Matt Kenseth wins pole for AAA Texas 500, but Tony Stewart breaks record with 200 mph lap

credit: Debbie Ross/Skirts and Scuffs

Matt Kenseth's pole-winning lap was smoking fast at 199.299 mph, but it was Tony Stewart who laid down the first 200-mph lap at a 1.5 mile speedway in Sprint Cup history.

Several drivers were flirting with the 200 mph-mark during Friday's first round of qualifying for Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Early in the second round it became obvious that it wasn't a matter of if someone would hit 200, but who would be the one to do it.

With the sun going down and the North Texas air cooling, each lap was successively faster until conditions were perfect for Stewart's epic lap.

Just three weeks ago Stewart's SHR teammate Kurt Busch set a track record of 198.771 in the second round of qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway, to that point the fastest ever on a 1.5 mile track.

Because of tire falloff, speeds in the third round of qualifying at the Great American Speedway rarely match those of the second round, especially at a track that's as abrasive as Texas.

Lining up next to Kenseth, slower by .008 seconds, Jeff Gordon makes his eighth front row start of the season.  Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson starts third, next to Kurt Busch. Kevin Harvick, and boss Tony Stewart make up Row 3. Ryan Newman starts seventh, followed by Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

See the second race of the Eliminator Round on ESPN at 2 pm. CT.

Here's the full lineup:

Rank	Driver	Time	Speed
1	Matt Kenseth	27.095	199.299
2	Jeff Gordon	27.096	199.291
3	Jimmie Johnson	27.138	198.983
4	Kurt Busch	27.148	198.910
5	Kevin Harvick	27.158	198.836
6	Tony Stewart	27.203	198.508
7	Ryan Newman	27.204	198.500
8	Martin Truex, Jr.	27.218	198.398
9	Kyle Busch	27.227	198.333
10	Joey Logano	27.263	198.071
11	Carl Edwards	27.267	198.042
12	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	27.308	197.744
13	Brian Vickers	27.184	198.646
14	Kasey Kahne	27.186	198.632
15	Paul Menard	27.202	198.515
16	Marcos Ambrose	27.205	198.493
17	Kyle Larson	27.224	198.354
18	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	27.230	198.311
19	Greg Biffle	27.255	198.129
20	Denny Hamlin	27.304	197.773
21	Jamie McMurray	27.307	197.751
22	Aric Almirola	27.345	197.477
23	A.J. Allmendinger	27.399	197.087
24	Clint Bowyer	27.452	196.707
25	Trevor Bayne	27.332	197.571
26	Brad Keselowski	27.386	197.181
27	Danica Patrick	27.436	196.822
28	Michael McDowell	27.455	196.685
29	Austin Dillon	27.462	196.635
30	Justin Allgaier	27.497	196.385
31	David Gilliland	27.500	196.364
32	Reed Sorenson	27.553	195.986
33	Michael Annett	27.586	195.751
34	Landon Cassill	27.587	195.744
35	Alex Bowman	27.599	195.659
36	Josh Wise	27.621	195.503
37	David Ragan	27.629	195.447	OP
38	Casey Mears	27.637	195.390	OP
39	J.J. Yeley	27.821	194.098	OP
40	Cole Whitt	27.998	192.871	OP
41	Brett Moffitt	28.013	192.768	OP
42	Timmy Hill	28.114	192.075	OP
43	Joey Gase	28.476	189.633	OP