Kurt Busch has taken pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway, reversing a decade of tough luck at the 1.5-mile track.
Busch, who had never started higher than seventh in 10 career starts in Kansas and has never finished in the top five, will start from the front after averaging 174.752mph.
Juan Montoya will start second ahead of Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Joey Lagano. Australian Marcos Ambrose will start from 35th place.
Cup points leader Carl Edwards will start seventh – the highest placed Ford.
Kurt Busch heaped praise on his team for the top spot.
“I have to thank my guys for standing behind me, not just through Friday (where he endured a spin in practice) but through some of the tough times we’ve been through as of late,” Busch said.
“It’s an amazing world, the world of motorsports. One day you’re down, the next day you’re up.”
Starting line-up for Kansas.
| Pos | Driver | Team/Car | Time | Gap |
| 1. | Kurt Busch | Penske Dodge | 30.901s | |
| 2. | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet | 31.007s | + 0.106s |
| 3. | Kyle Busch | Gibbs Toyota | 31.020s | + 0.119s |
| 4. | Brian Vickers | Red Bull Toyota | 31.036s | + 0.135s |
| 5. | Joey Logano | Gibbs Toyota | 31.061s | + 0.160s |
| 6. | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet | 31.087s | + 0.186s |
| 7. | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Ford | 31.097s | + 0.196s |
| 8. | Martin Truex Jr | Waltrip Toyota | 31.104s | + 0.203s |
| 9. | Paul Menard | Childress Chevrolet | 31.108s | + 0.207s |
| 10. | Kevin Harvick | Childress Chevrolet | 31.125s | + 0.224s |
| 11. | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Chevrolet | 31.138s | + 0.237s |
| 12. | Ryan Newman | Stewart Haas Chevrolet | 31.144s | + 0.243s |
| 13. | Tony Stewart | Stewart Haas Chevrolet | 31.149s | + 0.248s |
| 14. | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Ford | 31.169s | + 0.268s |
| 15. | Denny Hamlin | Gibbs Toyota | 31.179s | + 0.278s |
| 16. | Jeff Burton | Childress Chevrolet | 31.196s | + 0.295s |
| 17. | Kasey Kahne | Red Bull Toyota | 31.208s | + 0.307s |
| 18. | Mark Martin | Hendrick Chevrolet | 31.231s | + 0.330s |
| 19. | David Ragan | Roush Fenway Ford | 31.240s | + 0.339s |
| 20. | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Toyota | 31.255s | + 0.354s |
| 21. | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Ford | 31.258s | + 0.357s |
| 22. | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Chevrolet | 31.259s | + 0.358s |
| 23. | David Reutimann | Waltrip Toyota | 31.264s | + 0.363s |
| 24. | Landon Cassill | Phoenix Chevrolet | 31.265s | + 0.364s |
| 25. | Brad Keselowski | Penske Dodge | 31.303s | + 0.402s |
| 26. | AJ Allmendinger | Petty Ford | 31.353s | + 0.452s |
| 27. | Clint Bowyer | Childress Chevrolet | 31.389s | + 0.488s |
| 28. | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Hendrick Chevrolet | 31.417s | + 0.516s |
| 29. | David Stremme | Inception Chevrolet | 31.418s | + 0.517s |
| 30. | Travis Kvapil | Front Row Ford | 31.446s | + 0.545s |
| 31. | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Chevrolet | 31.473s | + 0.572s |
| 32. | JJ Yeley | Whitney Chevrolet | 31.484s | + 0.583s |
| 33. | Casey Mears | Germain Toyota | 31.487s | + 0.586s |
| 34. | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Toyota | 31.497s | + 0.596s |
| 35. | Marcos Ambrose | Petty Ford | 31.533s | + 0.632s |
| 36. | Scott Riggs | Whitney Chevrolet | 31.582s | + 0.681s |
| 37. | Michael McDowell | HP Toyota | 31.616s | + 0.715s |
| 38. | David Gilliland | Front Row Ford | 31.625s | + 0.724s |
| 39. | Andy Lally | TRG Chevrolet | 31.655s | + 0.754s |
| 40. | Patrick Carpentier | FAS Lane Ford | 31.852s | + 0.951s |
| 41. | Johnny Sauter | Gordon Dodge | 31.975s | + 1.074s |
| 42. | Dave Blaney | Baldwin Chevrolet | 32.173s | + 1.272s |
| 43. | Mike Skinner | Germain Toyota | 31.753s | + 0.852s |
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