NASCAR New Hampshire 2017 qualifying results: Kyle Busch tops Kyle Larson to win pole at Loudon

Kyle Busch will start on the pole for the second consecutive Monster Energy Cup Series playoff race, earning the pole Friday in qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Busch’s top lap of 135.049 mph around the one-mile track bested Kyle Larson, whose 134.911 mph lap puts him on the outside of the front row for Sunday’s ISM Connect 300. Denny Hamlin (134.763 mph) and Ryan Blaney (134.720 mph) share the second row.

The pole was Busch’s series-best eighth pole of the season, though only once has he gone on to win after setting fast time in qualifying. His other win on the year came from the 18th starting position at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

“It’s been fun to have fast cars on Friday and fast cars throughout the weekend,” Busch said. “We just haven’t been able to close the deal.”

Martin Truex Jr., who won the playoff opener last week at Chicagoland Speedway, qualified fifth. Defending race winner Kevin Harvick starts sixth, followed by Kurt Busch, rookie Erik Jones, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth completed the top 10. Only Jones is not among the 16 playoff-eligible drivers vying for the series championship.

When Busch started on the pole last week at Chicagoland, he led the 85 of the first 87 laps before two issues on pit road dropped him two laps behind the field. He would rally to finish 15th, with Truex earning the win that automatically advanced him to the second playoff round.

Busch had swapped pit crews with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suarez, who didn’t make the postseason, for the final 10 playoff races. The 2015 Cup champion is optimistic last week’s pit road miscues were a one-time occurrence.

“I’m sure the consensus is that hopefully it’s out of the way and there’s no more jitters,” Busch said. “We can focus on looking forward and having the opportunity to race for the championship with this group of guys and have fast pit stops like they’ve been doing all year long.”

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott qualified 12th and 14th, respectively, after each were involved in separate wrecks during practice on Friday.

In both instances, Johnson and Elliott got loose entering Turn 3 causing them to slide up the track and hit the outside wall. The impact was severe enough both drivers were forced to switch to backup Chevrolets for the remainder of the weekend.

“Not so bad, of course we want more,” Johnson said of his qualifying effort. “These guys have had to work so hard all day and I feel bad tearing one up early, but a decent starting spot and we will build on that.”

Elliott is without his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, who is serving a one-race suspension after NASCAR determined Elliott’s team had illegally manipulated the body of his No. 24 car to gain an aerodynamic advantage. The violation was found following Elliott’s second-place finish at Chicagoland.

Joey Logano was the only driver not to post a qualifying time, as his No. 22 Ford failed to pass technical inspection before the first round had been completed. He will start last in the 39-car field.