Kurt Busch sets track record in Texas

Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch made it two poles in a row at Texas Motor Speedway Friday with a speed of 200.915 mph in his #41 SHR Ford Fusion, a new track record.

Denny Hamlin will start 2nd in the #11 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing while Kevin Harvick (Ford), Erik Jones (Toyota) and Kyle Busch (Toyota) rounded out the top-5.

Denny Hamlin had trouble getting through qualifying inspection but wheeled his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the wide open, reconfigured 1.5-mile track at 200.617 mph, holding the speed record and pole briefly before Busch’s run. Hamlin’s speed was good enough for the second starting spot for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.)

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Kevin Harvick (200.378 mph) in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Erik Jones (200.326 mph) in the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Kyle Busch (200.252 mph) in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. round out the top five in the starting lineup, respectively.

Playoffs contender Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed pre-qualifying inspection, and he will start at the back of the field Sunday. Hamlin’s No. 11 and Harvick’s No. 4 were also among several cars that had trouble getting through inspection, but the No. 11 did finally pass and Hamlin was fifth-fastest in the first round of qualifying.

The other cars that did not make a qualifying lap are Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota, Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford, Trevor Bayne’s No. 6 Ford, Reed Sorenson’s No. 15 Toyota, Corey LaJoie’s No. 23 Toyota, and Gray Gaulding’s No. 83 Toyota.

Playoffs points leader Martin Truex Jr. qualified seventh in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

XFINITY Playoffs contender Daniel Hemric piloted Paul Menard’s No. 27 Chevrolet in qualifying after driving the car in practice earlier after Menard and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their second child this week. Hemric spun his No. 21 Chevrolet in final XFINITY practice but was OK after that wreck.

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