Kenseth wins pole at Richmond

Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth led all drivers at Richmond International Raceway in Friday evening's qualifying at 121.076 mph in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to capture the Coors Light Pole for Sunday's Toyota Owners 400. This marks his first pole win of 2017.

It is Kenseth's second career pole at Richmond, his previous top starting spot coming in 2013. Kenseth has won twice at the Virginia track, in 2002 and 2015.

Ryan Blaney will be joining Kenseth on the front row after turning a lap at 120.854 mph in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

Rounding out the top-five fastest cars were Martin Truex Jr. at 120.681 mph in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at 120.471 mph in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and Joey Logano at 120.380 mph in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Series points leader Kyle Larson will start 18th after failing to advance to the third and final round of the session.

Austin Dillon failed pre-race inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway five times, the penalty for which is to start at the rear of the field this week. He took his qualifying lap at Richmond by never going faster than 82.792 mph to keep his tires fresh for the race.

Lineup

Pos. No. Driver Manu Sponsor Time Behind Speed
1 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota Circle K 22.300 0.000 121.076
2 21 Ryan Blaney Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center 22.341 -0.041 120.854
3 78 Martin Truex Jr Toyota Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats 22.373 -0.073 120.681
4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Ford Ford Fifth Third 22.412 -0.112 120.471
5 22 Joey Logano Ford Shell Pennzoil 22.429 -0.129 120.380
6 4 Kevin Harvick Ford Busch Light 22.439 -0.139 120.326
7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 22.468 -0.168 120.171
8 14 Clint Bowyer Ford Haas Automation Demo Days 22.473 -0.173 120.144
9 41 Kurt Busch Ford Mobil 1 Annual Protection 22.495 -0.195 120.027
10 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy GEARWRENCH 22.558 -0.258 119.691
11 19 Daniel Suarez Toyota ARRIS 22.672 -0.372 119.090
12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevy Nationwide 22.689 -0.389 119.000
13 31 Ryan Newman Chevy Okuma 22.557 -0.257 119.697
14 24 Chase Elliott Chevy NAPA Brakes 22.562 -0.262 119.670
15 2 Brad Keselowski Ford Detroit Genuine Parts 22.562 -0.262 119.670
16 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 22.563 -0.263 119.665
17 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy Lowe's 22.568 -0.268 119.638
18 42 Kyle Larson Chevy Credit One Bank 22.617 -0.317 119.379
19 5 Kasey Kahne Chevy AARP Drive To End Hunger 22.646 -0.346 119.226
20 77 Erik Jones Toyota GameStop/Prey 22.699 -0.399 118.948
21 10 Danica Patrick Ford CODE 3 ASSOCIATES 22.709 -0.409 118.896
22 47 AJ Allmendinger Chevy Kroger Click List 22.758 -0.458 118.640
23 37 Chris Buescher Chevy Kingsford 22.797 -0.497 118.437
24 13 Ty Dillon Chevy GEICO 23.072 -0.772 117.025
25 43 Aric Almirola Ford Smithfield 22.674 -0.374 119.079
26 27 Paul Menard Chevy Rockstar Energy / Menards 22.687 -0.387 119.011
27 95 Michael McDowell Chevy WRL General Contractors 22.705 -0.405 118.917
28 34 Landon Cassill Ford The Pete Store 22.715 -0.415 118.864
29 6 Trevor Bayne Ford AdvoCare 22.728 -0.428 118.796
30 38 David Ragan Ford Camping World / Good Sam 22.810 -0.510 118.369
31 23 Gray Gaulding Toyota sweetFrog 22.856 -0.556 118.131
32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Ford EJ Wade Construction 22.893 -0.593 117.940
33 15 Reed Sorenson Toyota TBD 23.001 -0.701 117.386
34 83 Corey LaJoie Toyota E.J. Wade Construction 23.058 -0.758 117.096
35 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevy Towne Bank 23.078 -0.778 116.995
36 72 Cole Whitt Ford TBD 23.089 -0.789 116.939
37 51 Timmy Hill Chevy SleepFresh Mattress 23.238 -0.938 116.189
38 3 Austin Dillon Chevy AAA 32.612 -10.312 82.792