Blaney Wins Phoenix Pole in Elimination Race

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AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, won the pole for Sunday’s Can-AM 500 at Phoenix International Speedway.  In this race to determine the final four who will fight for the championship at Homestead Miami Speedway next Sunday, Blaney surprised and performed as he put the blue and white Ford at the top of the speed charts.

Blaney turned a lap of 137.942 mph to earn the top spot for Sunday’s second to last race of the season. It was the second of Blaney’s career after his pole-winning run earlier this season at Kansas Speedway.

 “It was a good run for us; we got better each round,” Blaney said. “I really didn’t it would be enough. I didn’t think I got the best lap. I tried to get more on my second lap and messed up. It’s really cool. We started second here in the spring race and it’s nice to be on the pole here. Getting a pole on a short track, I never thought I’d be doing that. It’s a good start to the weekend and hopefully we can just keep it going.

 “Anytime you can have a good Friday it starts your weekend off well. It’s a just a matter of keep building on it and getting our race car better and better and where it should be.”

 Blaney is 22 points below the playoff cutline for the final Championship 4 spot next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 Fellow playoff driver Denny Hamlin will start outside the front row after his lap of 137.936 mph.

 “It was just short of being great,” Hamlin said of his lap.

 Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

 Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez completed the first 10 qualifiers.

 It was a tough qualifying session for Brad Keselowski, who comes into the race 19 points ahead of Hamlin in the playoff standings and holding the final Championship 4 berth. Keselowski failed to make it out of round two in qualifying and will start Sunday’s race from the 16th position.

 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams will have a pair of practice sessions on Saturday.

Time Trial Results - Phoenix Raceway - 30th Annual Can-Am 500

Track Qualifying Record: Jimmie Johnson, 1/15/15, 25.147, 143.158

Qualifying Round: 1
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Refresh Your Car! Chevrolet, 26.182, 137.499, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 26.234, 137.226, 2, 2, 0.052, 0.052
3) Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 26.245, 137.169, 2, 2, 0.063, 0.011
4) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 21 SKF/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 26.254, 137.122, 2, 2, 0.072, 0.009
5) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 26.297, 136.898, 2, 2, 0.115, 0.043
6) Chase Elliott (P), No. 24 Hooters Chevrolet, 26.307, 136.846, 1, 1, 0.125, 0.010
7) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Circle K Toyota, 26.309, 136.835, 2, 2, 0.127, 0.002
8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 26.331, 136.721, 2, 2, 0.149, 0.022
9) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 26.369, 136.524, 2, 2, 0.187, 0.038
10) Jimmie Johnson (P), No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 26.378, 136.477, 1, 1, 0.196, 0.009
11) Brad Keselowski (P), No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 26.387, 136.431, 2, 2, 0.205, 0.009
12) Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 26.394, 136.395, 2, 2, 0.212, 0.007
13) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 26.405, 136.338, 2, 2, 0.223, 0.011
14) Clint Bowyer, No. 14 USA Network Damnation Ford, 26.422, 136.250, 2, 2, 0.240, 0.017
15) Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, 26.429, 136.214, 1, 1, 0.247, 0.007
16) Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 26.437, 136.173, 2, 2, 0.255, 0.008
17) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 26.476, 135.972, 2, 2, 0.294, 0.039
18) Paul Menard, No. 27 Duracell/Menards Chevrolet, 26.490, 135.900, 4, 4, 0.308, 0.014
19) Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 STANLEY Toyota, 26.492, 135.890, 4, 4, 0.310, 0.002
20) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Realtree Chevrolet, 26.507, 135.813, 5, 5, 0.325, 0.015
21) Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 26.508, 135.808, 5, 5, 0.326, 0.001
22) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Fry's ClickList Chevrolet, 26.508, 135.808, 2, 2, 0.326, 0.000
23) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 26.509, 135.803, 2, 2, 0.327, 0.001
24) Danica Patrick, No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford, 26.520, 135.747, 3, 3, 0.338, 0.011
25) Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford, 26.542, 135.634, 5, 6, 0.360, 0.022
26) David Ragan, No. 38 1000Bulbs.com Ford, 26.597, 135.354, 2, 2, 0.415, 0.055
27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Robert Yates Tribute Ford, 26.604, 135.318, 3, 3, 0.422, 0.007
28) Michael McDowell, No. 95 Rohto Jolt Eyedrops Chevrolet, 26.609, 135.293, 2, 6, 0.427, 0.005
29) Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 26.664, 135.014, 2, 5, 0.482, 0.055
30) Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Can-Am/Kappa Ford, 26.697, 134.847, 2, 4, 0.515, 0.033
31) Chris Buescher, No. 37 Clorox Chevrolet, 26.727, 134.695, 2, 5, 0.545, 0.030
32) Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford, 26.762, 134.519, 2, 3, 0.580, 0.035
33) Corey LaJoie #, No. 23 Fresh Beards/Earthwater Toyota, 26.956, 133.551, 2, 2, 0.774, 0.194
34) Cole Whitt, No. 72 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet, 26.957, 133.546, 6, 6, 0.775, 0.001
35) Joey Gase(i), *No. 7 Eternal Fan Chevrolet, 26.970, 133.482, 3, 3, 0.788, 0.013
36) David Starr(i), *No. 66 Eureka Toyota, 27.158, 132.558, 2, 3, 0.976, 0.188
37) DJ Kennington, No. 15 Northern Provincial Pipelines LTD Chevrolet, 27.221, 132.251, 3, 4, 1.039, 0.063
38) Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Hulu Chevrolet, 27.352, 131.617, 2, 6, 1.170, 0.131
39) Kyle Weatherman, *No. 51 Prevagen Chevrolet, 28.337, 127.042, 3, 3, 2.155, 0.985
40) Derrike Cope, *No. 00 StarCom Fiber/Ashurst American Honey , 0.000, 0.000, 0, 0, -----, -----

Qualifying Round: 2
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Circle K Toyota, 26.067, 138.106, 2, 2, 0.000, 0.000
2) Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 26.120, 137.825, 2, 2, 0.053, 0.053
3) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Refresh Your Car! Chevrolet, 26.161, 137.609, 2, 2, 0.094, 0.041
4) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 21 SKF/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 26.168, 137.573, 2, 2, 0.101, 0.007
5) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 26.176, 137.531, 1, 1, 0.109, 0.008
6) Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, 26.178, 137.520, 2, 2, 0.111, 0.002
7) Chase Elliott (P), No. 24 Hooters Chevrolet, 26.200, 137.405, 1, 2, 0.133, 0.022
8) Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 26.215, 137.326, 2, 2, 0.148, 0.015
9) Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 26.225, 137.274, 1, 2, 0.158, 0.010
10) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 26.260, 137.091, 2, 2, 0.193, 0.035
11) Jimmie Johnson (P), No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 26.265, 137.065, 1, 2, 0.198, 0.005
12) Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 STANLEY Toyota, 26.286, 136.955, 2, 2, 0.219, 0.021
13) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 26.308, 136.841, 1, 5, 0.241, 0.022
14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 26.408, 136.322, 1, 5, 0.341, 0.100
15) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 26.411, 136.307, 1, 2, 0.344, 0.003
16) Brad Keselowski (P), No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 26.412, 136.302, 5, 5, 0.345, 0.001
17) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 26.416, 136.281, 1, 5, 0.349, 0.004
18) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 26.462, 136.044, 2, 2, 0.395, 0.046
19) Paul Menard, No. 27 Duracell/Menards Chevrolet, 26.497, 135.864, 2, 3, 0.430, 0.035
20) Clint Bowyer, No. 14 USA Network Damnation Ford, 26.535, 135.670, 2, 3, 0.468, 0.038
21) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Realtree Chevrolet, 26.551, 135.588, 1, 2, 0.484, 0.016
22) Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 26.606, 135.308, 2, 2, 0.539, 0.055
23) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Fry's ClickList Chevrolet, 26.622, 135.227, 3, 3, 0.555, 0.016
24) Danica Patrick, No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford, 26.694, 134.862, 2, 3, 0.627, 0.072

Qualifying Round: 3
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 21 SKF/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 26.098, 137.942, 1, 2, 0.000, 0.000
2) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 26.099, 137.936, 1, 2, 0.001, 0.001
3) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Refresh Your Car! Chevrolet, 26.101, 137.926, 2, 2, 0.003, 0.002
4) Chase Elliott (P), No. 24 Hooters Chevrolet, 26.155, 137.641, 1, 2, 0.057, 0.054
5) Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 26.166, 137.583, 1, 2, 0.068, 0.011
6) Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 26.230, 137.247, 1, 2, 0.132, 0.064
7) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Circle K Toyota, 26.241, 137.190, 1, 3, 0.143, 0.011
8) Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, 26.263, 137.075, 1, 3, 0.165, 0.022
9) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 26.333, 136.711, 2, 2, 0.235, 0.070
10) Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 STANLEY Toyota, 26.380, 136.467, 2, 2, 0.282, 0.047
11) Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 26.398, 136.374, 1, 3, 0.300, 0.018
12) Jimmie Johnson (P), No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 26.427, 136.224, 1, 2, 0.329, 0.029

Starting Line Up - 30th Annual Can-Am 500 - Phoenix Raceway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Ryan Blaney (P), No. 21 SKF/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 26.098, 137.942
2) Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 26.099, 137.936
3) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Refresh Your Car! Chevrolet, 26.101, 137.926
4) Chase Elliott (P), No. 24 Hooters Chevrolet, 26.155, 137.641
5) Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 26.166, 137.583
6) Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 26.230, 137.247
7) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Circle K Toyota, 26.241, 137.190
8) Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, 26.263, 137.075
9) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 26.333, 136.711
10) Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 STANLEY Toyota, 26.380, 136.467
11) Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 26.398, 136.374
12) Jimmie Johnson (P), No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 26.427, 136.224
13) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 26.308, 136.841
14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 26.408, 136.322
15) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 26.411, 136.307
16) Brad Keselowski (P), No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 26.412, 136.302
17) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 26.416, 136.281
18) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 26.462, 136.044
19) Paul Menard, No. 27 Duracell/Menards Chevrolet, 26.497, 135.864
20) Clint Bowyer, No. 14 USA Network Damnation Ford, 26.535, 135.670
21) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Realtree Chevrolet, 26.551, 135.588
22) Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 26.606, 135.308
23) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Fry's ClickList Chevrolet, 26.622, 135.227
24) Danica Patrick, No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford, 26.694, 134.862
25) Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford, 26.542, 135.634
26) David Ragan, No. 38 1000Bulbs.com Ford, 26.597, 135.354
27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Robert Yates Tribute Ford, 26.604, 135.318
28) Michael McDowell, No. 95 Rohto Jolt Eyedrops Chevrolet, 26.609, 135.293
29) Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 26.664, 135.014
30) Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Can-Am/Kappa Ford, 26.697, 134.847
31) Chris Buescher, No. 37 Clorox Chevrolet, 26.727, 134.695
32) Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford, 26.762, 134.519
33) Corey LaJoie #, No. 23 Fresh Beards/Earthwater Toyota, 26.956, 133.551
34) Cole Whitt, No. 72 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet, 26.957, 133.546
35) Joey Gase(i), *No. 7 Eternal Fan Chevrolet, 26.970, 133.482
36) David Starr(i), *No. 66 Eureka Toyota, 27.158, 132.558
37) DJ Kennington, No. 15 Northern Provincial Pipelines LTD Chevrolet, 27.221, 132.251
38) Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Hulu Chevrolet, 27.352, 131.617
39) Kyle Weatherman, *No. 51 Prevagen Chevrolet, 28.337, 127.042
40) Derrike Cope, No. 00 StarComFiber/AshurstAmericanHoney Chev, 0.000, 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, () non-charter team