Harvick Will Start From the Pole at Chicagoland

JOLIET, IL – RIS – Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at
Chicagoland Speedway.  Heavy rain washed out qualifying Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, and NASCAR set the field based on speeds from the only practice session of the day. Knowing weather was likely to be an issue, Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team focused on laying down a fast lap that they could fall back on should qualifying indeed be scratched.

"I'm just most proud of my team for having the fast race car and coming to the track and having a plan and doing all the things they did to (anticipate) the weather," Harvick said. "They put a lot of emphasis on laying a fast lap down, just like everybody else, to get a good starting position."

It seemed like everyone had that plan. The top four starting spots went to Chase drivers, and 12 of the fastest 15 were title contenders.

Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski will start their Fords second and third, followed by Martin Truex Jr.

Ryan Newman will start sixth, Kyle Busch seventh and Kurt Busch ninth.

Kurt Busch actually moved up one spot on the starting grid because Ryan Blaney, who was ninth-fastest in practice, did not make the race when the rain washed out qualifying. It's the third time this season Blaney has been sent home because qualifying was canceled.

"What the real bummer is, is for Ryan Blaney," Logano said. "That is a big heartbreaker for him. For the rest of us, I don't think it affects much. If you are locked in the race it doesn't really affect much."

Logano said he had hoped the qualifying session would go off because he believed he had a shot at winning the pole. Keselowski said he was satisfied with the result, though. Winner of the opening Chase race a year ago, he came from the 25th starting position to earn the automatic berth into the second round.

"We will take that and move on," Keselowski said. "Track position is important here, but last year we were able to pass people and get up to the front. I feel like you can get there. It is just a matter of time.

"Good cars always get to the top. I feel like we have a good car though, and we will start close to the front, so that is a good start."

The race will start at 3:00 PM EST, and possibly finish under the lights on Sunday evening.

Starting Lineup by row:

Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: David Reutimann 07/10/10 02:45:34 145.138
Pos Car Driver Team Reason
Row 1: 1 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 5th
2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 2015 Owners Points 4th
Row 2: 3 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 2015 Owners Points 9th
4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 10th
Row 3: 5 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 21st
6 31 Ryan Newman Caterprillar Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 14th
Row 4: 7 18 Kyle Busch M&M Crispy Toyota 2015 Owners Points 2nd
8 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 18th
Row 5: 9 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 7th
10 24 Jeff Gordon AXALTA Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 13th
Row 6: 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 1st
12 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 2015 Owners Points 3rd
Row 7: 13 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 12th
14 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 2015 Owners Points 8th
Row 8: 15 47 AJ Allmendinger Food 4 Less/Scott Products Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 22nd
16 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 15th
Row 9: 17 16 Greg Biffle Safety-Kleen Ford 2015 Owners Points 20th
18 42 Kyle Larson Clorox Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 19th
Row 10: 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 6th
20 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford 2015 Owners Points 17th
Row 11: 21 33 Brian Scott(i) Jewel-Osco Chevrolet 15 Owners Atpt 26 - 37th
22 9 Sam Hornish Jr. SlimFast/Natrol Ford 2015 Owners Points 26th
Row 12: 23 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 25th
24 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 23rd
Row 13: 25 10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 24th
26 15 Clint Bowyer PEAK Anti-Freeze & Coolant Toyota 2015 Owners Points 16th
Row 14: 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 2015 Owners Points 29th
28 55 David Ragan Aaron's Partners of the Year Toyota 2015 Owners Points 27th
Row 15: 29 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 2015 Owners Points 11th
30 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 2015 Owners Points 28th
Row 16: 31 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 30th
32 7 Alex Bowman Jewel-Osco Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 35th
Row 17: 33 35 Cole Whitt MDS Ford 2015 Owners Points 31st
34 26 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 15 Owners Atpt 26 - 44th
Row 18: 35 38 David Gilliland LovesTravelStops/ChildrensMiracleNet Ford 2015 Owners Points 32nd
36 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Knock'er Loose Chevrolet 2015 Owners Points 33rd
Row 19: 37 46 Michael Annett Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet 15 Owners Atpts 26 - 38th
38 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford 2015 Owners Points 34th
Row 20: 39 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota 2015 Owners Points 36th
40 32 Josh Wise BeerFrost.com Ford 15 Owners Atpts 26 - 41st
Row 21: 41 23 Jeb Burton # Estes/Draft Kings Toyota 15 Owners Atpts 26 - 39th
42 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford 15 Owners Atpts 26 - 40th
Row 22: 43 62 Timmy Hill(i) ChampionMachinery.com Chevrolet 15 Owners Atpts 26 - 46th
Did Not Qualify: #21 Ryan Blaney(i); #95 Michael McDowell; #30 Travis Kvapil(i).
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 23 1 Toyota 9 0
Ford 11 2
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series