Kyle Larson pipped Chris Buescher once again at Kansas Speedway, topping NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday for the first starting spot in Sunday’s 400-mile race.
Larson — the last driver to qualify — pushed the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the Busch Light Pole Award with a best lap of 183.730 mph on the 1.5-mile track. His first pole of the season was his first at Kansas and the 22nd of his Cup Series career.
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Buescher will share the front row for the start of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after posting the second-fastest lap — 183.374 mph in the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford.
Buescher was 0.001 seconds behind Larson in the finish to this race last year — the closest margin of victory in series history. In Saturday’s qualifying session, that margin was a relatively distant 0.057-second gap.
Christopher Bell was third in time trials with Tyler Reddick fourth and defending series champion Joey Logano completing the top five.
Teams largely steered clear of the tire trouble that marked the preceding practice session, but two drivers encountered the outside retaining wall during their qualifying laps. Kyle Busch scraped it hardest, carrying the high line too high through Turns 3 and 4 in his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Josh Berry’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford also made slight contact in the same area during his attempt.
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Busch wound up 35th in qualifying and Berry was among the 38 entrants.
This story will be updated.
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