Ryan Blaney took the pole position for the second race of the round of 8 of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the AAA Texas 500, at Texas Motor Speedway.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was eliminated from championship contention following the conclusion of the second round of the four-round, 10-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the round of 12.
However, Blaney took the pole position for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, which is the second race of the third round, the round of 8.
Blaney took the pole position for the 334-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas by recording a top lap speed of 200.505 miles per hour (26.932 seconds) in his #12 Ford in the third and final qualifying session.
More from NASCAR Cup Series
- NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
- NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
- NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
- NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
- NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500
Ford drivers swept the top five positions on the starting grid for the race. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, of whom all are round of 8 drivers, qualified in second, third and fourth place in their #14 Ford, #4 Ford and #10 Ford, respectively. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, who, like Blaney, was eliminated after the round of 12, qualified in fifth in his #2 Ford.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who was eliminated after the round of 16, is the highest qualifying Toyota driver of the race. He qualified in sixth place in his #11 Toyota.
Round of 8 drivers Kurt Busch of Stewart-Haas Racing and Joey Logano of Team Penske, who has already clinched a berth in the Championship 4 with his win in this past Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, qualified in seventh and eighth place in their #41 Ford and #22 Ford, respectively.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver of the race. He qualified in ninth place in his #24 Chevrolet. Round of 8 driver Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing qualified in 10th in his #18 Toyota.
The two round of 8 drivers who failed to qualify for the race in the top 10 are Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott. They qualified in 13th and 16th place in their #78 Toyota and #9 Chevrolet, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Qualifying Results
1st – Ryan Blaney
2nd – Clint Bowyer
3rd – Kevin Harvick
4th – Aric Almirola
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Denny Hamlin
7th – Kurt Busch
8th – Joey Logano
9th – William Byron
10th – Kyle Busch
11th – Paul Menard
12th – Erik Jones
13th – Martin Truex Jr.
14th – Ryan Newman
15th – Trevor Bayne
16th – Chase Elliott
17th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18th – Alex Bowman
19th – Daniel Suarez
20th – Jamie McMurray
21st – Chris Buescher
22nd – Kyle Larson
23rd – Jimmie Johnson
24th – Ty Dillon
25th – A.J. Allmendinger
26th – Austin Dillon
27th – David Ragan
28th – Regan Smith
29th – Michael McDowell
30th – Darrell Wallace Jr.
31st – Matt DiBenedetto
32nd – Landon Cassill
33rd – Ross Chastain
34th – Parker Kligerman
35th – J.J. Yeley
36th – Kyle Weatherman
37th – Corey Lajoie
38th – Reed Sorenson
39th – Joey Gase
40th – David Starr
41st – Timmy Hill
The NASCAR Cup Series playoff action from Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled to get underway at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 4. The AAA Texas 500 is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, so be sure to tune in.