NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 Quaker State 400 qualifying results – Martin Truex Jr. takes pole
By Asher Fair
Martin Truex Jr. earned his fifth pole position of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season for the season’s 19th race, the Quaker State 400.
The top two finishers from last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway are set to start on the front row in tomorrow night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway in reverse order.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. took the pole position for the Quaker State 400, which is the 19th race of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, in his #78 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones qualified in second place in his #20 Toyota.
Truex Jr. took the pole position for the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky by recording a top lap time of 28.588 seconds (188.890 miles per hour) in the third and final round of qualifying.
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The pole position is Truex Jr.’s fifth of the season so far, but it is his first in the last 10 races. He also started from the pole position in the races at ISM Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Those four races were four of the first nine races of the season. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick was the highest qualifying Ford driver for the race. He is set to start in third place in his #4 Ford.
Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman was the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver for the race. He is set to start in 12th in his #31 Chevrolet, and he is the only Chevrolet driver who qualified in the top 12.
Of the 39 drivers entered in the race, 35 made qualifying attempts. Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, Jesse Little and Timmy Hill were all unable to qualify and are set to start the race in 36th, 37th, 38th and 39th place, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 2 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 6 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 9 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 11 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 12 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 15 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 16 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 19 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 20 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 21 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 24 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 25 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 26 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 27 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 28 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 29 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 30 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 31 | Corey Lajoie | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 32 | J.J. Yeley | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 33 | Landon Cassill | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 34 | B.J. McLeod | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet |
| 35 | Garrett Smithley | #99, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 37 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford |
| 38 | Jesse Little | #7, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 39 | Timmy Hill | #66, MBM Motorsports, Toyota |
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET to watch the live broadcast of the 2018 Quaker State 400 from Kentucky Speedway.