Kenseth makes comeback with Bristol pole
All four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas transfer to the final round of qualifying.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Matt Kenseth is hoping to repeat the magic he made at Bristol Motor Speedway when he won from the pole in 2005.
On Friday, Kenseth put himself in position to do just that. He posted a lap of 128.632 mph in the final round of qualifying, but initially questioned whether his run would be good enough.
You feel like you've got the pole sitting right here, but I just got too loose in the last round
Joey Logano
“I got it all that first lap,”said Kenseth, who earned his 14th career lap in the Sprint Cup Series. “Good job. That was about as good as we were going to get…it was the best we could do with what we got.
"It was our best lap of the day.”
Best of the rest
Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne round out the top eight qualifiers – and are all former Bristol winners.
Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Austin Dillon all transferred to the final round of qualifying.
Logano loses out
After posting the top speeds in the first two rounds, Joey Logano was frustrated with his sixth-place result.
"You feel like you've got the pole sitting right here with the Autotrader Fusion, but I just got too loose in the last round," Logano said.
Logano led the parade in the second round with a speed of 128.451 mph – and knocking off Kenseth in the process. Harvick, Busch and Keselowski rounded out the top five.
Logano topped the second round of qualifying with a lap of 129.290 mph, followed by Ragan, Keselowski, Kenseth and Kahne.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. logged seven laps but fought an ill-handling car and qualified 13th. “It’s just not good enough today," Earnhardt said. "That was a good result, considering how the car feels."
Big names at the back
Notables not transferring from the first round included Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola Danica Patrick and all three Roush Fenway Racing Fords (Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne and Greg Biffle). Biffle, who will start 33rd, spun out at the 16:48 minute mark of Round 1.
Brendan Gaughan and Ron Hornaday Jr. missed the show.
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