Go Bowling 400 Qualifying
Date: May 6, 2016
Event: Qualifying for the Go Bowling 400 (Round 11 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (28.284 seconds at 190.921 mph)
SHR Lineup:
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City by setting the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying for Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Busch turned a lap of 28.401 seconds at 190.134 mph on the 1.5-mile oval in the final qualifying round.
Qualifying consisted of three rounds. The first was 20 minutes, with every driver on the track vying to set the fastest lap. The 24 fastest drivers from the first round advanced to the second, 10-minute round and the fastest 12 drivers from that session advanced to the final, five-minute round where they battled for the pole. Positions 1-12 were set by speeds in the final round. Positions 13-24 were set by speeds in the second round. The remaining 40-car field was set by speeds posted by those who did not advance past the first round.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 16th with a time of 28.634 seconds at 188.587 mph.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 23rd with a time of 28.906 seconds at 186.812 mph.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 26th with a time of 28.853 seconds at 187.156 mph.
Martin Truex Jr. led the final round of knockout qualifying by taking the pole with a lap of 28.284 seconds at 190.921 mph. It was his eighth career Sprint Cup pole, his first at Kansas and his first of the season.
Matt Kenseth will start on the outside of row one after clocking in at 28.337 seconds at 190.564 mph.
The 10 other drivers who made it to the final round of qualifying were Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard and Carl Edwards. All are listed in the order they’ll start the race.
The Go Bowling 400 gets underway at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday with live coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.
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