Kevin Harvick won the pole for Sunday’s Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway. His lap speed of 177.730 mph gave Harvick his fourth pole for 2017 and 21st of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.
“I thought I gave some up the second round,” Harvick said. “I knew if I could not get it in the corner in the wrong spot, I could hang in there.”
The complex nature of the Lady in Black has had no effect on Harvick, who won the pole for the third time in the last four years and has four straight Darlington top-five finishes.
“This has been a great track for us, a lot of fun coming here,” he said. “I love racing here. I’m really proud of of everyone. We keep getting better and better.”
Lining up second, Martin Truex Jr. earned his 14th top-three start of 2017.
“It seems like we’ve been second a lot this year,” Truex said, grabbing his seventh second-place start this year. “But it’s been a good number for us.”
Kyle Busch has also been a quick qualifier this year, leading the series with six poles and grabbing third place for Sunday. The Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray completed the top five.
Brad Keselowski was sixth with Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones the top 10.
Hendrick Motorsports as a while struggled in the session, with Jimmie Johnson starting 18th while the remaining three drivers Chase Elliott 20th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 22nd and Kasey Kahne 23rd, respectively.
This is the car that will lead the field to green Sunday in the #BoJanglesSo500 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/aLu2wtpD3j
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) September 2, 2017
Growing up in Easton, Pa., Zach Catanzareti has grown his auto racing interest from fandom to professional. Joining Frontstretch in 2015, Zach enjoys nothing more than being at the track, having covered his first half-season of 18 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. With experience behind the wheel, behind the camera and in the media center, he thrives on being an all-around reporter.