Kyle Busch Wins Playoff Pole at Chicagoland

AP Photo - Terry Renna

JOLIET, IL - RIS - Kyle Busch motored to the first pole of the 2017 Monster Energy Cup season, leading two teammates behind him.  Bush won the pole over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin will start on the front row of Sunday's Tale of the Turtles 400, and fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. was third. Truex has four wins and the Furniture Row Racing driver is a favorite to win his first career Cup title.

NASCAR playoff drivers Kevin Harvick, Keselowski and Kyle Larson had the next three spots.

Keselowski said this week Fords didn't have the speed needed to win the championship and suggested the championship finale would be comprised of four Toyota drivers.

"Winning counts and sometimes you have to catch a little bit of luck. That happens. The fastest car doesn't always win. That has been the case a few times with late yellows and so forth," Keselowski said Friday. "Winning races is more than one thing, it always has been and always will be. You always like to be close but right now we aren't close."   Busch and Keselowski have long been rivals and tangled on and off the track.

"If you ask Brad, he can fix the world's problems," Busch said.

Top 10 spots for other drivers racing for the championship over the final 10 races include: Chase Elliott eighth, Austin Dillon ninth, and Matt Kenseth 10th. Ryan Blaney is 12th, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson starts 14th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 15th, Ryan Newman 16th, Kurt Busch 17th, Jamie McMurray 19th and Kasey Kahne 25th.   Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Martin Truex Jr. 09/18/16 02:47:24 145.161
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 18 Kyle Busch (P) Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota 28.729 187.963
2 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Office Toyota 29.006 186.168
Row 2: 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota 29.049 185.893
4 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Jimmy John's Ford 29.086 185.656
Row 3: 5 2 Brad Keselowski (P) Miller Lite Ford 29.152 185.236
6 42 Kyle Larson (P) Target Chevrolet 29.176 185.084
Row 4: 7 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 29.177 185.077
8 24 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Brakes Chevrolet 29.179 185.065
Row 5: 9 3 Austin Dillon (P) DOW Chevrolet 29.183 185.039
10 20 Matt Kenseth (P) DEWALT/Flexvolt Toyota 29.344 184.024
Row 6: 11 14 Clint Bowyer Rush Truck Centers Ford 29.356 183.949
12 21 Ryan Blaney (P) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 29.166 185.147
Row 7: 13 19 Daniel Suarez # STANLEY Toyota 29.246 184.641
14 48 Jimmie Johnson (P) Lowe's Chevrolet 29.282 184.414
Row 8: 15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P) Fastenal Ford 29.296 184.326
16 31 Ryan Newman (P) Cat D10 Chevrolet 29.303 184.281
Row 9: 17 41 Kurt Busch (P) Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford 29.368 183.874
18 37 Chris Buescher Scott Products Chevrolet 29.471 183.231
Row 10: 19 1 Jamie McMurray (P) McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet 29.513 182.970
20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AXALTA Chevrolet 29.522 182.914
Row 11: 21 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 29.552 182.729
22 10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Ford 29.565 182.648
Row 12: 23 13 Ty Dillon # GEICO Chevrolet 29.716 181.720
24 77 Erik Jones # 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota 29.232 184.729
Row 13: 25 5 Kasey Kahne (P) Great Clips Chevrolet 29.686 181.904
26 6 Trevor Bayne Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford 29.724 181.671
Row 14: 27 34 Landon Cassill CSX Play It Safe Ford 29.726 181.659
28 27 Paul Menard Moen/Menards Chevrolet 29.766 181.415
Row 15: 29 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 29.774 181.366
30 95 Michael McDowell Devour Frozen Meals Chevrolet 29.779 181.336
Row 16: 31 38 David Ragan Camping World/Good Sam Ford 29.879 180.729
32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Incredible Bank/Ninja Turtles Samurai Ford 30.059 179.647
Row 17: 33 23 Corey LaJoie # Jewel Osco Toyota 30.128 179.235
34 15 Reed Sorenson Low T Centers Chevrolet 30.555 176.730
Row 18: 35 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 30.586 176.551
36 55 Gray Gaulding # US First Responders Association Toyota 30.608 176.424
Row 19: 37 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt hulu Chevrolet 30.818 175.222
38 66 Timmy Hill(i) U.S. Chrome Chevrolet 30.988 174.261
Row 20: 39 51 Ray Black II(i) Chevrolet 31.724 170.218
40 83 Brett Moffitt(i) JAS Expedited Trucking Toyota 0.000 0.000
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 18 0 Toyota 9 0
Ford 13 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series