NSCS Pole Report: Kenseth captures top spot at Kansas

Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/NASCAR via Getty Images

Matt Kenseth knocked his former Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards off the pole for Sunday's STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth's lap of 191.864 mph, 28.145 seconds in Friday's session set a new qualifying record at the 1.5-mile track. This marks the third consecutive week on the Sprint Cup schedule that a new track record has been set during qualifying.

This is Kenseth's first pole this season and his second pole at Kansas. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won last fall's race at Kansas.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., now in Kenseth's former ride, will start third. Rounding out the top 5 are Sam Hornish Jr., making his first Sprint Cup start of 2013, and Kyle Busch, coming off last week's win at Texas.

Jeff Gordon crashed before completing his first qualifying lap, destroying the front and rear ends of his racecar after hitting the wall hard in Turn 2. Gordon will go to a backup car and will start from the rear of the field Sunday.

The STP 400 will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX. Pre-race coverage starts at 12:30 p.m.

Starting lineup:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Carl Edwards
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
4. Sam Hornish Jr.
5. Kyle Busch
6. Aric Almirola
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Mark Martin
9. Ryan Newman
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Greg Biffle
12. Paul Menard
13. Kurt Busch
14. Jamie McMurray
15. Marcos Ambrose
16. Brian Vickers
17. Kevin Harvick
18. Tony Stewart
19. Juan Pablo Montoya
20. Jeff Burton
21. Jimmie Johnson
22. Joey Logano
23. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
24. Elliott Sadler
25. Danica Patrick
26. David Ragan
27. Kasey Kahne
28. David Gilliland
29. Michael McDowell
30. Casey Mears
31. David Reutimann
32. Travis Kvapil
33. Brad Keselowski
34. Bobby Labonte
35. Mike Bliss
36. Josh Wise
37. Timmy Hill
38. David Stremme
39. Landon Cassill
40. J.J. Yeley
41. Regan Smith
42. Dave Blaney
43. Jeff Gordon

Did Not Qualify: Joe Nemechek
NSCS Pole Report: Kenseth captures top spot at Kansas NSCS Pole Report: Kenseth captures top spot at Kansas Reviewed by Rebecca Kivak on Friday, April 19, 2013 Rating: 5