bigbadbrother
11-01-2014, 12:12 AM
Fort Worth, Texas —
In the fastest NASCAR qualifying session ever at a 1.5-mile track, Matt Kenseth won the pole for Sunday's AAA Texas 500.
Kenseth blistered the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway with a lap of 199.299 miles per hour in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. In claiming his second pole of the year, Kenseth put down a lap that was just 0.001 seconds faster than Jeff Gordon, who ran 199.291 mph in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Starting on Row 2 will be Jimmie Johnson in a second Hendrick Chevrolet, flanked by the Stewart-Haas Racing entry of Kurt Busch. SHR teammates Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.
The extreme speeds left drivers shaking their heads. "It's too fast," said Clint Bowyer, who will start 24th in the middle race of three in the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
There were three rounds of qualifying on a cool fall early evening at Texas.
In Round 1, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson stunned the field with a track-record lap of 199.734 mph, the fastest lap ever run at a NASCAR track other than Daytona or Talladega. During this round, the only one of the eight Chase drivers who failed to advance to Round 2 was Brad Keselowski, who qualified 26th, his worst start at a non-restrictor-plate track all year.
Also failing to make it out of Round 1, was Danica Patrick, who qualified 27th.
In Round 2, three-time Sprint Cup champion Stewart shattered the 200 mph barrier and the record Johnson set in the first round, with a lap of 200.111 mph in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin was lone Chaser knocked out in this round, qualifying 20th.
Speaking with the media earlier in the day, Kenseth expressed remorse for his role in wrecking fellow Chaser Harvick last Sunday at Martinsville. He said he intended to seek Harvick out to issue a formal apology directly to his fellow driver.
By the time he got around to qualifying, however, Kenseth's mind obviously was on one thing: winning the pole.
In the fastest NASCAR qualifying session ever at a 1.5-mile track, Matt Kenseth won the pole for Sunday's AAA Texas 500.
Kenseth blistered the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway with a lap of 199.299 miles per hour in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. In claiming his second pole of the year, Kenseth put down a lap that was just 0.001 seconds faster than Jeff Gordon, who ran 199.291 mph in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Starting on Row 2 will be Jimmie Johnson in a second Hendrick Chevrolet, flanked by the Stewart-Haas Racing entry of Kurt Busch. SHR teammates Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.
The extreme speeds left drivers shaking their heads. "It's too fast," said Clint Bowyer, who will start 24th in the middle race of three in the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
There were three rounds of qualifying on a cool fall early evening at Texas.
In Round 1, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson stunned the field with a track-record lap of 199.734 mph, the fastest lap ever run at a NASCAR track other than Daytona or Talladega. During this round, the only one of the eight Chase drivers who failed to advance to Round 2 was Brad Keselowski, who qualified 26th, his worst start at a non-restrictor-plate track all year.
Also failing to make it out of Round 1, was Danica Patrick, who qualified 27th.
In Round 2, three-time Sprint Cup champion Stewart shattered the 200 mph barrier and the record Johnson set in the first round, with a lap of 200.111 mph in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin was lone Chaser knocked out in this round, qualifying 20th.
Speaking with the media earlier in the day, Kenseth expressed remorse for his role in wrecking fellow Chaser Harvick last Sunday at Martinsville. He said he intended to seek Harvick out to issue a formal apology directly to his fellow driver.
By the time he got around to qualifying, however, Kenseth's mind obviously was on one thing: winning the pole.