Las Vegas Qualifying: Kurt Busch wins the pole

Kurt Busch is starting first for the second-straight race. And this time he got it by being the fastest car.

Busch had the fastest time in the first round of qualifying – a track record speed – and backed it up with the fastest speed in the third round of qualifying. His lap of 196.328 MPH beat out Joey Logano for the top spot.

Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon round out the top five.

“Man, I wasn’t going to lift for anything,” Busch said about his lap. “I was giving it all I had. I’m really proud of the team to help me get to that third round. I was over driving the car and I needed to settle in and [crew chief] Tony Gibson made a great adjustment in that last round.”

Busch qualified second at Atlanta but got the pole after the car of brother Kyle Busch failed inspection. The failed inspection dropped Kyle Busch to last on the grid and moved Kurt up to the top spot.

Here’s how the 39 cars will line up on Sunday. The entry list is once again one car short of a full field. Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray will start at the back of the field after hitting the wall. Each is going to a backup car.

1. Kurt Busch
2. Joey Logano
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Austin Dillon
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Aric Almirola
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Jimmie Johnson
12. AJ Allmendinger
13. Chase Elliott
14. Ryan Blaney
15. Paul Menard
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Kyle Larson
18. Danica Patrick
19. Brian Vickers
20. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
21. Ryan Newman
22. Casey Mears
23. Kyle Busch
24. Carl Edwards
25. Chris Buescher
26. Greg Biffle
27. Landon Cassill
28. Trevor Bayne
29. Jamie McMurray
30. Michael McDowell
31. David Ragan
32. Brian Scott
33. Regan Smith
34. Matt DiBenedetto
35. Clint Bowyer
36. Cole Whitt
37. Michael Annett
38. Jeffrey Earnhardt
39. Josh Wise