Kevin Harvick will start first in Coca-Cola 600
Kevin Harvick is starting first for the second-straight race at Charlotte.
Harvick posted the fastest lap in the third round of Thursday’s qualifying session to take the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. His lap beat that All-Star Race winner Kyle Busch, who will start second in NASCAR’s longest race.
It’s the 20th pole for Harvick and his third of the season. All three have come on 1.5-mile tracks. And while Harvick undoubtedly happy about the qualifying effort, he’s certainly hoping Sunday’s race doesn’t go like the 2016 fall race did. After Harvick started first in October, an engine issue relegated him to a 38th-place finish.
Once again, inspection was a problem for many teams, though only two cars failed to make a lap Thursday — down from 11 at Kansas two weeks ago. Kyle Larson, who hit the wall in practice earlier in the day, and Corey Lajoie were the only drivers who didn’t make a qualifying attempt.
Here’s what the starting lineup will look like for Sunday’s race.
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Chase Elliott
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Erik Jones
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Jamie McMurray
12. Kurt Busch
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
14. Jimmie Johnson
15. Danica Patrick
16. Paul Menard
17. Ryan Newman
18. Trevor Bayne
19. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
20. Daniel Suarez
21. Michael McDowell
22. Austin Dillon
23. Joey Logano
24. Kasey Kahne
25. Regan Smith
26. AJ Allmendinger
27. Ty Dillon
28. David Ragan
29. Chris Buescher
30. Matt DiBenedetto
31. Landon Cassill
32. Gray Gaulding
33. JJ Yeley
34. Cole Whitt
35. Reed Sorenson
36. Timmy Hill
37. Derrike Cope
38. Jeffrey Earnhardt
39. Kyle Larson
40. Corey LaJoie
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
