Texas NASCAR: Carl Edwards earns pole

One of the final drivers to run, Edwards produced a 27.535-second lap in his Roush Fenway Ford to beat 2012 champion Brad Keselowski's Penske entry to the top spot.

Just 0.084s covered the top six drivers, with joint points leaders Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth both within that blanket.

Johnson had held provisional pole for a while before Keselowski and Kenseth came through, despite a big moment on his qualifying lap.

He ended up three places clear of Kenseth, as Paul Menard and Kyle Busch got between them.

Johnson's Hendrick team-mates Dale Earnhardt Jr and last week's Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon share row four.

Hours after his 2014 Furniture Row deal was announced, Martin Truex Jr was current employer Michael Waltrip's leading qualifier in 15th, while present Furniture Row man Kurt Busch was only 31st.

The elder Busch was one of a number of big names that newcomer Parker Kligerman outqualified, as the Nationwide Series graduate put Swan's Toyota 23rd.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time     Gap
 1.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            27.535s
 2.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford                  27.537s  +0.002s
 3.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           27.559s  +0.024s
 4.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          27.574s  +0.039s
 5.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota             27.582s  +0.047s
 6.  Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota             27.619s  +0.084s
 7.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           27.648s  +0.113s
 8.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           27.668s  +0.133s
 9.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford            27.674s  +0.139s
10.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   27.688s  +0.153s
11.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet           27.740s  +0.205s
12.  Joey Logano         Penske Ford                  27.761s  +0.226s
13.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       27.780s  +0.245s
14.  Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota             27.781s  +0.246s
15.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               27.812s  +0.277s
16.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  27.863s  +0.328s
17.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                   27.884s  +0.349s
18.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            27.890s  +0.355s
19.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          27.892s  +0.357s
20.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          27.921s  +0.386s
21.  Austin Dillon       Childress Chevrolet          27.931s  +0.396s
22.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         27.961s  +0.426s
23.  Parker Kligerman    Swan Toyota                  27.973s  +0.438s
24.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  27.989s  +0.454s
25.  Elliott Sadler      Waltrip Toyota               27.993s  +0.458s
26.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota               28.008s  +0.473s
27.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                 28.030s  +0.495s
28.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               28.118s  +0.583s
29.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford               28.141s  +0.606s
30.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       28.150s  +0.615s
31.  Kurt Busch          Furniture Row Chevrolet      28.210s  +0.675s
32.  Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers Ford           28.221s  +0.686s
33.  Mark Martin         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       28.342s  +0.807s
34.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford               28.439s  +0.904s
35.  Michael McDowell    Parsons Ford                 28.523s  +0.988s
36.  Kyle Larson         Phoenix Chevrolet            28.536s  +1.001s
37.  Landon Cassill      Circle Sport Chevrolet       28.638s  +1.103s
38.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                    28.671s  +1.136s
39.  David Reutimann     BK Toyota                    28.680s  +1.145s
40.  Timmy Hill          FAS Lane Ford                28.719s  +1.184s
41.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 28.839s  +1.304s
42.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet            28.992s  +1.457s
43.  JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevrolet            36.845s  +9.310s