Kevin Harvick continued his dominance on the track Friday claiming the Busch Pole Award for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway.
He led qualifying in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a 188.811 mph lap to secure his second pole of the season and his 23rd career Cup Series pole. It will be the fourth time Harvick has led the field to green at the 1.5-mile Kansas track.
“This has been a really good race track for us through the years and I think obviously when you look at qualifying day it’s also been just one of those places that kind of fits what we do,” Harvick said. “So it’s been an entertaining day. We’ve had a lot of things of things to work through today, but I think today is one of those days when you look at the team and you’re like, ‘Man, those guys are really good at what they do.’ Nobody panics and really shows the experience and just patience that all those guys have that they’ve gained and learned and I think you look at the experience of the team and it seems to keep getting better, so that’s fun to be a part of.”
Harvick has four wins this year and continues to hone his competitive edge each week. When asked if he was going to give anyone else a chance this weekend, he quickly replied, “I hope not. I have no plans to.”
Ryan Blaney will join Harvick on the front road, qualifying with a 187.826 mph lap in his Team Penske Ford.
“I thought our car today was pretty decent and I thought we found a little bit of speed for qualifying, which was nice. This has been a good track for us over the past handful of years and hopefully we can just find a little bit more to end up in Victory Lane,” Blaney said.
Kyle Busch (187.552 mph), Aric Almirola (187.428 mph) and Brad Keselowski (186.748 mph) will round out the top five starting positions.
Six competitors will start from the rear of the field after they failed to make it through inspection in time. Those drivers include Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto and Timmy Hill.
Also of note, Kyle Larson had issues in the second round of qualifying, spinning off Turn 4. He failed to post a time in the round and is slated to start the race in 22nd. However, if the team chooses to change tires, Larson will start from the rear of the field.
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