NASCAR Kansas 2014 qualifying results: Kevin Harvick leads qualifying

Just as he did in May at Kansas Speedway, Kevin Harvick (197.621 miles per hour) sped to the pole position in qualifying Friday at the 1.5-mile track.

The pole was Harvick’s series-best eighth of the season and his third consecutive at Kansas. A year ago, he won the Hollywood Casino 400 from the No. 1 starting position.

“For whatever reason this [track] fits everything that I have going on with my driving style,” Harvick said. “But in the end it’s all about having fast cars, obviously. Last year we had a fast car, and this year we have had a fast car as well.”

While Harvick has consistently been NASCAR’s top qualifier, that prowess hasn’t converted to success on race day. Frequently Harvick, who has led a series-high 1,592 laps and owns two victories, has been besieged by mistakes on pit road and mechanical failures.

Harvick dominated last week at Dover International Speedway before a flat tire ended his bid for victory. He finished 13th. In the May Kansas race, Harvick was among the contenders before incurring a speeding penalty.

“We’ve been dealt some bad luck throughout the year, but it hasn’t fazed [the team] in continuing to work on the cars and the speed,” Harvick said. “Last week had them covered and a valve stem got knocked off by a lugnut.

“Keep doing the things that you are doing and that luck will all come full circle, and as long as the cars continue to be fast that stuff all comes back to you. Hopefully it peaks at the right time.”

Harvick is one of 12 remaining drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kansas is the first race in the second of four playoff rounds. Two non-Chasers, Brian Vickers and Aric Almirola, qualified second and third, respectively.

Positions four through eight were held by Chase drivers: Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rounding out the top 10 were Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

“I’m happy with where we ended up. I feel like that is about where we were,” Gordon said. “Kevin was in another league.”

The most exciting moment of the three-round session saw Jimmie Johnson break loose and spin off Turn 2. The car of the defending Sprint Cup champion incurred minimal damage, but Johnson will start 32nd Sunday, his worst qualifying effort of 2014 in a non-restrictor plate race.

Johnson along with Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth were the only Chase drivers who failed to advance past Round 1. Teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin and Kenseth both lamented a lack of speed.

“Our cars just don’t have any speed,” Hamlin said. “The balance is fine -- just three-tenths, fourth-tenths off consistently, all of our cars. Just disappointing we can’t have any more speed out of our cars. We’re doing the best we can to move up.”

Said Kenseth: “It was disappointing. Us a group, that’s about where we were in practice. A disappointing day, but we’ll be ready for the race tomorrow and hopefully have it right on Sunday.”