Qualifying report

NASCAR Cup Pocono II

Kevin Harvick tops Joey Logano for Pocono pole

Now that Kevin Harvick got to the front this season, he isn’t ready to leave just yet.

Jim Utter

Edited: Jul 27, 2019, 9:14 PM

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Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Busch Beer

Less than a week after earning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, Harvick is going to remain out front after winning the pole for Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Harvick was among the final three drivers to make a qualifying attempt on Saturday and his average lap speed of 174.058 mph topped Joey Logano (173.377 mph) for the top spot. Harvick’s teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing, Aric Almirola, was third (173.161 mph).

Erik Jones was fourth and Austin Dillon qualified fifth.

The pole is the fourth this season for Harvick, 29th of his career and first at Pocono, where he is still looking for his first career victory.

"It has been a very good track for me. My guys and the whole company knows that we would love to cross this one off, one of the last two of tracks that we haven't won at," Harvick said.

"The first race this year we had a great car and the right strategy and jacked it up and the steering box broke. So, you know, it's kind of been one thing after another like that. Tomorrow, it's going to take a fast car and it's going to take everything falling your way so you can get the strategy right.

"Restarts, and pit strategy and all the normal Pocono things that you have to battle are still going to be the things you have to overcome. Track position and starting up front are nice to have."

Prior to the June Pocono race – where Harvick suffered a broken steering box – has had finished fourth or better for five consecutive races at the triangular-shaped track.

Rounding out the top 10 were Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch (who has won three of the last four Pocono races), William Byron, Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez.

Sunday’s starting positions are tentative. Cars will go through technical inspection Sunday morning and if they will lose their starting position in the race should they fail at least once.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Time Gap Mph 1 4 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 51.707 174.058 2 22 Joey Logano Ford 51.910 0.203 173.377 3 10 Aric Almirola Ford 51.974 0.267 173.164 4 20 Erik Jones Toyota 51.990 0.283 173.110 5 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 52.126 0.419 172.659 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 52.148 0.441 172.586 7 18 United States Kyle Busch Toyota 52.196 0.489 172.427 8 24 William Byron Chevrolet 52.213 0.506 172.371 9 1 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 52.321 0.614 172.015 10 41 Mexico Daniel Suarez Ford 52.346 0.639 171.933 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 52.365 0.658 171.871 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 52.388 0.681 171.795 13 95 United States Matt DiBenedetto Toyota 52.436 0.729 171.638 14 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 52.482 0.775 171.487 15 88 Alex Bowman Chevrolet 52.499 0.792 171.432 16 14 Clint Bowyer Ford 52.545 0.838 171.282 17 34 Michael McDowell Ford 52.597 0.890 171.112 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 52.618 0.911 171.044 19 38 United States David Ragan Ford 52.623 0.916 171.028 20 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 52.638 0.931 170.979 21 21 Paul Menard Ford 52.747 1.040 170.626 22 8 Daniel Hemric Chevrolet 52.800 1.093 170.455 23 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 52.848 1.141 170.300 24 6 Ryan Newman Ford 53.002 1.295 169.805 25 47 United States Ryan Preece Chevrolet 53.048 1.341 169.658 26 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. Chevrolet 53.221 1.514 169.106 27 36 Matt Tifft Ford 53.255 1.548 168.998 28 37 Chris Buescher Chevrolet 53.301 1.594 168.852 29 42 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 53.370 1.663 168.634 30 32 Corey Lajoie Ford 53.417 1.710 168.486 31 00 United States Landon Cassill Chevrolet 53.861 2.154 167.097 32 13 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 53.979 2.272 166.732 33 53 Josh Bilicki Chevrolet 54.800 3.093 164.234 34 51 B.J. McLeod Ford 54.809 3.102 164.207 35 15 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 54.890 3.183 163.964 36 27 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 55.423 3.716 162.387 37 77 United States Quin Houff Chevrolet 55.539 3.832 162.048 38 52 Austin Theriault Ford 56.011 4.304 160.683

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