NASCAR: Kevin Harvick takes pole for 2018 Federated Auto Parts 400
By Asher Fair
Kevin Harvick took the pole position for the second race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the Federated Auto Parts 400.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick took the pole position for the penultimate race of the first of four rounds of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the Federated Auto Parts 400, at Richmond Raceway. This race is the second race of the 10-race playoffs.
Harvick took the pole position for the 400-lap race around the 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia by recording a top lap time of 22.153 seconds (121.880 miles per hour) in his #4 Ford.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is the highest qualifying Toyota driver for the race. He qualified in second place in his #11 Toyota. Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez are set to round out the top five on the starting grid after qualifying in third, fourth and fifth in their #78 Toyota, #12 Ford and #19 Toyota, respectively.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson is the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver for the race. He qualified in 10th place in his #42 Chevrolet.
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The other four drivers who qualified in the top nine are Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones. They qualified in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place in their #41 Ford, #10 Ford, #2 Ford and #20 Toyota, respectively.
Rick Ware Racing’s Cole Custer — yes, Rick Ware Racing’s Cole Custer — put together three extremely impressive rounds of qualifying in his #51 Ford to qualify in 11th place. Keep in mind, this is a Cup Series race we are talking about, not an Xfinity Series race.
The better of Custer’s two previous Cup Series qualifying efforts was a 28th place qualifying effort in the race at Pocono Raceway back in early June. He finished that race in 26th. He qualified in 30th for the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in early March before finishing in 25th. He drove the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford in both of these races.
Custer competes full-time in the Xfinity Series for Stewart-Haas Racing and is a championship contender.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway.
| Qualifying Results |
| 1st – Kevin Harvick |
| 2nd – Denny Hamlin |
| 3rd – Martin Truex Jr. |
| 4th – Ryan Blaney |
| 5th – Daniel Suarez |
| 6th – Kurt Busch |
| 7th – Aric Almirola |
| 8th – Brad Keselowski |
| 9th – Erik Jones |
| 10th – Kyle Larson |
| 11th – Cole Custer |
| 12th – Kyle Busch |
| 13th – Joey Logano |
| 14th – Alex Bowman |
| 15th – Jamie McMurray |
| 16th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 17th – Ryan Newman |
| 18th – Matt Kenseth |
| 19th – Chase Elliott |
| 20th – William Byron |
| 21st – Paul Menard |
| 22nd – Jimmie Johnson |
| 23rd – Chris Buescher |
| 24th – Michael McDowell |
| 25th – Clint Bowyer |
| 26th – Darrell Wallace Jr. |
| 27th – David Ragan |
| 28th – Austin Dillon |
| 29th – Matt DiBenedetto |
| 30th – A.J. Allmendinger |
| 31st – Ty Dillon |
| 32nd – Ross Chastain |
| 33rd – Regan Smith |
| 34th – Corey Lajoie |
| 35th – Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 36th – Gray Gaulding |
| 37th – Alon Day |
| 38th – Joey Gase |
| 39th – Landon Cassill |
| 40th – Timmy Hill |
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Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. Just eight races will remain on the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series schedule following this race.