NASCAR Kansas 2017 qualifying results: Martin Truex Jr. beats Kevin Harvick to win pole

Martin Truex Jr. helped his pursuit of a first ever championship on two fronts by winning pole in qualifying Friday at Kansas Speedway. Not only will he lead the field in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, but he also gets first pit stall selection in next week’s key playoff race at Martinsville Speedway.

Truex’s pole-winning lap clocked in at 188.029 mph, topping Kevin Harvick (187.682) to earn his third pole of the season and 15th of his career. Harvick had been fastest in the first two rounds, but Truex was better when it mattered most to snag the top starting position.

The pole carried added importance with Friday’s qualifying results determining the order that teams choose pit stalls for next Sunday’s semi-final playoff opener at Martinsville. Because of the tight confines at the half-mile track, passing can be challenging and raises the significance of having an advantageous pit stall.

Truex is secured a spot in the eight-driver semi-final round regardless of where he finishes Sunday, the last of three races in the quarter-finals round. And were he to win at Martinsville, that would clinch him a spot in the four-driver championship finale Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That significance wasn’t lost on Truex, as a win “It’s pretty big, biggest one at this point in time, so that’s what matters,” Truex said. “We knew this was a big one with next week’s pit selection. … I would say it’s the biggest advantage of any track we go to, to have it there. We’ve been working hard for Martinsville and that certainly is going to help us.”

Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez completed the top five. Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10. Keselowski won last week at Talladega Superspeeway to clinch a berth in the semi-finals.

Jimmie Johnson, who occupies the last transfer position entering the Round 2 elimination race, will start 12th. The defending Cup Series champion is seven points ahead of Busch and eight up on Kenseth, the first two drivers below the cut line. The lowest four ranked drivers without a round win will be knocked out of the playoffs on Sunday.

“Certainly, we want to be better than that,” Johnson said. “But, when I look at the fact that I out-qualified my teammates, we got faster through the rounds, starting closer to the front than we have in quite a few weeks, there are some good takeaways from today. Qualifying, as we all know, isn’t my sweet spot and I’m trying so hard to get better at that. This is a good week for me and we’re trying to discover some things to get better.”

Playoff driver Ryan Blaney had qualified third, but NASCAR disallowed his time after the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford failed post-qualifying technical inspection. Officials determined the package tray at the rear of the car “did not maintain its original shape.”

Blaney, who is nine points clear of Busch, will start 40th Sunday.