SPARTA, Ky. – After several weeks of up-and-down luck in the NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Busch caught a break Wednesday night ahead of the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
Busch earned the pole for the 17th race of the Cup Series season courtesy of the random lottery draw held to set the starting lineup. It’s the second time he’ll lead the field to green this season and the first since Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in late February.
Ironically, Busch’s pole start at Las Vegas also carried an element of luck to it, as he earned that grid position based on owner points from the previous year when qualifying was rained out.
Joey Logano will join Busch on the front row Sunday, putting the most recent two Cup champions at the front of the field. Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola will share row two.
Alex Bowman fills out the top five, followed by Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.
Making his return to the NASCAR Cup Series after missing the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to a positive COVID-19 test, Jimmie Johnson will roll off 20th Sunday in search of his first win at Kentucky’s 1.5-mile oval.
Sunday’s Quaker State 400 airs at 2:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
The full lineup can be viewed below.
Starting lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400:
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
- Kevin Harvick
- Aric Almirola
- Alex Bowman
- Brad Keselowski
- Kurt Busch
- Chase Elliott
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Chris Buescher
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Clint Bowyer
- Erik Jones
- Matt Kenseth
- Bubba Wallace
- Austin Dillon
- Jimmie Johnson
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Ryan Newman
- Tyler Reddick
- Garrett Smithley
- Josh Bilicki
- Corey LaJoie
- Quin Houff
- Cole Custer
- Michael McDowell
- Brennan Poole
- Ryan Preece
- Ty Dillon
- Christopher Bell
- Joey Gase
- J.J. Yeley
- Daniel Suarez
- Timmy Hill