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Kasey Kahne was the first driver on track to start the session and the twenty five minute first round. Kahne ran a great lap and he, practically, locked himself into the second round. Kevin Harvick went out seconds after and he jumped to the top of the board with ease. As Harvick took the top spot, a trend began to become noticeable. Speeds had dropped significantly since All-Star race qualifying and previous Charlotte qualifying sessions. This left a lot of guys within tenths and hundredths of each other, which would mean close battles to move on in the rounds and for positions. Harvick remained on top as the minutes clicked away in the session. After a quick twenty minutes, Harvick was still on top, but the battle for the twenty fourth and final transfer spot was heating up with five minutes left. Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., and others were all battling hard for the final spot. With about two minutes remaining, Kyle Larson was holding onto the spot, but a few drivers were heading on track. Brian Vickers went out with about a minute remaining and Kyle Larson followed him. Vickers began to cruise around the track and he ran a lap that put him in the top twenty four and pushed Larson out along with putting Brad Keselowski on the bubble. Larson was on a hot lap too, but Ryan Newman began to slow slightly in front of him and Larson lost a little bit of time, which kept him out of the top twenty four. Brad Keselowski took the final transfer spot after the battle ceased. Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and others moved on while Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and others missed the second round. After a frantic twenty five minutes, a ten minute second round would follow.
Denny Hamlin made his way on track first for the start of the second round. He ran a good lap and would have to hope to make the third round of qualifying. Early on, Kevin Harvick once again jumped to the top of the board. He wouldn't stay there long as Kyle Busch made his way to the top of the board three minutes in. Danica Patrick went out a couple of minutes after Busch and managed to jump to the top of the board as well. Like the first round, the battle for the final transfer spot would go down to the end. With about two minutes left, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Brian Vickers, and others began to battle hard for the final spot. Almirola held it in the final minute as Denny Hamlin headed on track to see if he could make his way into the top twelve. Hamlin blistered around the track and he was able to make his way into the top twelve with seconds remaining. Almirola wouldn't be able to head on track and he missed the third round. Danica Patrick remained the fastest as Hamlin took the final spot. Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also moved on while Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne, and others missed the third round. Five minutes would end up deciding the pole winner for the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
Kasey Kahne was the first driver to head on track for the start of the five minute third round. He ran a great lap and jumped to the provisional pole spot at the beginning of the session. Kahne remained the only driver to have recorded a lap for at least a minute. The other drivers were waiting for the perfect time to head out and with about three minutes left, the action began to pick up. Brad Keselowski took the provisional pole and just seconds later, Jimmie Johnson was on top of the board with the fastest lap of the session. Other drivers began to head on track, but they were not able to surpass Johnson at a track some people call his home. With about a minute left, Johnson still wasn't a lock for the pole as Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth still were on pit road without a lap recorded. Both headed on track with thirty seconds remaining, but they were pushing it to run a lap. They ran as fast as possible through the final two turns of the speedway, but the red and black flag waved before either one had crossed the line to begin a lap. This meant they didn't have a time and they would have to start eleventh and twelfth. Their failure to run a lap in the final round also handed the pole to Jimmie Johnson. Johnson took Hendrick Motorsports's first pole of the season and his team will certainly be one to contend with on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson's six time championship winning team has been struggling a little bit to start this season. Johnson doesn't have a pole this season and he, surprisingly, doesn't have a win. Along with that, Johnson has struggled at some tracks and in some races he usually doesn't. One example is last Saturday's All-Star race. Johnson ran okay all evening and came home in a decent sixth place, but Johnson won the past two All-Star events and he dominated both. Saturday he seemed out of it and he was a bit frustrated by the strategy his team worked. Johnson and his team made up for their All-Star struggles by taking the pole in style for the 600 and they will be a definite threat on Sunday. Brad Keselowski and his team continued to be the masters of this new knockout qualifying format by taking another second place start. Kasey Kahne returned to one of his favorite tracks with a third place starting spot. Danica Patrick continued to improve this season with a fourth place starting spot to back up her seventh place finish at Kansas two weeks ago. Clint Bowyer struggled at Kansas two weeks ago, but he made the Sprint All-Star race a week ago and he took the fifth place starting spot for Sunday's 600 mile event. Behind them, there is a mixed bag of veterans, rookies, and surprises in the qualifying field. A six hundred mile race on Sunday opens a lot of opportunities for drivers to move up and move back in the field. The longest race of the year is usually the race where the best driver doesn't walk away the winner. Just ask Kasey Kahne about that. For some, it will be a great race and the momentum will continue on, but others will have to persevere through a tough night of racing. It will be a great race and one worth watching. Will Jimmie Johnson take his pole to a Charlotte win, will Kasey Kahne redeem himself after losing last year's race on the final restart, will Kevin Harvick repeat in the 600, or will another driver head to victory lane? We will have to wait just a few short days before we find out these answers and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Top 5 Qualifiers (With Times):
1st: Jimmie Johnson 27.705 (194.911 mph)
2nd: Brad Keselowski 27.754 (194.567 mph)
3rd: Kasey Kahne 27.890 (193.618 mph)
4th: Danica Patrick 27.931 (193.334 mph)
5th: Clint Bowyer 27.944 (193.244 mph)
Notables Not in Top 5 (With Times):
6th: Denny Hamlin 27.962 (193.119 mph)
7th: Kyle Busch 27.966 (193.092 mph)
8th: Joey Logano 28.056 (192.472 mph)
10th: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 28.232 (191.272 mph)
11th: Kevin Harvick No Time*
12th: Matt Kenseth No Time*
18th: Tony Stewart 28.136 (191.925 mph)#
22nd: Carl Edwards 28.424 (189.980 mph)
27th: Jeff Gordon 28.470 (189.673 mph)
28th: Kurt Busch 28.488 (189.553 mph)
42nd: Ryan Newman 28.894 (186.890 mph)
(*: Harvick and Kenseth didn't make it on track in the third round to run a lap.)
(#: Stewart was faster than drivers in the top twelve, but he missed the final round.)
DNQs (With Times):
44th: J.J. Yeley 28.714 (188.062 mph)
45th: Dave Blaney 28.855 (187.143 mph)
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-qualification.html
http://racing-reference.info/getqualify/2014-12/W
-Image:
http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/images/1412HH44943-lg.jpg
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