Tony Stewart has won the Coors Light Qualifying Pole Award at Texas Motor Speedway by 6/1000ths with Brad Keselowski set to start alongside.
The Penske driver looked set to start first, but a late run from Stewart was good enough for his second career pole in Texas and 15th of his career.
“This thing is fast,” said Stewart. “The good thing is (crew chief) Chad Johnston made a really big change there to try and make it better. Like he said, ‘I was either going to make you quick, or I was going to make you 12th.’ I’m glad he made the change. He’s got a lot of confidence and I really like that.”
Stewart’s team-mate Kevin Harvick will line-up third followed by Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. Harvick set a new track record during the first round with a high speed of 319.104 km/h (198.282 mph) on fresh tyres.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose continued his good form with a time that will see him start ninth.
“We’re really pleased with our efforts today,” said Ambrose. “I thought we had a really great package in qualifying. We were calm, cool and collected and have carried speed over from Martinsville.
“I’m really excited about our chances for Sunday. I think our car is pretty sporty in race trim as well and I’m just really enjoying my racing right now and enjoying this team. We’re really working well together and we’ve come a long ways since this time last year.”
VIDEO: Stewart takes the pole in Texas
TIMES: Qualifying – Duck Commander 500 – Texas Motor Speedway
POS |
Car # |
Driver |
Make |
Sponsor |
MPH |
Best Time |
Behind |
1 |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops | 195.454 | 27.628 | Leader |
2 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 195.419 | 27.633 | –0.005 |
3 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Jimmy John’s | 195.298 | 27.650 | –0.022 |
4 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M / Give Kids A Smile | 194.700 | 27.735 | –0.107 |
5 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 194.637 | 27.744 | –0.116 |
6 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office-March of Dimes Toyota | 194.623 | 27.746 | –0.118 |
7 |
21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 194.503 | 27.763 | –0.135 |
8 |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 194.140 | 27.815 | –0.187 |
9 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 194.056 | 27.827 | –0.199 |
10 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil / Hertz | 193.743 | 27.872 | –0.244 |
11 |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 193.126 | 27.961 | –0.333 |
12 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Axalta / Texas A&M School of Engineering | 192.089 | 28.112 | –0.484 |
13 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Quaker State / Menards | 194.259 | 27.798 | –0.170 |
14 |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | Target | 194.084 | 27.823 | –0.195 |
15 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bell Helicopter | 194.021 | 27.832 | –0.204 |
16 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowes “Spring is Calling” | 194.007 | 27.834 | –0.206 |
17 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Eckrich | 193.590 | 27.894 | –0.266 |
18 |
78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Furniture Row | 193.493 | 27.908 | –0.280 |
19 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | National Guard | 193.354 | 27.928 | –0.300 |
20 |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | Dow | 193.154 | 27.957 | –0.329 |
21 |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 193.154 | 27.957 | –0.329 |
22 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | BRANDT Professional Agriculture | 192.981 | 27.982 | –0.354 |
23 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 192.768 | 28.013 | –0.385 |
24 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | GoDaddy/Get Found | 192.761 | 28.014 | –0.386 |
25 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | Willie’s Duck Diner | 194.988 | 27.694 | –0.066 |
26 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Dollar General | 194.637 | 27.744 | –0.116 |
27 |
7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 194.602 | 27.749 | –0.121 |
28 |
95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | TWD | 194.581 | 27.752 | –0.124 |
29 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 194.539 | 27.758 | –0.130 |
30 |
23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry | 194.454 | 27.770 | –0.142 |
31 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 194.440 | 27.772 | –0.144 |
32 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Time Warner Cable | 194.028 | 27.831 | –0.203 |
33 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | Bush’s Beans | 193.611 | 27.891 | –0.263 |
34 |
35 | David Reutimann | Ford | MDS Transport | 192.954 | 27.986 | –0.358 |
35 |
77 | Dave Blaney | Ford | TBA | 192.520 | 28.049 | –0.421 |
36 |
30 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | SMS Audio | 192.219 | 28.093 | –0.465 |
37 |
32 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | TBA | 192.171 | 28.100 | –0.472 |
38 |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | TBA | 191.748 | 28.162 | –0.534 |
39 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Love’s Travel Stops | 191.625 | 28.180 | –0.552 |
40 |
40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Gallery Furniture | 191.408 | 28.212 | –0.584 |
41 |
98 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | Phil Parsons Racing | 191.232 | 28.238 | –0.610 |
42 |
26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | Swan Energy | 189.036 | 28.566 | –0.938 |
43 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | Taco Bell | 187.839 | 28.748 | –1.120 |