Photo by: Action Sports Photography
So what?
The pole starter has won this race only once when Kyle Busch did so in 2009. So ignore all the headlines like the one I put up (you will see a bunch).
Somethings to keep in mind:
- The average starting position of past winners in Vegas was 14. In 2004, Matt Kenseth won this race starting in the 25th spot. Roll that dice!
- Most likely about half of the top ten starting would end up in the top ten finishes. In last year's race, 4 racers in the top starting spots ended in the top ten.
- Meanwhile, 4 racers in the 11th to 20th spots ended in the top ten. So there is a lot of flipping around in the top 20.
- The bottom third (say 25 and on) won't compete for the top 10 most likely. Last year, only 1 driver finished in the top 10 from that far back.
- Last year, Carl Edwards won starting in the 3rd spot, but then check the next two finishers.
- Tony Stewart started in the 15th spot to almost win the race (bad pit stop).
- Juan Pablo Montoya started in the 23rd spot to come in third.
Lastly, Junior drought watch: Dale Jr.'s drought continued last week. He's gotta win one at some point (at least I think so). He's got a good starting spot, so maybe he will get lucky here.
Starting Positions
1. Kasey Kahne
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Tony Stewart
8. Joey Logano
9. Greg Biffle
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Matt Kenseth
12. Kurt Busch
13. Mark Martin
14. A.J. Allmendinger
15. Marcos Ambrose
16. Jeff Gordon
17. Denny Hamlin
18. Ryan Newman
19. Jamie McMurray
20. Brad Keselowski
21. Carl Edwards
22. Jeff Burton
23. Brendan Gaughan
24.Bobby Labonte
25. Trevor Bayne
26. Paul Menard
27. Aric Almirola
28. Regan Smith
29. Juan Montoya
30. Landon Cassill
31. David Reutimann
32. Casey Mears
33. Josh Wise
34. David Gilliland
35. David Ragan
36. J.J. Yeley
37. Travis Kvapil
38. Dave Blaney
39. Michael McDowell
40. Joe Nemechek
41. Ken Schrader
42. Timmy Hill
43. David Stremme
One can view the full results of qualifying at Starting lineup
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