Kasey Kahne stands next to his car after qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway. Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images
Kasey Kahne broke the Kansas Speedway qualifying record in winning the pole for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the sixth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Then again, everyone else who turned a lap in Friday’s time trials also topped the old record on the smooth, fresh asphalt at the 1.5-mile intermediate track.
Kahne toured the speedway in 28.219 seconds (191.360 mph) to edge second-place qualifier Mark Martin (191.238 mph) by .018 seconds. The Coors Light pole award was Kahne’s fourth of the season, the 26th of his career and his third at Kansas, tying him for most all-time with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Clint Bowyer, who like Kahne hopes to gain ground on the top three drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup — Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin — grabbed the third starting spot with a lap at 191.130 mph. Kyle Busch (191.096 mph) qualified fourth, followed by Aric Almirola (190.988 mph).
You could argue, of course, that breaking a record doesn’t mean all that much on a repaved, reconfigured surface — in essence, a new race track.
What made the drivers pay attention, however, were the breathtaking speeds they achieved in topping Matt Kenseth’s old mark of 29.858 seconds (180.856 mph) from Oct. 8, 2005. On a cool, blustery afternoon, defending Cup champion Tony Stewart said the cars were running “stupid fast.”
And on a track where the second groove is not yet established and track position is at a premium, Kahne (fifth in the standings) has the opportunity to make a dent in his 35-point deficit to Keselowski, who qualified 25th. The same can be said of fourth-place Bowyer, who trails Keselowski by 28 points.
“I think it can be a pretty big (opportunity),” Kahne said. “I think those guys (Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe) will really figure out how to go fast in race trim. That’s what they’ve done all season long. They haven’t qualified great, really, this whole year, but they know how to race, and with strategy they’ll figure out how to get to the front if they’re fast enough to stay up there.
“You know you’ll see the No. 2 car at some point. They’ve shown that all season long. But for ourselves, we have a great starting spot, a great pit stall — a lot of things from today will help us throughout the entire race, not just the start of the race. So, yeah, I feel really good about where we’re at, and if we can capitalize and make the right decisions and get the right balance in the car, we can gain some points.”
Both Johnson (seven points behind Keselowski) and Hamlin (15 back) scored top-10 starting positions, with Johnson seventh on the grid and Hamlin ninth.
Cole Whitt, David Stremme and Josh Wise failed to qualify for the 43-car field. Danica Patrick posted the 41st fastest qualifying time but will start from the back of the field after an engine change on Friday.
Regan Smith, subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (out because of a concussion), got loose in the first turn of his first qualifying lap and lost momentum, ending up 39th on the starting grid. Defending Cup champion Tony Stewart will start 33rd, deepest in the field of the Chase drivers (Earnhardt excluded).
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS
Hollywood Casino 400 Qualifying – Oct. 19, 2012
1 5 Kasey Kahne 28.219 191.360
2 55 Mark Martin 28.237 191.238
3 15 Clint Bowyer 28.253 191.130
4 18 Kyle Busch 28.258 191.096
5 43 Aric Almirola 28.274 190.988
6 39 Ryan Newman 28.294 190.853
7 48 Jimmie Johnson 28.296 190.840
8 20 Joey Logano 28.300 190.813
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10 29 Kevin Harvick 28.360 190.409
11 16 Greg Biffle 28.363 190.389
12 17 Matt Kenseth 28.365 190.375
13 51 AJ Allmendinger 28.398 190.154
14 27 Paul Menard 28.401 190.134
15 22 Sam Hornish Jr. 28.407 190.094
16 56 Martin Truex Jr. 28.430 189.940
17 99 Carl Edwards 28.434 189.913
18 9 Marcos Ambrose 28.447 189.827
19 24 Jeff Gordon 28.493 189.520
20 31 Jeff Burton 28.516 189.367
21 1 Jamie McMurray 28.531 189.268
22 47 Bobby Labonte 28.531 189.268
23 98 Michael McDowell 28.532 189.261
24 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 28.594 188.851
25 2 Brad Keselowski 28.606 188.772
26 83 Landon Cassill 28.625 188.646
27 37 JJ Yeley 28.627 188.633
28 13 Casey Mears 28.632 188.600
29 78 Kurt Busch 28.667 188.370
30 19 Mike Bliss 28.697 188.173
31 93 Travis Kvapil 28.701 188.147
32 21 Trevor Bayne 28.715 188.055
33 14 Tony Stewart 28.745 187.859
34 91 Reed Sorenson 28.760 187.761
35 95 Scott Speed 28.762 187.748
36 87 Joe Nemechek 28.788 187.578
37 34 David Ragan 28.804 187.474
38 38 David Gilliland 28.841 187.233
39 88 Regan Smith 28.849 187.182
40 10 Danica Patrick 28.893 186.896
41 36 Dave Blaney Owner Points
42 32 Timmy Hill Owner Points
43 79 Kelly Bires 28.833 187.285
Did Not Qualify: Cole Whitt, David Stremme, Josh Wise
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