Brad Keselowski Wins Las Vegas Pole

LAS VEGAS, NV – RIS - Defending race-winner Brad Keselowski will lead the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup field of 39 to the green flag Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  If he wins, it would mean three straight wins for Ford in 2017.  It was Keselowski’s first pole at Las Vegas.

Keselowski's lap of 193.68 mph in Friday's final round of qualifying at the 1.5-mile track was slightly ahead of Martin Truex Jr., who clocked in at 193.46 mph. Truex, who was fastest in Friday's first practice, is in prime position to build on the series-best 883 laps he led on 1.5-mile tracks last season.

“We’re off to a good start for sure with the Miller Lite Ford,” Keselowski said. “It feels good to get an early-season pole to go with our win. With the way the segments play out and stages and all this stuff, you really need to start up front to have a shot at winning as you go down the line of those stages. This helps a ton and I’m grateful for the speed we had and I’m ready for the race on Sunday. I love Vegas."

Truex was hopeful for a good day on Sunday.

“We just missed it by a little bit tonight,” Truex said. Just needed to be a little better in 1 and 2.”

Ryan Blaney will start on the inside of Row 2, joining Matt Kenseth, who is looking for his fourth win at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson, who owns an average showing of 4.75 in his last five races, will start fifth next to Joey Logano.

Jimmie Johnson will have his work cut out for him if he wants to win his fifth race at Las Vegas. The defending champion will start 16th, while odds-on favorite Kevin Harvick will start 19th.

Kenseth, Larson and Joey Logano posted the top-six speeds. Kasey Kahne, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 12.

Starting Lineup, 20th Annual Kobalt 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Pos, Driver, Car, Speed, Time

1) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 193.680, 27.881

2) Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota, 193.458, 27.913

3) Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 193.410, 27.920

4) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 BlueDEF Toyota, 193.389, 27.923

5) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 193.161, 27.956

6) Joey Logano, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford, 193.140, 27.959

7) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet, 193.133, 27.960

8) Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota, 192.369, 28.071

9) Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 192.362, 28.072

10) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Credit One Bank/Cessna Chevrolet, 192.362, 28.072

11) Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 191.966, 28.130

12) Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 191.042, 28.266

13) Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Haas Automation Ford, 192.623, 28.034

14) Paul Menard, No. 27 Valvoline Menards Chevrolet, 192.431, 28.062

15) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 192.356, 28.073

16) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Kobalt Chevrolet, 192.267, 28.086

17) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 192.089, 28.112

18) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 192.068, 28.115

19) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Ford, 191.700, 28.169

20) Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford, 191.639, 28.178

21) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 191.523, 28.195

22) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, 191.029, 28.268

23) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 190.638, 28.326

24) Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 188.864, 28.592

25) Chris Buescher, No. 37 Natural Light Chevrolet, 190.570, 28.336

26) Michael McDowell, No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet, 190.402, 28.361

27) Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 190.208, 28.390

28) Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford, 189.954, 28.428

29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 189.553, 28.488

30) Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 189.401, 28.511

31) Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Can-Am/Kappa Ford, 187.813, 28.752

32) David Ragan, No. 38 Juice Battery Ford, 186.716, 28.921

33) Cole Whitt, No. 72 Rinnai Chevrolet, 185.752, 29.071

34) Corey LaJoie #, No. 83 JAS Expeditited Trucking Toyota, 185.554, 29.102

35) Gray Gaulding #, No. 23 Schluter Systems Toyota, 185.008, 29.188

36) Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Little Joes Autos/Curtis Key Plumbing , 182.624, 29.569

37) Reed Sorenson, No. 15 Toyota, 180.301, 29.950

38) Derrike Cope #, No. 55 Chevrolet, 177.468, 30.428

39) Timmy Hill(i), No. 51 Dashub Chevrolet, 174.876, 30.879