Texas NASCAR: Brad Keselowski takes comfortable pole for Penske
Brad Keselowski dominated NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway for Penske on Friday
The 2012 champion's Ford had been fastest in practice, then set the pace in all three segments of the floodlit early evening qualifying session.
Keselowski's 27.421-second, 196.929mph lap in the pole shootout put him a comfortable 0.131s clear of second-placed Kevin Harvick's Stewart-Haas Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch was the top Toyota driver in third for Joe Gibbs Racing, joined on row two by Keselowski's Penske team-mate Joey Logano.
JGR's stand-in driver Erik Jones starred to put the suspended Matt Kenseth's regular car sixth, behind fellow young gun Kyle Larson, the fastest of the drivers not in the Chase.
Danica Patrick made it into the final stage of qualifying for the first time this season and took 11th on the grid.
Her SHR team-mate Kurt Busch was the fifth Chase contender to reach round three and will start seventh.
Three Chase drivers dropped out in round two. Carl Edwards was denied a pole shootout spot by 0.004s by Patrick, so lines up 13th, while last week's Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr both lacked single-lap pace. They were 18th and 23rd.
STARTING GRID:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.421s | - |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.552s | 0.131s |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.591s | 0.170s |
| 4 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.633s | 0.212s |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.644s | 0.223s |
| 6 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.650s | 0.229s |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.694s | 0.273s |
| 8 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.708s | 0.287s |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.740s | 0.319s |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.767s | 0.346s |
| 11 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.934s | 0.513s |
| 12 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.361s | 0.940s |
| 13 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.644s | - |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.646s | - |
| 15 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.667s | - |
| 16 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.672s | - |
| 17 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 27.718s | - |
| 18 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.744s | - |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.755s | - |
| 20 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.810s | - |
| 21 | Brian Scott | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.810s | - |
| 22 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.819s | - |
| 23 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 27.835s | - |
| 24 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.883s | - |
| 25 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 27.618s | - |
| 26 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.622s | - |
| 27 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.645s | - |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.670s | - |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.672s | - |
| 30 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 27.730s | - |
| 31 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 27.743s | - |
| 32 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.746s | - |
| 33 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 27.911s | - |
| 34 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 27.988s | - |
| 35 | Brett Moffitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.030s | - |
| 36 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.060s | - |
| 37 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.077s | - |
| 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.085s | - |
| 39 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.185s | - |
| 40 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.193s | - |
| 41 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.236s | - |
| 42 | Ryan Preece | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | 28.318s | - |
| 43 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.483s | - |
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