RICHMOND, Va. – In need of a playoff spot next week and a place to drive next year, Matt Kenseth stormed to the pole position for Saturday night’s Federated Auto parts 400 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
Kenseth covered the .75-mile distance in 22.055 seconds (122.421 mph) in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session to edge Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin (122.277 mph) for the top starting spot by .026 seconds.
The Coors Light Pole Award was Kenseth’s second of the season – both coming at Richmond – his third at the “D”-shaped short track and 20th of his career.
Winless in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series so far this season, Kenseth is one of three drivers who can secure a berth in the postseason on points.
Kenseth will exit his ride at JGR at the end of the season and thus far has not announced plans for next year. But Friday’s pole run was an emphatic statement that the 45-year-old is still quick.
“The third round, it didn’t feel as good, but luckily it was fast enough,” said Kenseth, who is driving the No. 20 Hurricane Harvey Relief Toyota in the final regular-season race. “We missed the balance a little bit there, but it was fast enough to get the pole…
“I’m hoping for the best. I thought we were at our best this morning (in practice) when the track was the coolest and the cleanest. As it got hotter, we ran worse. So I guess that gives me hope that we’ll have speed tomorrow night.”
Hamlin’s final lap produced a better result than the driver expected when he ran it.
“I thought it would be a little worse than it ended up,” said Hamlin, last week’s winner at Darlington Raceway. “I didn’t drive the laps as good as I probably could have and probably gotten the pole. Either way, a good run. We improved every round.
“And, obviously, we’re hoping for long green-flag runs. That’s typically where I excel at this race track. All in all, a pretty good day.”
Kurt Busch qualified third, followed by Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. All three drivers, including Kenseth, who can make the playoff of points advanced to the final round on Friday. Chase Elliott will start ninth and Jamie McMurray 11th.
Two drivers who must win on Saturday to claim a playoff spot also cracked the top 12. Despite missing the first hour of Friday’s final practice because of pre-qualifying and pre-race inspection failures last week at Darlington, Erik Jones qualified 10th.
Joey Logano, whose April 30 win at Richmond was encumbered by penalty, grabbed the 12th spot on the grid.
“We just had too much fall-off,” said Logano, who was third fastest in the first round. “The first run was almost the fastest car, within a couple hundredths (of a second), and then the next run we were a tenth-and-a-half off, and then next run three-tenths off.
“Too much fall off from run to run. I don’t know that I completely understand why, but that’s where we will start, so it doesn’t much matter now.”
Nevertheless, Logano isn’t discounting his chances to barge into the playoff with a victory.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I think we’re OK. Our long-run speed looked to be OK. I don’t think we are lights-out fast, but I think we’re close enough that we can certainly make it interesting on everyone.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 21st for his final start at Richmond in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Starting Line Up by RowRichmond Raceway
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Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 18 Kyle Busch(i) NOS Energy Drink Toyota 22.638 119.268
2 48 Brennan Poole DC Solar Chevrolet 22.722 118.828Row 2: 3 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford 22.746 118.702
4 00 Cole Custer # Haas Automation Ford 22.749 118.687Row 3: 5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) Degree Deodorant Chevrolet 22.765 118.603
6 9 William Byron # AXALTA Coating Systems Chevrolet 22.781 118.520Row 4: 7 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 22.810 118.369
8 21 Daniel Hemric # Blue Gate Bank Chevrolet 22.821 118.312Row 5: 9 7 Justin Allgaier Hellmann's Chevrolet 22.841 118.208
10 2 Paul Menard(i) Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 22.867 118.074Row 6: 11 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet 22.881 118.002
12 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes Ford 23.107 116.848Row 7: 13 19 Matt Tifft # Tunity Toyota 22.784 118.504
14 20 Christopher Bell(i) TOYOTA.com Toyota 22.806 118.390Row 8: 15 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 22.809 118.374
16 3 Ty Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 22.845 118.188Row 9: 17 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet 22.867 118.074
18 5 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 22.965 117.570Row 10: 19 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 23.018 117.300
20 24 Dylan Lupton Nut Up Toyota 23.089 116.939Row 11: 21 4 Ross Chastain teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 23.111 116.827
22 98 Casey Mears GEICO Military Ford 23.166 116.550Row 12: 23 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Chevrolet 23.314 115.810
24 90 Brandon Brown MidAtlanticWreckerService/W.G.Spks Chev 23.345 115.656Row 13: 25 42 Tyler Reddick BBR/Jason Aldean Chevrolet 22.975 117.519
26 33 Brandon Jones PhoneSkope Chevrolet 22.977 117.509Row 14: 27 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 22.982 117.483
28 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Virginia Chevrolet 23.087 116.949Row 15: 29 99 David Starr Steely Lumber Chevrolet 23.154 116.611
30 14 JJ Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 23.164 116.560Row 16: 31 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 23.169 116.535
32 13 Timmy Hill OCR Gaz Bar Dodge 23.232 116.219Row 17: 33 15 Reed Sorenson(i) Flex Seal Liquid Chevrolet 23.372 115.523
34 07 Spencer Boyd Grunt Style Chevrolet Owner PointsRow 18: 35 8 Tommy Joe Martins Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet Owner Points
36 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge Owner PointsRow 19: 37 78 John Graham Magellan Aviation Group Chevrolet Owner Points
38 01 Harrison Rhodes teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet Owner PointsRow 20: 39 0 Garrett Smithley teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet Owner Points
40 40 Bobby Earnhardt TLC Resorts/Circle S Ranch Chevrolet Owner PointsDid Not Qualify: No. 89 Morgan Shepherd.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
