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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