Brad Keselowski has won the Coors Light Pole Award for The Profit on CNBC 500, Presented by Small Business Fueling America at Phoenix under NASCAR’s new qualifying format.
Similar to Formula 1, where cars all start on the track together before the top-12 runners contest the final run for pole. The 2012 Sprint Cup champion set a new track qualifying record of 224.317 km/h (139.384 mph) with his Penske Racing team-mate Joey Logano set to start alongside.
Both Logano and Keselowski only ran two laps in the first round before settling on their positions of first and second, respectively. It is Keselowski’s first pole win at Phoenix.
“We had a really fast car and there is some pride to be taken in being the first one to win a Sprint Cup pole in this format,” said Keselowski.
“I am sure it will undergo a few adjustments along the way but it is very rewarding and a testament to my team and how fast of a car they gave me. Then it was just a matter of executing on my end. We were able to do that. I dind’t think I ran a good enough lap to be quite honest. When they told me the time, I said, Alright, I will take it.”
Lining up third on Sunday will be Jamie McMurray, with Jimmie Johnson and Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounding out the top five.
After the first round of qualifying, the fastest 12 cars went on to qualify for the pole. Kevin Harvick finished 13th in round one and was not eligible to qualify in round two and will therefore start from 13th.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will start 29th in the 500-kilometre race which starts Monday morning Australian time.
“No one really knew what to expect going into this qualifying session,” said Ambrose.
“Our initial time was in the top-10, but it just didn’t stick. I think there were just so many different strategies in play, and once you did a run, it was really hard to get your engine cool enough to make another go at it.
“We went out at the end of the first session for another try, but the car just didn’t work in the centre like we needed it to.”
QUALIFYING: The Profit on CNBC 500, Presented by Small Business Fueling America – Phoenix
|
POS |
Car # |
Driver |
Make |
Sponsor |
MPH |
Best Time |
Behind |
|
1 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Alliance Truck Parts | 139.384 | 25.828 | Leader |
|
2 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 139.265 | 25.850 | –0.022 |
|
3 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Cessna-Bad Boy Buggies | 138.969 | 25.905 | –0.077 |
|
4 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 138.350 | 26.021 | –0.193 |
|
5 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | National Guard | 138.344 | 26.022 | –0.194 |
|
6 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 138.339 | 26.023 | –0.195 |
|
7 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Skittles | 138.318 | 26.027 | –0.199 |
|
8 |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | Clorox | 138.318 | 26.027 | –0.199 |
|
9 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Farmland | 138.281 | 26.034 | –0.206 |
|
10 |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 138.047 | 26.078 | –0.250 |
|
11 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 137.889 | 26.108 | –0.280 |
|
12 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 137.315 | 26.217 | –0.389 |
|
13 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Jimmy John’s | 137.815 | 26.122 | –0.294 |
|
14 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy | 137.810 | 26.123 | –0.295 |
|
15 |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans | 137.794 | 26.126 | –0.298 |
|
16 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 137.788 | 26.127 | –0.299 |
|
17 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Pepsi MAX | 137.741 | 26.136 | –0.308 |
|
18 |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 137.588 | 26.165 | –0.337 |
|
19 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Home Depot Husky | 137.546 | 26.173 | –0.345 |
|
20 |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 | 137.483 | 26.185 | –0.357 |
|
21 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | NOS | 137.473 | 26.187 | –0.359 |
|
22 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Pittsburgh Paints / Menards | 137.347 | 26.211 | –0.383 |
|
23 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | 137.216 | 26.236 | –0.408 |
|
24 |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | American Ethanol | 137.200 | 26.239 | –0.411 |
|
25 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | Clorox Fraganzia | 137.179 | 26.243 | –0.415 |
|
26 |
95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | K-Love | 137.065 | 26.265 | –0.437 |
|
27 |
78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Furniture Row | 136.903 | 26.296 | –0.468 |
|
28 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Love’s Travel Stops | 136.867 | 26.303 | –0.475 |
|
29 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Mac Tools | 136.794 | 26.317 | –0.489 |
|
30 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | Farm Rich | 136.789 | 26.318 | –0.490 |
|
31 |
26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | GEAR Speed Stick | 136.726 | 26.330 | –0.502 |
|
32 |
33 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | White Tail | 136.721 | 26.331 | –0.503 |
|
33 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | GoDaddy | 136.545 | 26.365 | –0.537 |
|
34 |
83 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | Borla Exhaust Toyota Camry | 135.875 | 26.495 | –0.667 |
|
35 |
23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry | 135.614 | 26.546 | –0.718 |
|
36 |
30 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | TBA | 135.384 | 26.591 | –0.763 |
|
37 |
35 | Blake Koch | Ford | MDS Transport | 135.262 | 26.615 | –0.787 |
|
38 |
66 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | Land Castle Title | 134.983 | 26.670 | –0.842 |
|
39 |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | TBA | 134.897 | 26.687 | –0.859 |
|
40 |
32 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Ask More-Get More | 134.771 | 26.712 | –0.884 |
|
41 |
7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 134.148 | 26.836 | –1.008 |
|
42 |
87 | Morgan Shepherd | Toyota | Morris-Hardwick-Schneider | 128.995 | 27.908 | –2.080 |
|
43 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | BRANDT Professional Agriculture | 0.000 | 0.000 | -25.828 |
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