Tony Stewart grabs the pole for the Duck Commander 500 at Texas

Photo by Boyd Adams, Courtesy of RubbingsRacing.com

Tony Stewart has great timing and a fast racecar. Put the two together, and he's magic. Smoke waited until literally the last possible minute to make his run for the top starting spot in the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. He slipped past Brad Keselowski as time expired in the final session, earning his 15th career pole and first this season.

Credit: Lisa Janine Cloud for Skirts and Scuffs

"This is the first time I've been able to do something impressive for the team and I'm excited about that," said Stewart.

"Tony's on his game. It's qualifying day and he's on the pole," said Kevin Harvick of his teammate and boss. Harvick starts third despite having put down a track record 198.282 mph in the first session. By comparison, Stewart's pole-winning lap was just 195.454, topping Keselowski's lap by .035 mph.

Greg Biffle ran fastest in the second segment but will start fourth in front of teammate Carl Edwards.

Filling out the top 12 are Denny Hamlin, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon. Busch is in backup car after a crash in practice on Friday.

Weather nearly played a part in qualifying, with raindrops misting the track. Certainly the 55° temperature affected the speeds.

Full starting lineup:

1	Tony Stewart
2	Brad Keselowski
3	Kevin Harvick
4	Greg Biffle
5	Carl Edwards
6	Denny Hamlin
7	Trevor Bayne
8	Ryan Newman
9	Marcos Ambrose
10	Joey Logano
11	Kurt Busch
12	Jeff Gordon
13	Paul Menard
14	Kyle Larson
15	Jamie McMurray
16	Jimmie Johnson
17	Aric Almirola
18	Martin Truex Jr
19	Dale Earnhardt Jr
20	Austin Dillon
21	Casey Mears
22	Justin Allgaier
23	Brian Vickers
24	Danica Patrick
25	Clint Bowyer
26	Matt Kenseth
27	Michael Annett
28	Michael McDowell
29	Kyle Busch
30	Alex Bowman
31	Ricky Stenhouse Jr
32	Kasey Kahne
33	AJ Allmendinger
34	David Reutimann
35	Dave Blaney
36	Parker Kligerman
37	Travis Kvapil
38	Reed Sorenson
39	David Gilliland
40	Landon Cassill
41	Josh Wise
42	Cole Whitt
43	David Ragan