Kansas NASCAR: Brad Keselowski beats Carl Edwards to pole
Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski will start Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase race at Kansas Motor Speedway race from pole ahead of Carl Edwards
Keselowski had set the pace in Friday's earlier practice session as well as the first round of qualifying, and edged out Joe Gibbs Racing's Edwards by 0.007 seconds with a best lap of 27.621s around the 1.5-mile circuit.
Edwards' team-mate Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick will share the second row ahead of Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr.
Ryan Blaney - who set the pace in round two of qualifying - was the best-placed of those not in contention for the Cup in eighth, with Greg Biffle the only other non-Chase driver to reach the final round of qualifying in 12th.
Points leader Joey Logano failed to make the cut for round three and will start Sunday's race from 14th, while Dale Earnhardt Jr was the only other Chase driver to miss out on the pole shootout and will start a place further back in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Along with Ryan Newman, the pair had both flirted with danger in the opening round of qualifying before eventually setting times good enough to join their rivals in the second phase.
Austin Dillon, who had set the second-fastest time in practice, was the biggest casualty in round one after qualifying in 25th.
STARTING GRID:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.621s | - |
| 2 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.628s | 0.007s |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.717s | 0.096s |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.727s | 0.106s |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.730s | 0.109s |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.746s | 0.125s |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 27.782s | 0.161s |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 27.783s | 0.162s |
| 9 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.787s | 0.166s |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.792s | 0.171s |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.812s | 0.191s |
| 12 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.855s | 0.234s |
| 13 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.827s | - |
| 14 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.830s | - |
| 15 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.835s | - |
| 16 | Brian Scott | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.836s | - |
| 17 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.859s | - |
| 18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.872s | - |
| 19 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.876s | - |
| 20 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.909s | - |
| 21 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.930s | - |
| 22 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.934s | - |
| 23 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.974s | - |
| 24 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.974s | - |
| 25 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.075s | - |
| 26 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.155s | - |
| 27 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.167s | - |
| 28 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.168s | - |
| 29 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.208s | - |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.273s | - |
| 31 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.307s | - |
| 32 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.333s | - |
| 33 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.415s | - |
| 34 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.492s | - |
| 35 | Brett Moffitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.498s | - |
| 36 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.523s | - |
| 37 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.549s | - |
| 38 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.572s | - |
| 39 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.748s | - |
| 40 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.935s | - |
| 41 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.092s | - |
| 42 | Reed Sorenson | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 29.142s | - |
| 43 | Will Kimmel | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 29.147s | - |
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