Carl Edwards will start the Brickyard 400 from the pole position after winning qualifying. [Father Dale Grubba photo]
Speedway, IN., July 25—With new aerodynamic rules in place for the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard (Brickyard 400) producing many unknowns leading up to pole qualifications, Carl Edwards bested a field of 46 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers to claim the pole position for Sunday’s race.
The new rules which increase drag on the cars in an effort to improve closing rates and passing during the race, slowed the qualifying speeds as Edwards’ pole winning effort of 183.464 mph (49.056 seconds) fell about 5 mph short of last year’s pole speed of 188.470 mph set by Kevin Harvick. The rules also produced a minor drafting effect in earlier practice sessions and NASCAR altered the qualifying format somewhat, conducting two rounds of single car runs as opposed to multiple cars on the track at the same time.
“After yesterday this is amazing as we started so slow and just struggled,” Edwards said afterwards, “At one point I looked at (crew chief) Darien (Grubb) and just wondered ‘what are we going to do here?’ But the team buckled down and we really worked hard.”
Joey Logano will share the front row with Edwards as his second round lap at 183.139 mph (49.143 seconds) netted him the second starting position while David Ragan’s 182.886 mph trip around the famed oval (49.211 seconds) was good enough for the third starting spot.
Two time Brickyard 400 winner Tony Stewart wowed the hometown Indy crowd by turning in the fastest lap in the qualifying session with a 185.548 mph trip around the speedway in the first round and then followed that up with the fourth fastest lap in the second round at 182.823 mph (49.228 seconds).
Kyle Larson turned in a lap at 182.634 mph (49.279 seconds) and will line up fifth on the starting grid Sunday while Kevin Harvick will start sixth after timing in at 182.448 mph (49.329 seconds). Clint Bowyer was seventh quick at 182.382 mph (49.347 seconds) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was eighth at 182.308 mph (49.367 seconds). Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray completed the top ten starters at 182.278 mph (49.375 seconds) and 182.238 mph (49.386 seconds) respectively.
Paul Menard qualified in the 11th spot with a lap at 182.028 mph (49.443 seconds) and four time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 12th after possible electrical problems slowed his second round speed to 181.987 mph (49.454 seconds).
Pocono race winner Martin Truex Jr. was the first driver to miss the cut into the second round as his speed of 183.240 mph (49.116 seconds) left him with the 13th starting position while Kurt Busch, who topped the final practice session yesterday, will start 14th after turning in a lap at 183.072 mph (49.161 seconds). Danica Patrick turned in a respectable qualifying run at 183.001 mph (49.180 seconds) which was good enough for the 15th starting spot and Denny Hamlin timed in 16th at 182.637 mph (49.278 seconds) despite being the fastest overall in practice on Friday.
Other notable drivers who failed to advance to the second round included 2014 Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon in 19th at 182.389 mph (49.345 seconds), Matt Kenseth in 23rd at 182.079 mph (49.429 seconds), and Kasey Kahne in 27th at 181.386 mph (49.618 seconds).
Brad Keselowski scraped the wall in turn two which hampered his qualifying effort and knocked him back to the 31st starting position at 180.854 mph (49.764 seconds). Ryan Newman had the right side window blow out on his qualifying run which disallowed his 36th fastest time and he will be forced to start 43rd. Josh Wise, Jeb Burton, and Reed Sorenson were the three drivers who failed to qualify for the Brickyard 400.