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NASCAR Texas: Busch brothers fill front row

Kyle Busch denied his brother Kurt a first pole in two years as he snatched the top spot late in NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway

The Joe Gibbs Toyota driver's pole lap of 27.509 seconds was a new record for the track.

It was enough to beat the elder Busch's effort for Furniture Row by 0.086s and ensure Kyle would start on pole.

Marcos Ambrose had hinted at Richard Petty Motorsports' pace by leading final practice and the team went into qualifying as pole favourite among rivals.

Ambrose's team-mate Aric Almirola then took an early provisional pole in qualifying, and stayed on top until the Busch siblings' late appearance demoted him to third.

Ambrose will join Almirola on row two.

Martin Truex Jr put his Waltrip Toyota fifth in front of Hendrick trio Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top 10.

Johnson's current main title rival Brad Keselowsi was only 17th in qualifying.

On his debut in the injured Denny Hamlin's Gibbs Toyota, Brian Vickers managed 15th.

Poor laps from Greg Biffle and Danica Patrick left them back in 35th and 42nd.

Kevin Harvick was 29th, but will start last as he had to change an engine following a practice failure.

The field was back up to 45 cars for Texas, leaving Scott Speed and Scott Riggs on the outside of the qualifying cut-off.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                 Time     Gap
 1.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota         27.509s
 2.  Kurt Busch          Furniture Row Chevy      27.595s  + 0.086s
 3.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford               27.691s  + 0.182s
 4.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford               27.700s  + 0.191s
 5.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota           27.725s  + 0.216s
 6.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevy           27.759s  + 0.250s
 7.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevy           27.763s  + 0.254s
 8.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevy           27.811s  + 0.302s
 9.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford        27.814s  + 0.305s
10.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy  27.834s  + 0.325s
11.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy  27.861s  + 0.352s
12.  Austin Dillon       Phoenix Chevy            27.869s  + 0.360s
13.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevy       27.888s  + 0.379s
14.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevy           27.914s  + 0.405s
15.  Brian Vickers       Joe Gibbs Toyota         27.915s  + 0.406s
16.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford              27.917s  + 0.408s
17.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford        27.951s  + 0.442s
18.  Joey Logano         Penske Ford              27.996s  + 0.487s
19.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevy          28.011s  + 0.502s
20.  Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota         28.014s  + 0.505s
21.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevy          28.014s  + 0.505s
22.  Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers Ford       28.015s  + 0.506s
23.  Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota           28.031s  + 0.522s
24.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford             28.038s  + 0.529s
25.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford           28.044s  + 0.535s
26.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota           28.086s  + 0.577s
27.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford           28.110s  + 0.601s
28.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevy            28.141s  + 0.632s
29.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevy          28.164s  + 0.655s
30.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota     28.188s  + 0.679s
31.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevy       28.190s  + 0.681s
32.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                28.231s  + 0.722s
33.  David Stremme       Swan Toyota              28.251s  + 0.742s
34.  Mike Bliss          Humphrey Smith Toyota    28.283s  + 0.774s
35.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford        28.284s  + 0.775s
36.  JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevy            28.316s  + 0.807s
37.  Michael McDowell    Parsons Ford             28.317s  + 0.808s
38.  David Reutimann     BK Toyota                28.418s  + 0.909s
39.  Landon Cassill      Circle Sport Chevy       28.517s  + 1.008s
40.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford           28.552s  + 1.043s
41.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO-JRR                28.699s  + 1.190s
42.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevy       28.709s  + 1.200s
43.  Timmy Hill          FAS Lane Ford            28.987s  + 1.478s

Did not qualify:

     Scott Speed         Leavine Ford             28.782s  + 1.273s
     Scott Riggs         Xxxtreme Ford            29.009s  + 1.414s

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