NASCAR Las Vegas Starting Lineup 2012: Kasey Kahne Takes Top Spot In Qualifying

If Kasey Kahne is going to turn things around at Hendrick Motorsports, then Friday’s qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a good start.

Kahne won the pole position for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, a much-needed boost for a driver who sits 31st in the point standings after the first two races with his new team.

The 31-year-old claimed the 23rd pole of his career with an average lap speed of 190.456 mph – a new track record at LVMS.

“The lap felt great,” Kahne said. “... Feels good to get the first (pole) with Hendrick Motorsports. Nice to get it out of the way early in the season.”

Kahne said after last week’s race at Phoenix he needed to “calm down” and blamed himself for making a mistake that cost the team. Certainly, there’s a chance Vegas could provide the spark he needs to get back in Chase contention.

Kyle Busch will start on the outside pole at his home track, with Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top five.

“Certainly there’s added pressure here for myself, feeling like you want to go out and run well here in front of the hometown crowd,” Busch said.

Only two drivers failed to qualify for the race: Scott Riggs and Robby Gordon.

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas:

Failed to qualify: Scott Riggs, Robby Gordon.