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 With a massive East Coast storm forcing cancellation of all of
Friday's track activity at the Monster Mile, including NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series qualifying, Kenseth will start on the pole for Sunday's
AAA 400, the elimination race for the Challenger Round of the Chase
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
The series leader, Kenseth already has earned a spot in the Chase's
Contender Round by virtue of last Sunday's victory at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway.
On the other hand, with the field ordered by owner points according
to rainout rules, Harvick will start 15th in a race he almost
certainly must win to keep his hopes of winning back-to-back series
championships alive.
After an early wreck and a 42nd-place finish in the Chase opener at
Chicagoland Speedway, Harvick ran out of fuel while leading with
three laps left at New Hampshire and finished 21st, leaving him 23
points out of 12th place in the standings, the last transfer
position for the next round.
Even though the rain put him on the pole, Kenseth would have
preferred to have practiced on Friday, especially in light of the
suspension issues that relegated him to a 39th-place finish in the
May 31 event at Dover.
"I think we all would have liked to get on the track today and get
some practice," Kenseth said Friday at Dover. "I know there are some
things we wanted to work on and try to improve from the spring for
this race.
"I think everybody wanted to get on the track. I think it's one of
the advantages of leading the points -- obviously, if it rains, you
get a good starting spot and pit stall. Glad we're starting in the
front, but still would have liked the track time."
The qualifying cancellation means the 16 Chase drivers will start
from the top 16 positions on the grid. Denny Hamlin, who punched his
ticket to the Contender Round with a win at Chicagoland, will start
on the front row beside his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.
Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson are third through fifth
on the grid, respectively, for Sunday's race. "Bubble" drivers Jamie
McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Paul Menard, all of
whom are within a two-point range in the standings, will start 11th
through 14th, respectively.
"We'll be ready; we'll be prepared and we won't start as far forward
as we have here in years past," said Busch, who blew a right front
tire at New Hampshire, crashed and finished 37th. "Typically we're a
top-five qualifier. ... We'll make do."
Busch feels his team's level of readiness coming to the track this
season will stand him in good stead.
"I think, for my guys, we've been really, really good this year of
unloading and having some strong cars and some good speed right off
the truck," Busch said. "I'd actually look forward to no practice
time here. I think that would be really good for the 18 team."
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying - AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Friday, Oct. 02, 2015
1. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 1st.
2. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 2nd.
3. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 3rd.
4. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 4th.
5. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 5th.
6. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 6th.
7. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 7th.
8. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 8th.
9. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 9th.
10. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 10th.
11. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 11th.
[to top of second column] |
12. (88) Dale Earnrhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 12th.
13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 13th.
14. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 14th.
15. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 15th.
16. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 16th.
17. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 17th.
18. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 18th.
19. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 19th.
20. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 20th.
21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 21st.
22. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 22nd.
23. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 23rd.
24. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 24th.
25. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 25th.
26. (9) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 2015 Owner Points 26th.
27. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 2015 Owner Points 27th.
28. (55) David Ragan, Toyota, 2015 Owner Points 28th.
29. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 29th.
30. (51) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 30th.
31. (35) Cole Whitt, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 31st.
32. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 32nd.
33. (40) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 33rd.
34. (34) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 2015 Owner Points 34th.
35. (7) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 35th.
36. (33) Alex Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Points 36th.
37. (83) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -37th.
38. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -38th.
39. (23) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -39th.
40. (98) Reed Sorenson, Ford, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -40th.
41. (32) Josh Wise, Ford, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -41st.
42. (26) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -43rd.
43. (62) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, 2015 Owner Attempts 28 -45th.
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