Kyle Busch takes Brickyard 400 pole over Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch will attempt to become the first driver to win three consecutive Brickyard 400s in the best position possible.
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Busch went out near the very end of the final five-minute round of knockout qualifying on Saturday and won the pole for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an average lap speed of 187.301 mph.
Busch easily topped Kevin Harvick, who came in the final session at 186.332 mph.
The pole Busch’s fourth of the season and 23rd of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. In his previous three starts from the pole this season, Busch’s best finish is fifth at Kentucky.
“I would certainly like to think (I have a shot at three in a row) but anything can happen in these races,” said Busch. “My team came gave me a fast race car and it’s been a lot of fun for us here the last couple of years.
“We just have to put it all together. In practice today I didn’t feel like we were the best- we didn’t even make any mock (qualifying) runs since the day was so short. That shows you how good these guys are and how dedicated we are to win this thing.”
Jamie McMurray ended up third-fastest, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, rounded out the top-five.
Lining up sixth through 12: Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.
Round 2
Kyle Busch wasted little time in the 10-minute second session going to the top of the chart with an average lap speed of 186.660 mph, just edging his teammate Hamlin (186.324 mph).
Harvick was third-fastest, Truex fourth and Logano fifth.
Also advancing to the final round were McMurray, Jones, Johnson, Keselowski, Newman, Kurt Busch and Blaney.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. got bumped out late in the session and will start 13th in his final Brickyard 400 on Sunday.
Among those who also failed to advance to Round 3 were Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Round 1
It was a bit of role reversal for Chip Ganassi Racing in the first 25-minute round of knockout qualifying.
McMurray posted the fastest average lap speed at 187.395 mph while his teammate, series points leader Kyle Larson, came in at 25th-fastest and failed to advance to Round 2.
“We’ve been off kind of all day. I made an attempt before that run, I got really tight before the green so I aborted it and came back in,” Larson said. “We’ll work on it overnight and be ready for the race tomorrow.”
Larson is tied with the most poles this season (three) and has started in the No. 1 position five times – twice by leading the owner points when qualifying was rained out.
Kyle Busch ended the session second-quickest (186.753 mph). Earnhardt was fourth-fastest and Harvick rounded out the top-five.
Besides Larson, other notables who failed to advance out of Round 1 included Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon and Aric Almirola.
A.J. Allmendinger went out very late in the session but failed to complete a lap and will start last in the 40-car field.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Time | Gap | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 48.051 | 187.301 | |
2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 48.301 | 0.250 | 186.332 |
3 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 48.316 | 0.265 | 186.274 |
4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 48.426 | 0.375 | 185.851 |
5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 48.434 | 0.383 | 185.820 |
6 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 48.456 | 0.405 | 185.736 |
7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 48.461 | 0.410 | 185.716 |
8 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 48.611 | 0.560 | 185.143 |
9 | 77 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 48.677 | 0.626 | 184.892 |
10 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 48.750 | 0.699 | 184.615 |
11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 48.845 | 0.794 | 184.256 |
12 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 48.871 | 0.820 | 184.158 |
13 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 48.760 | 0.709 | 184.578 |
14 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 48.789 | 0.738 | 184.468 |
15 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 48.793 | 0.742 | 184.453 |
16 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 48.844 | 0.793 | 184.260 |
17 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 48.991 | 0.940 | 183.707 |
18 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 49.020 | 0.969 | 183.599 |
19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 49.036 | 0.985 | 183.539 |
20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 49.099 | 1.048 | 183.303 |
21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 49.104 | 1.053 | 183.284 |
22 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 49.136 | 1.085 | 183.165 |
23 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Ford | 49.489 | 1.438 | 181.859 |
24 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 49.500 | 1.449 | 181.818 |
25 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 49.072 | 1.021 | 183.404 |
26 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 49.102 | 1.051 | 183.292 |
27 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 49.313 | 1.262 | 182.508 |
28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 49.343 | 1.292 | 181.899 |
29 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 49.427 | 1.376 | 182.087 |
30 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 49.674 | 1.623 | 180.455 |
31 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Ford | 49.755 | 1.704 | 180.886 |
32 | 23 | Corey Lajoie | Toyota | 50.166 | 2.115 | 179.404 |
33 | 7 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 50.421 | 2.370 | 178.497 |
34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 50.620 | 2.569 | 177.795 |
35 | 51 | B.J. McLeod | Chevrolet | 51.051 | 3.000 | 176.294 |
36 | 55 | Gray Gaulding | Toyota | 51.178 | 3.127 | 175.857 |
37 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 51.398 | 3.347 | 173.164 |
38 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 51.747 | 3.696 | 173.923 |
39 | 15 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | 55.336 | 7.285 | 162.643 |
40 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
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