bigbadbrother
09-26-2014, 08:59 PM
Jay Pennell
Dover, Del. —
Kevin Harvick has been one of the best at NASCAR's new knockout qualifying format in 2014, and that continued Friday at Dover International Speedway as he earned his seventh pole of the season for this Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was fastest in Friday's opening practice session, fastest in Round 1 of knockout qualifying and fastest in the second and final round.
Despite a number of last-minute attempts, Harvick's lap of 22.095 seconds at 162.933 mph was not to be beat.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were able to post the second- and third-fastest laps of the session, respectively. Team Penske's Brad Keselowski rounded out an all-Chase driver top four, while Jamie McMurray played spoiler and qualified his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in fifth.
Jeff Gordon posted the fastest lap early, but was bumped by Keselowski, who was the fifth car to make a lap in the final round. Keselowski's stay at the top of the leaderboard did not last long, however, as Harvick jumped to first with his quick lap. Gordon will start Sunday's race form sixth.
Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 12.
Harvick went to the top of the charts early in the opening session, posting a lap of 162.682 mph at 22.129 seconds.
Brian Vickers had posted the best lap of the session until Harvick topped it with his quick lap. The non-Chase driver's lap was good enough to give him the second-fastest lap of the opening session and advance into Round 2.
Keselowski was able to post the third-fastest lap of the opening session and advance to Round 2.
Jeff Gordon struggled on his first run in Round 1, posting just the 23rd-fastest lap of the session, but with just over six minutes left in the opening session he was able to jump up the leaderboard to fourth and advance to the final round. Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five in the first session.
While seven Chase drivers were able to advance to the final round, nine Chase contenders did not have laps fast enough to make the cut.
Matt Kenseth just missed the cut and will start Sunday's race from the 14th spot.
Joey Logano, who has excelled in this new qualifying format, had the 16th-fastest lap of the opening round and was unable to better his time on his second run of the session. This marked only the third time this season Logano did not advance to the final round of knockout qualifying.
Carl Edwards waited until there were just under five minutes left in the opening session to make a lap, but when he hit the track was only able to post the 18th-fastest time.
"We thought we had a better shot at cracking the top 12 if we waited," Edwards said after failing to advance. "We thought that would be our best opportunity. I think Jimmy (Fennig, crew chief) made the right call. At the end of the day, we qualified 18th on our first lap, had we gone earlier I think we would have been 24th or 25th."
Six of the 16 Chase drivers failed to qualify inside the top 20. Ryan Newman will start 20th, followed by Aric Almirola in 21st and Kurt Busch in 22nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggled and will start Sunday's race in 25th, followed by Greg Biffle in 27th and A.J. Allmendinger in 28th.
AAA 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 162.933
2 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 162.404
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 162.250
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 162.140
5 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 161.936
6 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 161.573
7 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 161.457
8 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 161.298
9 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 160.643
10 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 160.506
11 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 160.492
12 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 160.192
13 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 161.196
14 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 161.132
15 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 161.016
16 Joey Logano 22 Ford 160.879
17 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 160.808
18 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 160.707
19 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 160.635
20 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 160.621
21 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 160.585
22 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 160.528
23 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 160.449
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 160.421
25 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 160.399
26 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 160.142
27 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 159.929
28 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 159.865
29 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 159.716
30 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 159.200
31 David Gilliland 38 Ford 159.123
32 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 158.249
33 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 158.172
34 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 158.089
35 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 157.971
36 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 157.137
37 David Ragan 34 Ford 157.054
38 David Stremme 33 Chevrolet 156.359
39 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 156.169
40 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 156.040
41 Mike Wallace 66 Toyota 156.020
42 Travis Kvapil 83 Toyota 153.479
43 Timmy Hill 144 Chevrolet 152.355
Dover, Del. —
Kevin Harvick has been one of the best at NASCAR's new knockout qualifying format in 2014, and that continued Friday at Dover International Speedway as he earned his seventh pole of the season for this Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was fastest in Friday's opening practice session, fastest in Round 1 of knockout qualifying and fastest in the second and final round.
Despite a number of last-minute attempts, Harvick's lap of 22.095 seconds at 162.933 mph was not to be beat.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were able to post the second- and third-fastest laps of the session, respectively. Team Penske's Brad Keselowski rounded out an all-Chase driver top four, while Jamie McMurray played spoiler and qualified his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in fifth.
Jeff Gordon posted the fastest lap early, but was bumped by Keselowski, who was the fifth car to make a lap in the final round. Keselowski's stay at the top of the leaderboard did not last long, however, as Harvick jumped to first with his quick lap. Gordon will start Sunday's race form sixth.
Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 12.
Harvick went to the top of the charts early in the opening session, posting a lap of 162.682 mph at 22.129 seconds.
Brian Vickers had posted the best lap of the session until Harvick topped it with his quick lap. The non-Chase driver's lap was good enough to give him the second-fastest lap of the opening session and advance into Round 2.
Keselowski was able to post the third-fastest lap of the opening session and advance to Round 2.
Jeff Gordon struggled on his first run in Round 1, posting just the 23rd-fastest lap of the session, but with just over six minutes left in the opening session he was able to jump up the leaderboard to fourth and advance to the final round. Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five in the first session.
While seven Chase drivers were able to advance to the final round, nine Chase contenders did not have laps fast enough to make the cut.
Matt Kenseth just missed the cut and will start Sunday's race from the 14th spot.
Joey Logano, who has excelled in this new qualifying format, had the 16th-fastest lap of the opening round and was unable to better his time on his second run of the session. This marked only the third time this season Logano did not advance to the final round of knockout qualifying.
Carl Edwards waited until there were just under five minutes left in the opening session to make a lap, but when he hit the track was only able to post the 18th-fastest time.
"We thought we had a better shot at cracking the top 12 if we waited," Edwards said after failing to advance. "We thought that would be our best opportunity. I think Jimmy (Fennig, crew chief) made the right call. At the end of the day, we qualified 18th on our first lap, had we gone earlier I think we would have been 24th or 25th."
Six of the 16 Chase drivers failed to qualify inside the top 20. Ryan Newman will start 20th, followed by Aric Almirola in 21st and Kurt Busch in 22nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggled and will start Sunday's race in 25th, followed by Greg Biffle in 27th and A.J. Allmendinger in 28th.
AAA 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 162.933
2 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 162.404
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 162.250
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 162.140
5 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 161.936
6 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 161.573
7 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 161.457
8 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 161.298
9 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 160.643
10 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 160.506
11 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 160.492
12 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 160.192
13 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 161.196
14 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 161.132
15 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 161.016
16 Joey Logano 22 Ford 160.879
17 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 160.808
18 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 160.707
19 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 160.635
20 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 160.621
21 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 160.585
22 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 160.528
23 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 160.449
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 160.421
25 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 160.399
26 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 160.142
27 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 159.929
28 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 159.865
29 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 159.716
30 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 159.200
31 David Gilliland 38 Ford 159.123
32 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 158.249
33 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 158.172
34 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 158.089
35 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 157.971
36 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 157.137
37 David Ragan 34 Ford 157.054
38 David Stremme 33 Chevrolet 156.359
39 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 156.169
40 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 156.040
41 Mike Wallace 66 Toyota 156.020
42 Travis Kvapil 83 Toyota 153.479
43 Timmy Hill 144 Chevrolet 152.355