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View Full Version : Kevin Harvick shatters track record to score Brickyard 400 pole



bigbadbrother
07-26-2014, 07:54 PM
Tom Jensen

Kevin Harvick was flying Saturday, as he swept all three qualifying sessions to win the pole for the Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard, NASCAR's second-biggest race of the year.

Under cloudy skies at the historic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Harvick had a fast lap of 188.470 miles per hour to claim his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of the year and 10th of his career in 486 starts.

"You can overcome a lot of things with track position here," said Harvick.

Starting on the outside of Row 1 on Sunday will be four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, who ran 187.770 mph in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman qualified on Row 2, followed by Brian Vickers and Tony Stewart.

Harvick was also fastest in Round 2, while Matt Kenseth just missed the cut for Round 3, qualifying 13th in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. That was one position ahead of Danica Patrick, who was 13th, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a disappointing 23rd.

"The car was real, real tight. Slow," said Earnhardt. "... It was real frustrating. We have to figure out how to run better than that."

In the first of three qualifying rounds, Harvick shattered the old track record with a lap of 188.889 mph in the freaky-fast No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Failing to advance out of the first round were Denny Hamlin, 2011 Brickyard winner Paul Menard, Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr., among others. Almirola hit the wall during the session and will go to a backup for the race.

Three drivers failed to qualify: Brett Moffitt, David Stremme and Matt Crafton.



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bigbadbrother
07-26-2014, 07:59 PM
Here’s the starting grid for the 21st annual Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Row 1: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon

Row 2: Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman

Row 3: Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart

Row 4: Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya

Row 5: Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne

Row 6: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch

Row 7: Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick

Row 8: Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer

Row 9: Austin Dillon, Carl Edwards

Row 10: Greg Biffle, Trevor Bayne

Row 11: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Marcos Ambrose

Row 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray

Row 13: Martin Truex Jr., Casey Mears

Row 14: Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell

Row 15: Paul Menard, Josh Wise

Row 16: Justin Allgaier, Ryan Truex

Row 17: Michael Annett, David Gilliland

Row 18: Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger

Row 19: Landon Cassill, Cole Whitt

Row 20: Cole Whitt, Travis Kvapil

Row 21: Aric Almirola, Bobby Labonte

Row 22: Reed Sorenson

Did not qualify: Brett Moffitt, David Stremme, Matt Crafton