bigbadbrother
08-30-2014, 03:47 AM
Jay Pennell
The phrase "Freaky Fast" favored by one of his sponsors has been applicable across the board this year for Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick, but nowhere has it been more true than in knockout qualifying.
Harvick's No. 4 Chevrolet set the mark early in the final round with a fast lap of 29.118 seconds at 190.398 mph. Despite being one of the first drivers to make an attempt in the final round, none of the other 11 competitors were able to top Harvick's fast time.
Taking the top spot, this marked the second consecutive week the driver with the nickname "Happy" has won the pole, his sixth of the year. That equals the number of poles Harvick was able to capture in his previous 13 Sprint Cup seasons.
Even when he is not winning the pole, Harvick has been one of the fastest cars week-in and week-out in qualifying, putting the No. 4 Chevrolet 12th or better in 18 of last 19 races dating back to Texas in early April.
"Our car didn't really change that much," said Harvick. "I just messed the first round up really bad trying to do something that I wasn't doing in practice. Luckily we were fast enough to be able to get through the first round into the second round. The second round we got into a little better rhythm where I wanted to run on the race track. I've got to thank everybody on our Jimmy John's team they make my life a lot easier on Friday's and this is a lot of fun."
Brad Keselowski challenged Harvick for the top spot, but was unable to top the fast lap and will roll off second for Sunday's race. Kyle Larson had the third-fastest time of the session, followed by Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.
Making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in three weeks, Tony Stewart qualified his No. 14 Chevrolet in the 12th spot for Sunday's race.
Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon just missed advancing to the final round, and will start 13th on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth led the second round of qualifying, followed by Harvick, Keselowski, Larson, and Gordon.
For only the third time this season, Joey Logano missed advancing to the final round of qualifying, posting the 14th-fastest time of the session despite a last-minute run in Round 2. This marks the first time Logano failed to advance to the final round of qualifying at a non-restrictor plate track.
On his first lap in knockout qualifying, Stewart posted the 16th-fastest time of the session. Stewart's time would eventually fall to 18th-fastest, but was enough to advance out of the first round.
Aric Almirola led the way in Round 1 of qualifying with a fast lap of 191.278 mph at 28.984 seconds, followed by Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Larson.
Stewart-Haas Racing's Kurt Busch made the 24th and final transfer spot into Round 2, besting Michael Annett's lap by 0.002 seconds.
Ty Dillon will make his first-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday from the 29th starting spot.
Prior to the start of knockout qualifying a number of teams had issues getting through NASCAR technical inspection, including Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevrolet, Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chevrolet, Tony Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet and Joe Nemechek's No. 77 Ford. All would eventually make it on track to record qualifying laps.
With 44 cars entered into this weekend's event, Michael McDowell was the only car that did no qualify for Sunday's race.
Oral-B USA 500
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 190.398
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 190.058
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 189.883
4 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 189.396
5 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 188.996
6 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 188.918
7 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 188.629
8 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 188.514
9 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 188.450
10 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 188.315
11 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 188.060
12 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 187.907
13 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 189.163
14 Joey Logano 22 Ford 189.099
15 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 188.841
16 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 188.809
17 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 188.642
18 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 188.507
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 188.430
20 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 187.875
21 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 187.703
22 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 187.361
23 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 187.272
24 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 186.950
25 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 188.002
26 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 187.900
27 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 187.748
28 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 187.481
29 Ty Dillon 33 Chevrolet 187.329
30 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 187.316
31 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 186.887
32 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 186.642
33 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 185.990
34 Joe Nemechek 77 Ford 185.940
35 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 185.834
36 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 185.766
37 David Gilliland 38 Ford 185.461
38 David Ragan 34 Ford 184.812
39 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 184.665
40 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 184.603
41 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 183.521
42 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 183.067
43 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 182.844
44 Michael McDowell 95 Ford DNQ
The phrase "Freaky Fast" favored by one of his sponsors has been applicable across the board this year for Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick, but nowhere has it been more true than in knockout qualifying.
Harvick's No. 4 Chevrolet set the mark early in the final round with a fast lap of 29.118 seconds at 190.398 mph. Despite being one of the first drivers to make an attempt in the final round, none of the other 11 competitors were able to top Harvick's fast time.
Taking the top spot, this marked the second consecutive week the driver with the nickname "Happy" has won the pole, his sixth of the year. That equals the number of poles Harvick was able to capture in his previous 13 Sprint Cup seasons.
Even when he is not winning the pole, Harvick has been one of the fastest cars week-in and week-out in qualifying, putting the No. 4 Chevrolet 12th or better in 18 of last 19 races dating back to Texas in early April.
"Our car didn't really change that much," said Harvick. "I just messed the first round up really bad trying to do something that I wasn't doing in practice. Luckily we were fast enough to be able to get through the first round into the second round. The second round we got into a little better rhythm where I wanted to run on the race track. I've got to thank everybody on our Jimmy John's team they make my life a lot easier on Friday's and this is a lot of fun."
Brad Keselowski challenged Harvick for the top spot, but was unable to top the fast lap and will roll off second for Sunday's race. Kyle Larson had the third-fastest time of the session, followed by Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.
Making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in three weeks, Tony Stewart qualified his No. 14 Chevrolet in the 12th spot for Sunday's race.
Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon just missed advancing to the final round, and will start 13th on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth led the second round of qualifying, followed by Harvick, Keselowski, Larson, and Gordon.
For only the third time this season, Joey Logano missed advancing to the final round of qualifying, posting the 14th-fastest time of the session despite a last-minute run in Round 2. This marks the first time Logano failed to advance to the final round of qualifying at a non-restrictor plate track.
On his first lap in knockout qualifying, Stewart posted the 16th-fastest time of the session. Stewart's time would eventually fall to 18th-fastest, but was enough to advance out of the first round.
Aric Almirola led the way in Round 1 of qualifying with a fast lap of 191.278 mph at 28.984 seconds, followed by Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Larson.
Stewart-Haas Racing's Kurt Busch made the 24th and final transfer spot into Round 2, besting Michael Annett's lap by 0.002 seconds.
Ty Dillon will make his first-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday from the 29th starting spot.
Prior to the start of knockout qualifying a number of teams had issues getting through NASCAR technical inspection, including Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevrolet, Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chevrolet, Tony Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet and Joe Nemechek's No. 77 Ford. All would eventually make it on track to record qualifying laps.
With 44 cars entered into this weekend's event, Michael McDowell was the only car that did no qualify for Sunday's race.
Oral-B USA 500
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 190.398
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 190.058
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 189.883
4 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 189.396
5 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 188.996
6 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 188.918
7 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 188.629
8 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 188.514
9 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 188.450
10 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 188.315
11 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 188.060
12 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 187.907
13 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 189.163
14 Joey Logano 22 Ford 189.099
15 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 188.841
16 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 188.809
17 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 188.642
18 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 188.507
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 188.430
20 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 187.875
21 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 187.703
22 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 187.361
23 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 187.272
24 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 186.950
25 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 188.002
26 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 187.900
27 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 187.748
28 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 187.481
29 Ty Dillon 33 Chevrolet 187.329
30 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 187.316
31 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 186.887
32 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 186.642
33 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 185.990
34 Joe Nemechek 77 Ford 185.940
35 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 185.834
36 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 185.766
37 David Gilliland 38 Ford 185.461
38 David Ragan 34 Ford 184.812
39 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 184.665
40 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 184.603
41 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 183.521
42 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 183.067
43 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 182.844
44 Michael McDowell 95 Ford DNQ