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Bristol NASCAR: Kenseth, Joe Gibbs and Toyota get first 2015 pole

Matt Kenseth gave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota their first poles of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway

Kenseth outpaced Penske Ford driver Brad Keselowski by 0.022 seconds around the half-mile oval to secure the top spot.

All four JGR Camrys made it to the final part of qualifying, with Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin sandwiching champion Kevin Harvick's Stewart-Haas Chevrolet in third and fifth, and Kyle Busch's stand-in David Ragan taking 11th.

Joey Logano had been quickest in the first two rounds of qualifying but could only manage sixth in the pole shootout.

Hendrick only got one car through to the final segment - practice pacesetter Kasey Kahne, who qualified eighth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon were out in round two, taking eighth and 23rd, while Jimmie Johnson did not get beyond the opening session and will start back in 28th.

Several drivers from smaller teams fared well on the tight track, though. Landon Cassill and Michael McDowell claimed rare top-20 starts for Hillman and Leavine Family Racing respectively.

STARTING GRID:

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.917s -
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 14.939s 0.022s
3 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.953s 0.036s
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 14.966s 0.049s
5 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.059s 0.142s
6 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15.071s 0.154s
7 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.124s 0.207s
8 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.129s 0.212s
9 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.129s 0.212s
10 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.155s 0.238s
11 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.176s 0.259s
12 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.197s 0.280s
13 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.099s -
14 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.100s -
15 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.161s -
16 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 15.168s -
17 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 15.177s -
18 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.218s -
19 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 15.235s -
20 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.236s -
21 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.249s -
22 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 15.253s -
23 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.276s -
24 Brett Moffitt Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.326s -
25 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.183s -
26 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.189s -
27 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.192s -
28 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.211s -
29 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 15.223s -
30 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.250s -
31 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.253s -
32 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.274s -
33 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.283s -
34 Jeb Burton BK Racing Toyota 15.288s -
35 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 15.295s -
36 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.331s -
37 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.348s -
38 Chris Buescher Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.348s -
39 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.358s -
40 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15.405s -
41 Mike Bliss Go FAS Racing Ford 15.458s -
42 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.468s -
43 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 15.523s -
44 Brendan Gaughan Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 15.470s -
45 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 15.514s -


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