Kevin Harvick takes the pole in AAA Texas 500 qualifying

credit: Lisa Janine Cloud/Skirts and Scuffs 

Defending AAA Texas 500 race winner Kevin Harvick scored a custom Henry repeating rifle for his pole-winning lap on Salute to Veterans Qualifying Day Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. His qualifying lap of 189.707 mph (28.465 sec.) topped Erik Jones’ (188.890 mph 28.588 sec.) by .123 seconds.

Harvick previously won a pole at the track in the spring of 2017. This makes his 30th career first-place start.

If you were wondering what difference the 2019 rules package makes in speed, consider that the track record at Texas Motor Speedway was set by Kurt Busch on November 5, 2017, at 200.915 mph or 26.877 sec., a full 11.208 mph faster than Harvick’s lap Saturday.

Denny Hamlin’s lap of 188.712 (28.615) puts him starting third, while Kurt Busch’s 188.436 (28.657) puts him starting fourth. Busch's run came fresh off the announcement of his contract extension with Ganassi Racing and Monster Energy. 

Alex Bowman rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 188.357 (28.669).

Fords fill the next four spots with Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., giving them half of the top ten starting positions. Matt DiBenedetto nosed into tenth by .006 seconds.

Tune in to NBCSN or SiriusXM NASCAR radio on Sunday, November 3, at 2:00 PM Central Standard Time. The green flag is scheduled for 2:18 PM CST.
 
Full qualifying results: 


Rank
Driver
Speed

1
Kevin Harvick
189.707

2
Erik Jones
188.890

3
Denny Hamlin
188.712

4
Kurt Busch
188.436

5
Alex Bowman
188.357

6
Aric Almirola
188.317

7
Daniel Suarez
188.003

8
Brad Keselowski
187.976

9
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
187.931

10
Matt DiBenedetto
187.891

11
Joey Logano
187.793

12
Kyle Busch
187.735

13
Kyle Larson
187.617

14
Chase Elliott
187.389

15
Ryan Blaney
187.233

16
Daniel Hemric
187.201

17
Martin Truex, Jr.
187.091

18
William Byron
186.845

19
Ty Dillon
186.845

20
Chris Buescher
186.761

21
Austin Dillon
186.754

22
Bubba Wallace
186.651

23
Jimmie Johnson
186.619

24
Clint Bowyer
186.606

25
Ryan Newman
186.522

26
David Ragan
186.316

27
Michael McDowell
186.181

28
Ryan Preece
186.091

29
John Hunter Nemechek
185.586

30
Parker Kligerman
185.420
*
31
Paul Menard
185.344

32
Landon Cassill
184.970

33
Corey LaJoie
184.231

34
J.J. Yeley
182.840
*
35
Ross Chastain
182.229
*
36
Garrett Smithley
181.026

37
Quin Houff
181.020

38
Joe Nemechek
179.850

39
Josh Bilicki
178.347

40
Timmy Hill
176.200
*




* had to qualify on time







Kevin Harvick takes the pole in AAA Texas 500 qualifying Kevin Harvick takes the pole in AAA Texas 500 qualifying Reviewed by Janine Cloud on Saturday, November 02, 2019 Rating: 5