BROOKLYN, MI – Kasey Kahne had to get a little foot loose but then danced to the FireKeepers Casino Hotel pole position Friday for the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race scheduled for Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
“I got through turns one and two pretty good,” Kahne explained following his 27th career Sprint Cup Series pole in 411 attempts. “And then in turn three I was like man, I was a little loose there and I was back-pedaling more than I wanted to, so I pushed harder in turn three and I started to kind of slide the nose. I had to backpedal and go back down.
“I knew it killed my exit a little, but it was still a great lap. Our Great Clips Chevrolet had speed in all three runs, so I knew we’d have a shot today, so that was cool. It’s been a while since we’ve had a pole.”
Kahne’s speed of 201.992 miles per hour was just great enough to edge Kevin Harvick, who finished second with a speed of 201.613.
Kahne is now tied with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Terry Labonte for 25th on the all-time series pole list. It was also Kahne’s first pole and ninth top-10 start in 2015.
Harvick, who registered the fastest practice lap Friday, garnered his 11th top-10 start this year and 11th in 29 races at MIS.
“I do know that I got everything out of it, but all the qualifying rounds were within seventh-hundredths of each other,” Harvick said. “The guys were doing a great job and Kasey just got a little bit better lap there, than we did.”
Brad Keselowski was third fastest, followed by Carl Edwards and Ryan Blaney, driving for the famed Wood Brothers. It was the 86th consecutive race at MIS for the Wood Brothers.
(Source: Michigan International Speedway)
