Keselowski Wins Kansas Pole

Credit:  Getty Images for NASCAR

KANSAS CITY, KS - RIS - Brad Keselowski is suffering his first slump in three years, but the No. 2 Miller Ford driver and team found their sea legs in qualifying at Kansas Speedway.  Keselowski was quickest in the first and third segments of qualifying to win the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race and fully admitted his starting position was not as important as where he finishes at the end of the race.

"It's been a really good day, but of course, there's a long ways to go,'' said Keselowski, who was also fastest in Friday's practice. "We need a really good finish, is what we need.''

Keselowski turned a lap at 195.503 mph on Friday to beat out 10 other Chase drivers in the final round of qualifying. But because his Penske Racing team has accumulated four warnings, he did not receive the pit stall selection that typically goes to the fastest qualifier.

"It's not going to ruin our day by no means," Keselowski crew chief Paul Wolfe said. "Obviously, we would love to have pit stall 1, but we can still win the race from pit stall 30 or wherever we end up."

"I guess it's like getting a nice cheesecake with no toppings. I still like cheesecake,'' Keselowski said. "We'll make the most of it. It is nice to be fast this week. We weren't anywhere near as fast as we wanted to be at Charlotte, which was frustrating.''

JGR driver Carl Edwards will start alongside Keselowski after his lap of 195.454 mph. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin were next, all still in the Chase.

Edwards gets first choice of pit stall, which is chosen in order of qualifying results. Keselowski's team will pick 42nd.

The best pit stall is considered the first one at the end of pit road so a driver has a clear shot out of the pits. Typically, there are five or six stalls that are near openings in the pit walls that make it easier to get into or out of the stall.

"These are bittersweet because it's like you know you left a little bit out there, but it's still a great lap for us," Edwards said. "Somebody said there was something with the 2 and they lose a pit pick for some reason, so really, we'll get that first pit stall, which will be huge for Sunday. That's a gift, and we'll take it.''

Ryan Blaney, driving the iconic Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford, was the fastest among the nontitle contenders in eighth. Blaney and his team have had the problem of not qualifying for races this year due to weather and the fact that they don't run all the races, limiting their points position.

"I was really encouraged after practice,'' Kenseth said. "We had a really good feel and pretty good speed on our mock-up run, just couldn't get the balance in qualifying. We just couldn't get it. It was a good day for us, but we certainly want to be better than 11th."

The only Chase drivers who did not make the final round of qualifying were four-time winner Joey Logano, who will start 14th, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who qualified 15th.

That's no big deal to Logano. He won at Charlotte to guarantee his spot in the next round of the Chase, so he spent Friday's practice in race trim rather than a qualifying setup.

"It feels great. Everyone else is stressed out in the garage except us right now,'' he said. "That's something to be proud of. That stress will wear a lot of teams out.''

Sunday's starting lineup:

Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Denny Hamlin 04/22/12 02:46:44 144.122
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 27.621 195.503
2 19 Carl Edwards Sport Clips Toyota 27.628 195.454
Row 2: 3 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Halloween Toyota 27.717 194.826
4 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 27.727 194.756
Row 3: 5 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 27.730 194.735
6 24 Jeff Gordon 3M Chevrolet 27.746 194.623
Row 4: 7 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 27.782 194.370
8 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 27.783 194.363
Row 5: 9 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 27.787 194.335
10 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 27.792 194.301
Row 6: 11 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 27.812 194.161
12 16 Greg Biffle Roush Performance Ford 27.855 193.861
Row 7: 13 27 Paul Menard FVP/Menards Chevrolet 27.827 194.056
14 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 27.830 194.035
Row 8: 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Halo 5: Master Chief Chevrolet 27.835 194.000
16 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 27.836 193.993
Row 9: 17 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Arctic Cat Chevrolet 27.859 193.833
18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 27.872 193.743
Row 10: 19 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 27.876 193.715
20 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 27.909 193.486
Row 11: 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 27.930 193.340
22 55 David Ragan Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota 27.934 193.313
Row 12: 23 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford 27.974 193.036
24 5 Kasey Kahne LiftMaster Chevrolet 27.974 193.036
Row 13: 25 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet 28.075 192.342
26 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 28.155 191.795
Row 14: 27 47 AJ Allmendinger Dillons/Bush's Beans Chevrolet 28.167 191.714
28 1 Jamie McMurray Halo 5: Spartan Locke/Cessna Chevrolet 28.168 191.707
Row 15: 29 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 28.208 191.435
30 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 28.273 190.995
Row 16: 31 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Sonic Ford 28.307 190.766
32 7 Alex Bowman Accell Construction Chevrolet 28.333 190.590
Row 17: 33 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 28.415 190.040
34 83 Matt DiBenedetto # VooDoo BBQ Toyota 28.492 189.527
Row 18: 35 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Logistics LLC Ford 28.498 189.487
36 26 JJ Yeley(i) Honey Creek Outfitters/Maxim Toyota 28.523 189.321
Row 19: 37 46 Michael Annett TMC Transportation Chevrolet Owner Points
38 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 20: 39 35 Cole Whitt Rich Logistics Ford Owner Points
40 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper Toyota Owner Points
Row 21: 41 40 Landon Cassill(i) Carsforsale.com Chevrolet Owner Points
42 98 Reed Sorenson Becker Auto's & Trailers Ford Owner Points
Row 22: 43 32 Will Kimmel III Skuttle Tight Ford Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: # 62 Timmy Hill(i).
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 21 1 Toyota 9 0
Ford 13 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series