Sponsorless for 2012, Kenseth wins pole
Though no championship points are awarded for qualifying, Matt Kenseth got a leg up on his competition in the Chase for the Sprint Cup during Saturday's time trials at Chicagoland Speedway. It also helped him in trying to land a sponsor for 2012. Convenient.
Kenseth also took the first step toward doing something no Ford driver has ever done — win a Cup race at the 1.5-mile track. Kenseth toured the track at 183.243 mph (29.469 seconds) to edge Paul Menard (183.125 mph) for the top starting spot in Sunday's Geico 400.
The Coors Light pole award was Kenseth's second of the season and the sixth of his career.
Chase drivers completed the top five with Kurt Busch qualifying third at 183.032 mph, followed by Ryan Newman (183.007 mph) and Carl Edwards (182.914 mph), Kenseth's teammate at Roush Fenway Racing.
Other Chase drivers and their starting positions are Brad Keselowski (sixth), Kyle Busch (ninth), five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson (12th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (19th), Jeff Gordon (23rd), Tony Stewart (26th), Denny Hamlin (27th) and Kevin Harvick (30th).
Travis Kvapil, David Starr, Stephen Leicht and Mike Skinner failed to qualify for the 43-car field.
Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 183.243 | 29.469 | Leader |
| 2 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Zecol / Menards | 183.125 | 29.488 | -0.019 |
| 3 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 183.032 | 29.503 | -0.034 |
| 4 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army Medicine | 183.007 | 29.507 | -0.038 |
| 5 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac "Now Hiring" | 182.914 | 29.522 | -0.053 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 182.859 | 29.531 | -0.062 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Filtrete | 182.648 | 29.565 | -0.096 |
| 8 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 182.587 | 29.575 | -0.106 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Wrigley's Doublemint | 182.340 | 29.615 | -0.146 |
| 10 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 182.309 | 29.620 | -0.151 |
| 11 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Kleenex Cool Touch / Clorox | 182.223 | 29.634 | -0.165 |
| 12 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Kobalt Tools | 182.020 | 29.667 | -0.198 |
| 13 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 181.879 | 29.690 | -0.221 |
| 14 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald's | 181.843 | 29.696 | -0.227 |
| 15 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS "We Love Logistics" | 181.641 | 29.729 | -0.260 |
| 16 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 181.500 | 29.752 | -0.283 |
| 17 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 181.500 | 29.752 | -0.283 |
| 18 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 181.409 | 29.767 | -0.298 |
| 19 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Amp Energy / National Guard | 181.305 | 29.784 | -0.315 |
| 20 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 181.287 | 29.787 | -0.318 |
| 21 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 181.269 | 29.790 | -0.321 |
| 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 181.269 | 29.790 | -0.321 |
| 23 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 181.165 | 29.807 | -0.338 |
| 24 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 181.135 | 29.812 | -0.343 |
| 25 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 181.074 | 29.822 | -0.353 |
| 26 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 181.038 | 29.828 | -0.359 |
| 27 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 180.729 | 29.879 | -0.410 |
| 28 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 180.638 | 29.894 | -0.425 |
| 29 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Tums | 180.602 | 29.900 | -0.431 |
| 30 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 180.523 | 29.913 | -0.444 |
| 31 | 51 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit | 180.162 | 29.973 | -0.504 |
| 32 | 38 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Long John Silver's | 180.120 | 29.980 | -0.511 |
| 33 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | James Fund | 180.060 | 29.990 | -0.521 |
| 34 | 30 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | Inception Motorsports | 180.054 | 29.991 | -0.522 |
| 35 | 46 | Scott Speed | Ford | Red Line Oil | 180.000 | 30.000 | -0.531 |
| 36 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 179.904 | 30.016 | -0.547 |
| 37 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy / Mapei | 179.766 | 30.039 | -0.570 |
| 38 | 37 | Josh Wise | Ford | Bradley University | 179.188 | 30.136 | -0.667 |
| 39 | 55 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 179.164 | 30.140 | -0.671 |
| 40 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Taco Bell | 178.832 | 30.196 | -0.727 |
| 41 | 195 | David Starr | Ford | AdvoCare | 178.725 | 30.214 | -0.745 |
| 42 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Big Red | 178.642 | 30.228 | -0.759 |
| 43 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 178.583 | 30.238 | -0.769 |
| 44 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 178.442 | 30.262 | -0.793 |
| 45 | 135 | Stephen Leicht | Chevrolet | Luke & Associates | 178.159 | 30.310 | -0.841 |
| 46 | 32 | Mike Bliss | Ford | Street King | 178.141 | 30.313 | -0.844 |
| 47 | 60 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | Big Red | 176.517 | 30.592 | -1.123 |
+ Set by Owner Points