Ryan Blaney Powers to Texas Pole

Robert Laberge/ Getty Images

FORT WORTH, TX - RIS - Ryan Blaney might be out of the final four playoff picture, but he's still fast.  Friday's qualifying for the AAA 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway saw Blaney win the pole position with a blitering speed of 200.505 mph in his Team Penske Ford, one of only two drivers to run at 200 mph.  The other was Clint Bowyer, who fell just short of his fellow Ford driver's fast speed.

Blaney, who paced the first round but fell to eighth in the second, beat playoff driver Clint Bowyer (200.230 mph) by .037 seconds when it counted. Kevin Harvick (199.941 mph) qualified third, as Ford drivers swept the top five spots on the grid and seven of the top eight.

“We just seemed to get tighter round to round,” Blaney said. “We just kept freeing it up, and I messed up Round 2 pretty bad. I got really greedy in (Turn) 1 and drove in there too deep. So we freed it up even more, and I backed my entry up, and that help it out…

“It felt really fast. That’s what you get with this nighttime qualifying. High speeds. Speeds pick up, and it has been cool here today. We’ve had a really good Ford all day, and it is nice to back it up in qualifying. It doesn't mean a lot if you are fastest in practice and blow it in qualifying… I’m excited to see how it is in race trim in Saturday’s practice.”

Kevin Harvick will start third, and the top 5 is rounded out by Aric Almirola and Bead Keseloski.

“I would have liked to went 201, to be honest with you,” Blaney said. “We go to a lot of tracks where it’s close. It doesn’t really feel like it. That’s booking it.”

The pole was the fifth for Blaney in his career and his third this year. It’s his first at Texas Motor Speedway.

Texas Motor Speedway
14th Annual AAA Texas 500
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Qualifying Record: Kurt Busch 11/05/17 26.877 200.915
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed Lap # # Laps -Fastest -Next
Qualifying Round: 3
1 12 Ryan Blaney Accella/Carlisle Ford 26.932 200.505 1 1 0.000 0.000
2 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford 26.969 200.230 1 1 0.037 0.037
3 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Mobil 1 Ford 27.008 199.941 1 1 0.076 0.039
4 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Spirals Ford 27.030 199.778 1 1 0.098 0.022
5 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 27.064 199.527 1 1 0.132 0.034
6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 27.101 199.255 1 1 0.169 0.037
7 41 Kurt Busch (P) State Water Heaters Ford 27.105 199.225 1 1 0.173 0.004
8 22 Joey Logano (P) AAA Insurance Ford 27.124 199.086 2 2 0.192 0.019
9 24 William Byron # Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 27.126 199.071 1 1 0.194 0.002
10 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M's Toyota 27.176 198.705 1 1 0.244 0.050
11 21 Paul Menard Menards/Cardell Ford 27.279 197.954 1 1 0.347 0.103
12 20 Erik Jones Sport Clips Toyota 27.293 197.853 1 1 0.361 0.014
Qualifying Round: 2
1 22 Joey Logano (P) AAA Insurance Ford 26.964 200.267 1 1 0.000 0.000
2 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Mobil 1 Ford 27.068 199.498 1 1 0.104 0.104
3 41 Kurt Busch (P) State Water Heaters Ford 27.070 199.483 1 1 0.106 0.002
4 20 Erik Jones Sport Clips Toyota 27.130 199.042 1 1 0.166 0.060
5 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M's Toyota 27.142 198.954 1 1 0.178 0.012
6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 27.162 198.807 1 1 0.198 0.020
7 24 William Byron # Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 27.181 198.668 1 1 0.217 0.019
8 12 Ryan Blaney Accella/Carlisle Ford 27.182 198.661 1 1 0.218 0.001
9 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford 27.188 198.617 1 1 0.224 0.006
10 21 Paul Menard Menards/Cardell Ford 27.262 198.078 1 1 0.298 0.074
11 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 27.273 197.998 1 2 0.309 0.011
12 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Spirals Ford 27.277 197.969 3 3 0.313 0.004
13 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota 27.278 197.962 1 3 0.314 0.001
14 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Next Gen Excavator Chevrolet 27.283 197.925 2 2 0.319 0.005
15 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford 27.312 197.715 1 3 0.348 0.029
16 9 Chase Elliott (P) Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 27.316 197.686 3 3 0.352 0.004
17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 27.329 197.592 1 3 0.365 0.013
18 88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet 27.336 197.542 3 3 0.372 0.007
19 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 27.356 197.397 1 3 0.392 0.020
20 1 Jamie McMurray Sherwin-Williams Chevrolet 27.358 197.383 1 3 0.394 0.002
21 37 Chris Buescher Clorox Chevrolet 27.399 197.087 1 1 0.435 0.041
22 42 Kyle Larson DC Solar Chevrolet 27.437 196.815 2 2 0.473 0.038
23 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet 27.449 196.728 1 1 0.485 0.012
24 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Military Chevrolet 27.479 196.514 1 1 0.515 0.030
*Required to qualify on time, OP - Top 30 in Owner Points, PC - Past Champion,(i)Ineligible for driver points in this series
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed Lap # # Laps -Fastest -Next
Qualifying Round: 1
1 12 Ryan Blaney Accella/Carlisle Ford 27.043 199.682 1 1 0.000 0.000
2 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Mobil 1 Ford 27.115 199.152 1 1 0.072 0.072
3 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M's Toyota 27.187 198.624 1 1 0.144 0.072
4 41 Kurt Busch (P) State Water Heaters Ford 27.201 198.522 1 1 0.158 0.014
5 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford 27.220 198.384 1 1 0.177 0.019
6 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Spirals Ford 27.251 198.158 1 1 0.208 0.031
7 24 William Byron # Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 27.273 197.998 1 1 0.230 0.022
8 20 Erik Jones Sport Clips Toyota 27.276 197.976 1 1 0.233 0.003
9 22 Joey Logano (P) AAA Insurance Ford 27.302 197.788 1 1 0.259 0.026
10 1 Jamie McMurray Sherwin-Williams Chevrolet 27.313 197.708 2 2 0.270 0.011
11 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 27.361 197.361 1 1 0.318 0.048
12 37 Chris Buescher Clorox Chevrolet 27.364 197.340 3 3 0.321 0.003
13 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota 27.396 197.109 1 1 0.353 0.032
14 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet 27.418 196.951 2 2 0.375 0.022
15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 27.425 196.901 1 1 0.382 0.007
16 21 Paul Menard Menards/Cardell Ford 27.428 196.879 1 1 0.385 0.003
17 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 27.441 196.786 1 1 0.398 0.013
18 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Next Gen Excavator Chevrolet 27.451 196.714 1 1 0.408 0.010
19 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 27.488 196.449 1 1 0.445 0.037
20 88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet 27.505 196.328 1 1 0.462 0.017
21 9 Chase Elliott (P) Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 27.506 196.321 1 1 0.463 0.001
22 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Military Chevrolet 27.519 196.228 3 3 0.476 0.013
23 42 Kyle Larson DC Solar Chevrolet 27.538 196.093 1 2 0.495 0.019
24 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford 27.544 196.050 1 2 0.501 0.006
25 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 27.550 196.007 4 4 0.507 0.006
26 3 Austin Dillon Dow NORKOOL Chevrolet 27.646 195.327 1 3 0.603 0.096
27 38 David Ragan Earthwater Ford 27.661 195.221 1 3 0.618 0.015
28 95 Regan Smith Procore Chevrolet 27.728 194.749 1 3 0.685 0.067
29 34 Michael McDowell Love's/Luber Finer Ford 27.767 194.475 1 1 0.724 0.039
30 43 Bubba Wallace # NASCAR Racing Experience Chevrolet 27.778 194.398 3 3 0.735 0.011
31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Can-Am/Wholey Ford 28.066 192.404 2 2 1.023 0.288
32 00 Landon Cassill(i) Brookshire's Chevrolet 28.148 191.843 1 1 1.105 0.082
33 15 Ross Chastain Low T Center Chevrolet 28.228 191.299 1 1 1.185 0.080
34 96 * Parker Kligerman(i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 28.256 191.110 3 3 1.213 0.028
35 23 JJ Yeley(i) maximum elevation off-road Toyota 28.381 190.268 2 2 1.338 0.125
36 99 * Kyle Weatherman StarCom Fiber Chevrolet 28.538 189.221 1 1 1.495 0.157
37 72 Corey LaJoie Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet 28.598 188.824 1 2 1.555 0.060
38 7 * Reed Sorenson(i) Sustainable Quarry Crypto Mining Chevrolet 28.785 187.598 1 1 1.742 0.187
39 51 Joey Gase(i) Jacob Companies/Donate Life Texas Ford 29.496 183.076 3 4 2.453 0.711
40 97 * David Starr(i) Toyota 29.784 181.305 3 3 2.741 0.288
41 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Rewards.com Toyota 0.000 0.000 0 0 ----- -----
*Required to qualify on time, OP - Top 30 in Owner Points, PC - Past Champion,(i)Ineligible for driver points in this series