Kevin Harvick will start on pole for the Bojangles Southern 500 at the legendary Darlington Raceway, while Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will start from the second row.
On a record setting day 25 drivers broke the previous track qualifying record during the first of the three-segment time trials.
Harvick beat Joey Logano and Ambrose team-mate Aric Almirola for the top spot. Almirola’s time in the second segment of 26.705 seconds is now the fastest ever time at ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame’.
In the final segment of knockout qualifying Harvick set the fast time at 26.802 seconds to claim the pole at the 1.366-mile South Carolina track.
It is Harvick’s first pole at the Southern 500 and only his seventh of his 14-year career. It’s a sign of another fast car for Harvick, who won at Phoenix, but has since finished 36th or worse in four of the last five races.
“The team has dealt with a lot of bad luck and they just keep fighting through it and putting fast race cars on the track,” Harvick said.
For Ambrose his fourth fastest time represents an outstanding qualifying run of being inside the top-10 during qualifying at four of the past five race meetings. The Tasmanian is out for redemption after a terrible run at the corresponding race in 2013.
“We will take that. It was a really strong effort for RPM. I was just told it was a record for RPM’s starting positions for both myself and Aric. We are really thrilled with that,” said Ambrose.
“I thought we had a shot at the pole there for a minute, it just got a little slick. It got a little loose there for a bit and that probably cost us, but overall it is a great day for us and for RPM.”
The 367 lap race will be run mid-morning Sunday Australian time.
VIDEO: Harvick takes the pole for the Southern 500
QUALIFYING: Bojangle’s Southern 500 – Darlington Raceway
|
POS |
Car # |
Driver |
Make |
Sponsor |
MPH |
Best Time |
Behind |
|
1 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 183.479 | 26.802 | Leader |
|
2 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 183.049 | 26.865 | –0.063 |
|
3 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Fresh From Florida | 182.946 | 26.880 | –0.078 |
|
4 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | DeWalt | 182.485 | 26.948 | –0.146 |
|
5 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 182.059 | 27.011 | –0.209 |
|
6 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | CESSNA | 182.019 | 27.017 | –0.215 |
|
7 |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 181.985 | 27.022 | –0.220 |
|
8 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 181.763 | 27.055 | –0.253 |
|
9 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 181.756 | 27.056 | –0.254 |
|
10 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Sport Clips | 181.548 | 27.087 | –0.285 |
|
11 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Certain Teed / Menards | 181.481 | 27.097 | –0.295 |
|
12 |
78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Furniture Row | 181.200 | 27.139 | –0.337 |
|
13 |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 182.181 | 26.993 | –0.191 |
|
14 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 181.985 | 27.022 | –0.220 |
|
15 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | National Guard | 181.689 | 27.066 | –0.264 |
|
16 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy | 181.247 | 27.132 | –0.330 |
|
17 |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | Target | 181.194 | 27.140 | –0.338 |
|
18 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | Clorox | 181.127 | 27.150 | –0.348 |
|
19 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M/Red Cross | 180.947 | 27.177 | –0.375 |
|
20 |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | Dow | 180.914 | 27.182 | –0.380 |
|
21 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 180.901 | 27.184 | –0.382 |
|
22 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Great Clips | 180.787 | 27.201 | –0.399 |
|
23 |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops | 180.185 | 27.292 | –0.490 |
|
24 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes | 178.958 | 27.479 | –0.677 |
|
25 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Home Depot Husky | 182.059 | 27.011 | –0.209 |
|
26 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s-Kobalt Tools | 181.911 | 27.033 | –0.231 |
|
27 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | A&W All American Food | 181.548 | 27.087 | –0.285 |
|
28 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Nationwide | 181.394 | 27.110 | –0.308 |
|
29 |
98 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | Phil Parsons Racing | 180.549 | 27.237 | –0.435 |
|
30 |
7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | Pilot / Flying J Chevrolet | 180.330 | 27.270 | –0.468 |
|
31 |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 180.310 | 27.273 | –0.471 |
|
32 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | CSX | 180.204 | 27.289 | –0.487 |
|
33 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | GoDaddy | 180.158 | 27.296 | –0.494 |
|
34 |
23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry | 179.993 | 27.321 | –0.519 |
|
35 |
40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Hillman Racing | 179.717 | 27.363 | –0.561 |
|
36 |
77 | Dave Blaney | Ford | TBA | 179.606 | 27.380 | –0.578 |
|
37 |
33 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | TBA | 179.024 | 27.469 | –0.667 |
|
38 |
30 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | SMS Audio | 178.543 | 27.543 | –0.741 |
|
39 |
83 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | Borla Exhaust Toyota Camry | 178.400 | 27.565 | –0.763 |
|
40 |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | TBA | 177.961 | 27.633 | –0.831 |
|
41 |
32 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Keen Parts | 177.768 | 27.663 | –0.861 |
|
42 |
26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | Swan Energy | 177.659 | 27.680 | –0.878 |
|
43 |
66 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | Justin Johnson-Land Castle Title | 177.166 | 27.757 | –0.955 |
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