It was a solid week for NASCAR rookie Kyle Larson, who managed to celebrate a birthday and qualify for his first career pole position at Pocono Raceway in the span of 48 hours.
NASCAR at Pocono Raceway 2014: Lineup, starting grid for GoBowling.com 400
Everything seems to be coming up “Kyle Larson” this week as the Sprint Cup returns to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400.
Jerry Markland
After turning 22 on Thursday, Larson narrowly edged fellow young gun Joey Logano to claim the inside line on Friday. At 183.438 he was just four hundredths of a MPH faster than Logano. Logano’s ever-present teammate Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick round out the first three rows.
Not surprisingly, Larson was ecstatic with the results, telling the Associated Press, “I knew we had a shot at the pole after the second round. I was nervous and I hit all three corners about as good as I could, so I was really excited about that.” But he’s not complacent with just starting in the front, believing he has a win coming sooner rather than later, “I really think a win is coming soon, maybe before the Chase starts.”
Pocono preview
Likely adding to Larson’s excitement (along with starting the race first and, presumably, a lot of cake) was his lap breaking yet another qualifying record, the 15th this season. In the process, he shattered the mark Denny Hamlin set earlier this year at the same track by over 2 MPH. Whether or not the course will race that fast is a question which will be answered Sunday.
You can watch the race on ESPN beginning with pre-race coverage at 12:00 p.m ET on NASCAR Countdown, featuring Nicole Briscoe, Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace. Live race coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. with Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth. The green flag is tentatively scheduled for 1:19 p.m. In addition to the television coverage, viewers with a subscription to RaceView will be able to follow the race online. Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90 will provide radio coverage.
GoBowling.com coverage (all times Eastern):
TV: ESPN -- Noon.
Green flag: Approximately 1:19 p.m.
Online: NASCAR.com RaceView (subscription required)
Radio: Motor Racing Network -- Sirius-XM channel 90
GoBowling.com 400 starting lineup
| Position | Driver | Speed |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 183.438 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 183.408 |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski | 182.700 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 182.660 |
| 5 | Jeff Gordon | 182.611 |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | 182.090 |
| 7 | Kyle Busch | 182.020 |
| 8 | Jamie McMurray | 182.017 |
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 181.741 |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | 181.646 |
| 11 | Austin Dillon | 181.605 |
| 12 | Kasey Kahne | 181.280 |
| 13 | Denny Hamlin | 181.159 |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | 181.156 |
| 15 | Brian Vickers | 180.850 |
| 16 | Tony Stewart | 180.716 |
| 17 | Jimmie Johnson | 180.502 |
| 18 | Matt Kenseth | 180.274 |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | 180.133 |
| 20 | A.J. Allmendinger | 179.986 |
| 21 | Ryan Newman | 179.878 |
| 22 | Justin Allgaier | 179.412 |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 179.304 |
| 24 | Casey Mears | 179.069 |
| 25 | Greg Biffle | 179.169 |
| 26 | Carl Edwards | 178.998 |
| 27 | Marcos Ambrose | 178.916 |
| 28 | Aric Almirola | 178.912 |
| 29 | Paul Menard | 178.862 |
| 30 | David Gilliland | 178.049 |
| 31 | Josh Wise | 177.704 |
| 32 | Landon Cassill | 177.676 |
| 33 | Cole Whitt | 177.560 |
| 34 | Travis Kvapil | 177.399 |
| 35 | Reed Sorenson | 177.354 |
| 36 | Alex Bowman | 176.502 |
| 37 | Ryan Truex | 176.429 |
| 38 | Michael Annett | 176.412 |
| 39 | David Ragan | 176.094 |
| 40 | Dave Blaney | 174.801 |
| 41 | Joe Nemechek | 172.285 |
| 42 | Alex Kennedy | 172.199 |
| 43 | Johnny Sauter | 166.162 |
See More:
