Kyle Busch Continues His Recent Dominance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Charlotte With a Pole

          With a time of 29.493 seconds (183.094 mph), Kyle Busch took his second straight NASCAR Nationwide Series pole at Charlotte and his second NASCAR Nationwide Series pole of 2014. Busch has been completely dominate at Charlotte recently, but his weekend did not start off good in the Nationwide Series. On Thursday, he spun in practice and slammed the inside wall with enough force to damage the car. He went to the garage and his team decided to take the car back to their shop in Huntersville, North Carolina to fix it. They were able to fix it and his team brought it back on Saturday for qualifying. The car was still running great for Busch and he was the fastest driver in all three rounds of qualifying en route to the pole position for this afternoon's event. Brad Keselowski was the second fastest driver throughout qualifying and he remained there to grab a front row starting spot for today's event. Kyle Larson battled throughout the qualifying session and took a third place starting spot. Dylan Kwasniewski was extremely fast all session and he was able to take the fourth place starting spot behind his teammate. Kevin Harvick led the trio of JR Motorsports drivers with a fifth place starting spot. His teammates, Regan Smith and Chase Elliott, will roll off eighth and ninth, respectively. The rest of the Nationwide field is filled with some brand new drivers to the series, championship contenders, and Sprint Cup guys looking to take a Nationwide win. The qualifying session was without a lot of craziness and incidents, but this morning’s qualifying session will definitely decide who wins today's three hundred mile race for the Nationwide Series.

        John Wes Townley was the first driver on track to start the twenty five minute first round. He ran a decent lap and he would have to battle to make the second round of qualifying. Early on, Matt Kenseth was able to jump to the top of the board to start the first round. Three minutes into the round, Kyle Busch jumped to the top of the board with ease. Busch was extremely fast in his fixed up car, but he would have two more rounds to contend for the pole with. The minutes began to click by in the session and the few drivers on the track were drivers looking to move on to the second round. With about five minutes left in the round, the battle for the twenty fourth and final transfer spot began to heat up. Ryan Reed, David Starr, John Wes Townley, Josh Wise, and others were all in the battle for the spot. A few drivers on the outside looking in headed on track in the final minute, but Ryan Reed remained in the final transfer spot and he was able to move on. Kyle Busch remained the fastest out front and moved on. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, and others also moved on while John Wes Townley, Dakoda Armstrong, and others missed the second round. After a rather calm first round, the next two rounds would definitely heat up.

         Ty Dillon was the first driver on track to start the ten minute second round. He ran a pretty good lap and only time would tell if he would make it to the final round. Early on, Brad Keselowski jumped to the top of the board. Three minutes in to the round, Kyle Busch once again jumped to the top of the board with ease. Busch looked to remain out front as the round began to wind down. Drivers were still running laps, but it looked like Busch was safe at the top. With about two minutes left, the battle for the twelfth and final transfer spot was heating up. Trevor Bayne, Landon Cassill, James Buescher, Chris Buescher, and others were in contention for the final spot. A few of them went out in the final minute, but they all fell short. Elliott Sadler was the only driver left with a chance to unseat Chris Buescher for the final transfer spot in the final seconds and he was flying. Sadler nipped the line and jumped into the top twelve as the red and black flag waved. Chris Buescher fell out of the top twelve and Dylan Kwasniewski fell into the final transfer spot. Kyle Busch was once again the fastest on track and he moved on to the final round. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Brian Scott, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, Regan Smith, and Jeb Burton also moved on while Chris Buescher, Trevor Bayne, and others missed the final round. Now, a five minute final round would decide the pole winner at Charlotte.

        Ty Dillon was the first driver on track for the start of the five minute final round. He ran a decent lap to start the round, but it looked like the pole battle would be between other drivers. The twelve drivers began to head on track and Brad Keselowski took the provisional pole. Just seconds later, Kyle Busch jumped to the top of the board with ease. Busch was out front and looking to be the next pole winner as the rest of the drivers ran runs to beat his time. Kyle Larson and Dylan Kwasniewski came close in the final minutes of the session, but they settled for third and fourth, respectively. With a minute and a half left, Elliott Sadler was the only driver who hadn't run a lap. He went out and ran a good lap, but he could only take the tenth spot as Busch was still at the top. The twelve drivers stayed on pit road and as the red and black flag waved, Busch was on the provisional pole and he would grab the pole. Busch has been a great driver at Charlotte recently and today does not look like it will be any different.

        The words Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Kyle Busch go better together than anything else in NASCAR. At Charlotte in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Busch has eight wins and two poles. Not many other drivers can have those good statistics at a single track like Busch. Not only has Busch finished well at Charlotte, by he has completely dominated the races. Last year, Busch led two hundred and twenty two laps of four hundred laps in his two wins at Charlotte in the Nationwide Series. Another thing to look at is that the last time he sat on the pole at Charlotte and won was just last October. All signs seem to be pointing in the direction of a win for Busch today, but don't count out the drivers behind him. Brad Keselowski will roll off second today and he looks to be a good contender to fight for the win with Busch. Kyle Larson seems to have Charlotte figured out and a third place starting spot could lead him to the win. Dylan Kwasniewski has struggled a little bit throughout the start of the season, but a fourth place starting spot will most likely lead him to a good finish on the mile and a half track. Kevin Harvick has been great for JR Motorsports this season in the Nationwide Series and he will look to take the win from his fifth place starting spot. Other drivers like Chase Elliott, Regan Smith, Elliott Sadler, and Matt Kenseth look to use their great starting spots to take the win at Charlotte. Today's race will definitely be one to watch as forty drivers look to take a win at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks. It will be a three hundred mile shootout and a lone driver will be on top when all is said and done. Will Kyle Busch take his third straight win at Charlotte in the Nationwide Series, will Kyle Larson take his second win in the Nationwide Series, or will another driver take the win at Charlotte? We only have to wait a few hundred miles to found out these answers and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)





Top 5 Qualifiers (With Times):
1st: Kyle Busch      29.493 (183.094 mph) 
2nd: Brad Keselowski     29.564 (182.655 mph)
3rd: Kyle Larson     29.638 (182.199 mph)
4th: Dylan Kwasniewski     29.705 (181.788 mph)
5th: Kevin Harvick     29.745 (181.543 mph)

Notables Not in Top 5 (With Times):
7th: Matt Kenseth      29.942 (180.349 mph)
8th: Regan Smith      30.015 (179.910 mph)
9th: Chase Elliott      30.018 (179.892 mph)
10th: Elliott Sadler      30.050 (179.700 mph)
11th: Ty Dillon     30.165 (179.015 mph)
16th: Trevor Bayne     30.222 (178.678 mph)
20th: Brendan Gaughan      30.323 (178.083 mph)
23rd: Ryan Reed      30.693 (175.936 mph)

DNQs: None





Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-qualification.html
http://racing-reference.info/getqualify/2014-11/B
-Image:
https://twitter.com/NASCAR_NNS/status/470237912165265408/photo/1