185.650 mph.
24. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 185.370 mph.
25. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 184.843 mph.
26. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 182.692 mph.
27. (72) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 180.343 mph.
28. (15) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 179.814 mph.
29. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 179.790 mph.
30. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 178.921 mph.
31. (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 178.713 mph.
32. (51) B.J. McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 176.338 mph.
33. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 0.000 mph.
34. (95) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
35. (6) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 0.000 mph.
36. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 0.000 mph.
37. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 0.000 mph.
38. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 0.000 mph.
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