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Michigan NASCAR: Kenseth leads all-Joe Gibbs Racing top three

Matt Kenseth will start Sunday's 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan from pole position, after leading a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top three in qualifying

Kenseth ran last in the 12-car second phase and recorded a 36.458 second lap in his Toyota, securing his first pole since the Charlotte event in May.

It was 0.092s clear of team-mate Denny Hamlin, and Carl Edwards completed the team's maiden all-top three qualifying result.

In a rich vein of form, having won five of the last seven Sprint Cup races, JGR also dominated the first phase of qualifying.

Kenseth led the way, with practice pacesetter Edwards, Kyle Busch and Hamlin all covered by 0.085s.

Any hopes the team could become just the fourth in NASCAR history to sweep the top four on the grid ended when Busch lost time through Turns 3 and 4 on his shootout lap.

He dropped more than three tenths compared to Kenseth in the process and will start sixth, behind Austin Dillon and Tony Stewart.

Kevin Harvick was seventh-fastest, ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Watkins Glen winner Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

Having run relatively early in the first phase, based on being 27th in practice, Bowyer's effort to snatch the 12th and final spot in second phase was notable.

He sat atop the timesheets before Johnson and then Kenseth took control as times improved.

Of the drivers currently in The Chase title shootout, Brad Keselowski was the best of those to miss out on a spot inside the top 12 and will start 14th.

The victor at Michigan in June, Kurt Busch will line up 16th ahead of Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray, while Jeff Gordon will start 21st, Martin Truex Jr 22nd and Paul Menard 24th.

QUALIFYING RESULTS:

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36.458s -
2 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36.550s 0.092s
3 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36.683s 0.225s
4 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 36.750s 0.292s
5 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 36.833s 0.375s
6 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36.838s 0.380s
7 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 36.876s 0.418s
8 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 36.880s 0.422s
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 36.945s 0.487s
10 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 37.036s 0.578s
11 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.088s 0.630s
12 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 37.189s 0.731s
13 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 37.184s 0.726s
14 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 37.199s 0.741s
15 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 37.214s 0.756s
16 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 37.246s 0.788s
17 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.246s 0.788s
18 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 37.277s 0.819s
19 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 37.281s 0.823s
20 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 37.300s 0.842s
21 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.304s 0.846s
22 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 37.321s 0.863s
23 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 37.350s 0.892s
24 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.379s 0.921s
25 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 37.499s 1.041s
26 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 37.534s 1.076s
27 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 37.581s 1.123s
28 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 37.624s 1.166s
29 Jeb Burton BK Racing Toyota 37.753s 1.295s
30 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 37.790s 1.332s
31 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 37.885s 1.427s
32 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 37.885s 1.427s
33 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38.018s 1.560s
34 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 38.049s 1.591s
35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38.077s 1.619s
36 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 38.110s 1.652s
37 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 38.145s 1.687s
38 Brett Moffitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38.193s 1.735s
39 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 38.302s 1.844s
40 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 38.599s 2.141s
41 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 38.705s 2.247s
42 Travis Kvapil Circle Sport Chevrolet 39.200s 2.742s
43 Timmy Hill Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 39.335s 2.877s
44 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford 38.631s 2.173s


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