Kyle Busch leads NASCAR qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Kyle Busch’s 184.652 mph lap unseated Ryan Newman with 30 seconds remaining in NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series qualifying Friday to win the pole position for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The pole is Busch’s first ever at Atlanta in 20 career starts. Newman continued Richard Childress Racing’s strong start to the season by clocking-in the second-fastest speed (184.419 mph), a week after teammate Austin Dillon won the season-opening Daytona 500.

Kevin Harvick qualified third, with Daniel Suarez fourth and Brad Keselowski fifth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer and Erik Jones completed the top 10.

Harvick and Keselowski had the two best cars a year ago at Atlanta; Harvick won the pole and led a race-high 292 laps, while Keselowski took the checkered flag after Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road during his final stop. On Friday, Keselowski was the fastest Round 1 qualifier, with Harvick leading the second session.

“We won here from fifth last year, so we’re gonna do it again,” Keselowski said. “I felt like I got all I could get, but we just need to find a bit more. We’re real close.”

Several notables struggled in qualifying and failed to advance past Round 1 including: Daytona 500 winner Dillon, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. did not make it onto the track to post a lap after his car failed to pass technical inspection three times. Under NASCAR rules, car chief Blake Harris was ejected from the grounds and cannot return for the remainder of the weekend. Had Truex’s No. 78 Toyota went through inspection a fourth time and failed, crew chief Cole Pearn also would’ve been ejected and Furniture Row Racing would’ve been penalized 10 driver and owner points.

Truex will start 35th in the 36-car field Sunday. Four times a driver has started 35th or worse at Atlanta, then gone on to win: Bobby Labonte (37th, 1999), Dale Earnhardt (35th, 2000), Labonte (39th, 2001), and Jimmie Johnson (37th, 2015).

“NASCAR’s new inspection process is just that, new,” FRR president Joe Garone said. “The tolerances are very tight, within thousandths of an inch. It’s difficult to push the limits where you feel you need to and still be within the tolerances of the new system. One thing we won’t do is leave anything on the table and expect to get poles and wins. We will always push for the maximum.”