Homestead NASCAR: Matt Kenseth takes pole for decider
NASCAR Sprint Cup title contender Matt Kenseth will start from pole position for the 2013 championship decider at Homestead
Kenseth needs a minor miracle in Sunday's race as he trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 28 points following a poor performance at Phoenix a week ago.
But he did everything he could on qualifying day by putting the Joe Gibbs Toyota on pole with a lap 0.038 seconds quicker than early provisional polesitter Kurt Busch in the Furniture Row Chevrolet.
Johnson qualified seventh, just behind long-shot title prospect Kevin Harvick.
Penske duo Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski fill row two, with Kenseth's team-mate Denny Hamlin completing the top five.
Future Stewart-Haas team-mates Busch and Harvick are among several drivers making their final starts with their current employers at Homestead.
Martin Truex Jr, who will replace Busch at Furniture Row next year, was the fastest Waltrip driver in eighth.
IndyCar-bound Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 27th for what is likely to be his final NASCAR start.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Toyota 30.394s 2. Kurt Busch Furniture Row Chevrolet 30.432s +0.038s 3. Joey Logano Penske Ford 30.460s +0.066s 4. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford 30.498s +0.104s 5. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota 30.535s +0.141s 6. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 30.568s +0.174s 7. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 30.578s +0.184s 8. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 30.606s +0.212s 9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford 30.606s +0.212s 10. Elliott Sadler Waltrip Toyota 30.610s +0.216s 11. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 30.620s +0.226s 12. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 30.620s +0.226s 13. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet 30.629s +0.235s 14. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 30.726s +0.332s 15. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 30.729s +0.335s 16. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 30.736s +0.342s 17. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 30.768s +0.374s 18. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 30.781s +0.387s 19. Aric Almirola Petty Ford 30.791s +0.397s 20. Kyle Larson Phoenix Chevrolet 30.795s +0.401s 21. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 30.796s +0.402s 22. Mark Martin Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 30.809s +0.415s 23. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 30.838s +0.444s 24. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 30.841s +0.447s 25. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 30.896s +0.502s 26. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 30.926s +0.532s 27. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 30.939s +0.545s 28. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 30.976s +0.582s 29. David Ragan Front Row Ford 30.978s +0.584s 30. Parker Kligerman Swan Toyota 31.183s +0.789s 31. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 31.196s +0.802s 32. David Reutimann BK Toyota 31.293s +0.899s 33. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota 31.343s +0.949s 34. Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 31.348s +0.954s 35. Josh Wise Front Row Ford 31.387s +0.993s 36. AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Toyota 31.444s +1.050s 37. JJ Yeley Baldwin Chevrolet 31.447s +1.053s 38. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 31.599s +1.205s 39. Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 31.675s +1.281s 40. Casey Mears Germain Ford 31.736s +1.342s 41. Ken Schrader FAS Lane Ford 31.742s +1.348s 42. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 31.799s +1.405s 43. Tony Raines Hillman Chevrolet 32.300s +1.906s
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