Matt Kenseth captured the pole for Sunday’s 55th annual Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Kenseth scored his 14th career Sprint Cup Series pole after a time of 14.917 seconds, 128.632 mph. The pole gives the team and driver momentum on Sunday as Kenseth looks for his fourth victory at the 0.533-mile oval.
Starting in second will be Brad Keselowski after a time of 14.939 seconds, 128.442 mph. Keselowski will make his fourth top 10 start of the season behind the wheel of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford. The Michigan native has a pair of wins at the track in 2011 and 2012.
Carl Edwards, who comes into the weekend as the defending race winner, will start the Food City 500 in third. Edwards posted a time of 14.953 seconds, 128.322 mph. in the final round of knockout qualifying. The Missouri native comes into the weekend with additional momentum after scoring his first top 10 finish last weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway with the Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Joey Logano ended the first two rounds of knockout qualifying as the leader. However, Logano wasn’t able to back it up into the final round. The 24-year old driver will start the race on Sunday in sixth.
Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all found themselves further down the leaderboard when their qualifying sessions ended. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended round two as the 13th fastest driver. Jeff Gordon ended the second round a little further back in 23rd. Johnson, meanwhile, did not even make the second round after posting the 28th quickest lap. Their teammate, Kasey Kahne, will start the Food City 500 from the eighth starting spot.
Two cars failed to make the race as 45 drivers showed up. Those will be Brendan Gaughan and Ron Hornaday Jr.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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