Matt Kenseth won the pole for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500, while Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, the top-two drivers in Sprint Cup Series points, grabbed the eighth and ninth starting positions, respectively, in qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway.
Kenseth, the second-to-last driver to make his qualifying attempt in the 46- car field, turned a lap at 137.101 mph around the newly repaved and reconfigured one-mile track. The Roush Fenway Racing driver claimed his third pole of the season and the seventh of his Sprint Cup career.
A.J. Allmendinger earned the outside pole with his lap at 136.446 mph. It’s the third front row appearance for Allmendinger in four races at Phoenix. His Richard Petty Motorsports teammate, Marcos Ambrose, qualified third.
Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five. MiamiHerald.com
Before Kenseth’s lap, the two were seventh and eighth on the qualifying list and in line to start side-by-side in Sunday’s race. But Edwards would have been on the outside, and new pavement at Phoenix has prevented the second line from adequately developing.
So when Kenseth wedged his way to the top of the board, Stewart dropped to eighth and Edwards to ninth. It means Stewart will start on the outside of the fourth row, and Edwards will line up on the inside of row five.
“I planned that. I am that good,” Kenseth claimed.
But he actually downplayed the significance of the starting spots of the two championship contenders. Edwards takes a three-point lead over Stewart into the penultimate event of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
“The bottom is probably going to be an advantage to get started, but it is still 300 miles and I think at some point in the race every car is going to be in the top groove for a little bit,” Kenseth said. ABC15.com
Conditions for qualifying were radically different from practice sessions a day earlier. On Friday, under a cloudy sky, most of the field ran faster than Edwards’ qualifying record of 137.279 mph, set in February.
With the sun out Saturday, and the track considerably hotter, drivers ran roughly a full second slower on average than they had Friday, and none bettered Edwards’ record.
Allmendinger was shocked at how much the track changed from one day to the next.
“It was definitely a huge surprise,” he said. “Obviously, the sun is out and it’s warmer, but for as much grip as the track had [Friday], you would think maybe it would be [just] a little slower. At night last night I think the quick time was like a 25.50 by Carl, so to be almost a second slower was a huge surprise.
“I was in the hauler watching the first 10 or 15 cars run, and you see Jimmie [Johnson] go sailing off and almost get in the wall. Every car seemed to get looser and looser. At that point you have what you have. We tightened it up from [Friday]. Marcos put up a good lap and fed back what the track was like, so I went in there with an expectation, and my first lap was worse than even I expected. It was definitely a lot different than [Friday].” NASCAR.com
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