CP MOTORSPORTS - KENSETH POWERS TOYOTA TO ANOTHER POLE AT MICHIGAN
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Over the course of his championship winning NASCAR career, Matt Kenseth has built quite the reputation for success -- it just doesn't normally happen in qualifying.
Prior to this season, Kenseth only had 13 pole position starts to his credit but this year has been a completely different story. Kenseth notched his third pole of the 2015 Sprint Cup season in qualifying for Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Kenseth's lap of 36.458 seconds at an average speed of 197.488 mph gave him the top spot over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, who were also his biggest opponents in qualifying.
Kenseth gave his No. 20 team all the credit for his qualifying success.
"We were a little bit off of our teammates, a pretty good chunk off of Carl," Kenseth said. "Really, Jason (Radcliff) and that whole group deserve all the credit. They gave me a car that drove good and had a lot more speed in qualifying than it did in practice. They did a better job than me today, they gave me the car to get it done. I was glad I was able get a good enough lap to put it on the pole.."
Kenseth's pole winning lap edged out Denny Hamlin's lap of 36.550 seconds at 196.990 mph. The second starting spot will mark the 10th time which Hamlin has rolled off in the top ten this season.
While Hamlin fell short of winning the pole, Hamlin couldn't help but notice the momentum which JGR as a team has right now.
"Good day for JGR, obviously," Hamlin said. "We've got fast cars and TRD has really stepped up and given us some great horsepower over the last year or so. Really proud of the effort, I wish I could say my role played a little more in this, but obviously with all of our cars up there in the top six it's pretty much just a sign that our organization is turning some heads right now."
Hamlin was followed by Carl Edwards in third, who laid down a fast lap of 36.683 seconds at 196.276 mph.
Austin Dillon managed to break up JGR's stranglehold on the race's top spots by taking the fourth spot followed by fellow Chevrolet driver Tony Stewart in fifth place.
Kyle Busch joined his JGR teammates in the top ten at sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Joey Logano rounding out the top ten qualifiers.
Kasey Kahne nabbed the 11th starting spot with Clint Bowyer settling for the 12th position.
Reed Sorenson was the only driver who did not qualify for Sunday's field of 43.
Starting Line Up by Row
Michigan International Speedway
46th Annual Pure Michigan 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, August 14, 2015 @ 07:04 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett 06/13/99 02:17:56 173.997
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 36.458 197.488
2 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 36.550 196.990
Row 2: 3 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota 36.683 196.276
4 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 36.750 195.918
Row 3: 5 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 36.833 195.477
6 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 36.838 195.450
Row 4: 7 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet 36.876 195.249
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 36.880 195.228
Row 5: 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Microsoft Chevrolet 36.945 194.884
10 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 37.036 194.405
Row 6: 11 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 37.088 194.133
12 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota 37.189 193.606
Row 7: 13 55 David Ragan AaronsDreamMachineOnlineVersion Toyota 37.184 193.632
14 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 37.199 193.554
Row 8: 15 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Transportation Impact Ford 37.214 193.476
16 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 37.246 193.309
Row 9: 17 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 37.246 193.309
18 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna/McDonald's Chevrolet 37.277 193.149
Row 10: 19 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 37.281 193.128
20 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 37.300 193.029
Row 11: 21 24 Jeff Gordon Pepsi Chevrolet 37.304 193.009
22 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 37.321 192.921
Row 12: 23 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 37.350 192.771
24 27 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 37.379 192.622
Row 13: 25 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 37.499 192.005
26 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet 37.534 191.826
Row 14: 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford 37.581 191.586
28 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 37.624 191.367
Row 15: 29 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim/Estes Toyota 37.753 190.713
30 43 Aric Almirola Armour Ford 37.790 190.527
Row 16: 31 40 Landon Cassill(i) Snap Fitness Chevrolet 37.885 190.049
32 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota 37.885 190.049
Row 17: 33 7 Alex Bowman Advanced Patient Care Chevrolet 38.018 189.384
34 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 38.049 189.230
Row 18: 35 35 Cole Whitt Dockside Logistics LLC Ford 38.077 189.091
36 38 David Gilliland MDS Transportation Ford 38.110 188.927
Row 19: 37 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota Owner Points
38 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford Owner Points
Row 20: 39 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Owner Points
40 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 21: 41 32 Josh Wise Skuttle Tight Ford Owner Points
42 33 Travis Kvapil(i) Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 22: 43 98 Timmy Hill(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: # 62 Reed Sorenson.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 22 0 Toyota 9 0
Ford 12 1
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series