Kevin Harvick will start from the pole position for Sunday’s (March 3) Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Harvick ran a speed of 180.517 miles per hour on Friday evening (March 1) after the majority of the three rounds were drafting sessions. This is Harvick’s first pole since ISM Raceway in November 2018 — a whole four races ago.
He will be joined on the front row by Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who ran a speed of 180.457 mph and has his best start of the season so far. Rounding out the top five were Kyle Busch in third, Austin Dillon in fourth and Daniel Hemric in fifth.
It was one of the most unique qualifying sessions ever seen for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The new aero package presents many challenges these drivers have not dealt with before in qualifying because of the slower speeds, air ducts and tons of downforce. Drafting is the way to run the fastest lap now, which is something seen predominant in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
One driver who was not particularly fond of the new qualifying format was Ryan Blaney, who starts 13th on Sunday.
“I have nothing great to say. I used to have fun on Fridays, and that wasn’t fun,” Blaney said to FOX Sports 1 in his post qualifying interview. Many drivers, like Blaney, were left with few positive words after their runs.
Busch is also not a fan.
“Whatever the fans like, it’s what it’s all about I guess,” Busch said.
Notable drivers who will start outside the top 20 include Daniel Suarez in 22nd, Martin Truex Jr. in 23rd, Atlanta Motor Speedway pole winner Aric Almirola in 25th and Kurt Busch in 28th.
Cars will hit the track Saturday morning (March 2) at 11:30 a.m./et for the second practice of the weekend, with coverage on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
Brandon is a 22-year-old from NY and has been a passionate follower of motorsports for 14 years now. He recently graduated from Molloy College on Long Island with a BA in Communications. Working within NASCAR has been a dream for Brandon for a while, and he hopes to be able to live out the dream in the very near future.
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