BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN – Three laps were all Kevin Harvick needed Friday afternoon.
He set a new Michigan International Speedway record on his first qualifying lap, then broke it during his last to claim his third Coors Light Pole Award of the season for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Quicken Loans 400. He ran just one lap in each of the three periods and his No. 4 Chevy was the fastest car on the track each time.
His 204.557 mph lap in the final period was about a half-second faster than the mark he set in the first session. He parked the car after the hot lap and waited for the session to end.
“Obviously it was a really fast couple laps,” Harvick said. “The car has been great since we unloaded it off the truck.
“When you have fast cars, it makes the driver’s job easier.”
How fast? Harvick’s final lap is the fastest pole speed in NASCAR since Bill Elliott earned the pole at Talladega in April 1987 with a 212.809 mph run. That effort came before the sport mandated restrictor plates on high speed ovals.
He said not to expect similar speeds Sunday when the green flag waves.
“Michigan’s been fast for a long time,” Harvick said, “but the cars will slow down a tremendous amount when we get them into traffic.”
It’s the ninth pole of his career. He also started and finished first at Darlington this season and was second at Kansas after securing the pole there.
Harvick is seeking his third victory of the season and second career win at MIS. His first at Michigan came Aug. 15, 2010.
Hendrick Motorsports claimed the next two spots in the lineup thanks to Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Aric Almirola, Paul Menard and Brad Keselowski rounded out the first three rows.
Harvick set a new track record of 203.995 mph on his only lap of the first practice session to break the 203.949 mark set by Joey Logano in August.
The rest of the field noticed.
“Man, he was strong,” Gordon, the Sprint Cup points leader, said. “The first time out I thought my lap was pretty good but nowhere near Kevin’s. Those guys are really tough, especially in qualifying.”
Earnhardt, last weekend’s winner at Pocono, said he couldn’t tell how much faster he was during his lone lap of the final session.
“I didn’t feel like we were going that much faster here than in the past,” he said.
Kasey Kahne was the first driver to miss the cut in the second round of qualifying and will start 13th next to Kyle Busch. Greg Biffle, who won last June’s race here, will start 18th.
A.J. Allmendinger and Tony Stewart were the first two drivers to miss the cut after the first qualifying run. Allmendinger was five hundredths of a second behind Joey Logano, who nabbed the 24th and final spot in the second qualifying session.
Juan Pablo Montoya, in his first Sprint Cup race since leaving the series at the end of last season, will start 28th on Sunday in a Team Penske Ford.
“Having tomorrow as a practice day will be a lot better,” said Montoya, who’d had just the morning practice session in the car on the two-mile track.
Denny Hamlin, who entered the weekend eighth in the series’ points standings, will start 29th and Matt Kenseth will start next to him with the second spot in the standings.
Ryan Truex was the lone entrant who failed to qualify.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Quicken Loans 400
Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
Friday, June 13, 2014
1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 204.557 mph.
2. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 203.776 mph.
3. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 203.729 mph.
4. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 203.200 mph.
5. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 203.040 mph.
6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 202.908 mph.
7. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 202.401 mph.
8. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 202.043 mph.
9. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 202.032 mph.
10. (55) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 201.331 mph.
11. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 200.490 mph.
12. (42) Kyle Larson #, Chevrolet, 201.117 mph.
13. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200.876 mph.
14. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200.842 mph.
15. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 200.831 mph.
16. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 200.820 mph.
17. (51) Justin Allgaier #, Chevrolet, 200.730 mph.
18. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 200.518 mph.
19. (3) Austin Dillon #, Chevrolet, 200.457 mph.
20. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 200.128 mph.
21. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 199.967 mph.
22. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 199.534 mph.
23. (21) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 199.518 mph.
24. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 199.165 mph.
25. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200.837 mph.
26. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 200.457 mph.
27. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 200.451 mph.
28. (12) Juan Pablo Montoya, Ford, 200.217 mph.
29. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 199.933 mph.
30. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 199.750 mph.
31. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 199.617 mph.
32. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 198.593 mph.
33. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 198.571 mph.
34. (66) Brett Moffitt, Toyota, 198.347 mph.
35. (44) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 197.900 mph.
36. (33) David Stremme, Chevrolet, 197.666 mph.
37. (7) Michael Annett #, Chevrolet, Owner Points
38. (98) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Owner Points
39. (40) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, Owner Points
40. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Owner Points
41. (23) Alex Bowman #, Toyota, Owner Points
42. (26) Cole Whitt #, Toyota, Owner Points
43. (32) Travis Kvapil, Ford, Owner Points
1 drivers failed to qualify.
44. (83) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 196.931 mph.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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