Carl Edwards will start on the front row with Keselowski, but Edwards will get first choice of pits stalls.
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Brad Keselowski posted the fastest lap in the final session of qualification for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway with a 195.503 miles per hour circuit.
Keselowski’s forfeiture is due to a penalty his team incurred by accumulating too many written warnings for minor rules infractions found during technical inspection. Stewart, who qualified 17, will pick 43 and last.
“I’m still kind of shaking”, Keselowski said in the pits after claiming the pole, his second of the season.
“I was tight in the middle of (turns) 3 and 4 all day, but we were trying to work on it… and I just barely missed (the final qualifying round)”, said Earnhardt, who is 11th in the standings among the 12 championship-eligible drivers.
It was Keselowski’s 10th career pole and second of the season.
Chase drivers Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin completed the top five. “We need a really good finish, is what we need”. “As a team we’ll have to deal with it the best we can”. He was followed by Chase drivers Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, whose disastrous performance last week at Charlotte dropped him to last among the 12 drivers in this round of the playoffs. (15th) did not make it to the third round of the knockout-style qualifying format. Earnhardt, however, after finishing 28th at Charlotte likely needs to win Sunday or October. 25 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Timmy Hill was the only driver who failed to qualify.
