Kasey Kahne will start from pole position for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
With a 97.128 mph (19.496s) lap around the short course, Kahne edged Kevin Harvick (97.048 mph) for the top starting spot.
Kahne’s pole is his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Martinsville and the 24th of his career.
In his first year in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Kahne has posted an average starting position of 7.8, but his average finish has been a disappointing 26.6.
Four-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin (97.003 mph) will start third after running the exact same speed as Clint Bowyer. Hamlin won the tiebreaker for the position based on current owners’ points. Ryan Newman (96.988 mph) will start fifth.
Brian Vickers, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano round out the top 10.
Series points leader Greg Biffle qualified 27th as Ford drivers had a rough day. Australian Marcos Ambrose led the Ford contingent with a 12th place effort.
“The clouds have rolled in so we’ll see what happens, but I’m just proud of my team,” Ambrose said.
“We’ve had a rough couple of weeks qualifying, but with DeWalt on the hood and Ford powerplants, we’re looking good for Sunday.”
Qualifying results
POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
1 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 97.128 | 19.496 | Leader |
2 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser is Back | 97.048 | 19.512 | -0.016 |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 97.003 | 19.521 | -0.025 |
4 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 97.003 | 19.521 | -0.025 |
5 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Outback Steak House | 96.988 | 19.524 | -0.028 |
6 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | RK Motors | 96.765 | 19.569 | -0.073 |
7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 96.751 | 19.572 | -0.076 |
8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 96.745 | 19.573 | -0.077 |
9 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 96.731 | 19.576 | -0.080 |
10 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 96.706 | 19.581 | -0.085 |
11 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Libman / Menards | 96.701 | 19.582 | -0.086 |
12 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 96.627 | 19.597 | -0.101 |
13 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 96.583 | 19.606 | -0.110 |
14 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Amp Energy / National Guard | 96.430 | 19.637 | -0.141 |
15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 96.322 | 19.659 | -0.163 |
16 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Bush’s Baked Beans | 96.215 | 19.681 | -0.185 |
17 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / CSX “Play it Safe” | 96.200 | 19.684 | -0.188 |
18 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | BB&T | 96.180 | 19.688 | -0.192 |
19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield “Helping Hungry Homes” | 96.049 | 19.715 | -0.219 |
20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Belkin | 96.049 | 19.715 | -0.219 |
21 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | 95.971 | 19.731 | -0.235 |
22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | MyLowe’s | 95.854 | 19.755 | -0.259 |
23 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Curb Records | 95.849 | 19.756 | -0.260 |
24 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 95.830 | 19.760 | -0.264 |
25 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 95.796 | 19.767 | -0.271 |
26 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 95.743 | 19.778 | -0.282 |
27 | 22 | AJ Allmendinger | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 95.738 | 19.779 | -0.283 |
28 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 95.607 | 19.806 | -0.310 |
29 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 95.607 | 19.806 | -0.310 |
30 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | Morristown Driver’s Service | 95.583 | 19.811 | -0.315 |
31 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 95.511 | 19.826 | -0.330 |
32 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 95.477 | 19.833 | -0.337 |
33 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 95.352 | 19.859 | -0.363 |
34 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 95.347 | 19.860 | -0.364 |
35 | 74 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | Turn One Racing | 95.223 | 19.886 | -0.390 |
36 | 32 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Federated Auto Parts | 95.127 | 19.906 | -0.410 |
37 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 94.936 | 19.946 | -0.450 |
38 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Long John Silver’s | 94.780 | 19.979 | -0.483 |
39 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 94.609 | 20.015 | -0.519 |
40 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 94.566 | 20.024 | -0.528 |
41 | 33 | Hermie Sadler | Chevrolet | Anderson’s Maple Syrup | 94.486 | 20.041 | -0.545 |
42 | 36 | Dave Blaney+ | Chevrolet | Ollie’s Bargain Outlet | 93.180 | 20.322 | -0.826 |
43 | 249 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | JPO Absorbents | 93.212 | 20.315 | -0.819 |
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
44 | 52 | Scott Speed | Toyota | Crusader Staffing Associates | 92.101 | 20.560 | -1.064 |
45 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Humphrey Smith Racing | 84.846 | 22.318 | -2.822 |
46 | 37 | Tony Raines | Ford | Poynt.com | 93.757 | 20.197 | -0.701 |