Kyle Larson will bring the field to the Green Flag this Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Larson was able to run a 28.568 To win the pole for the Overtons 301.
Dominant Friday for Kyle Larson
In a day he dominated, Larson was the fastest in practice and all three rounds of qualifying. This pole is Larson’s third of the year (winning) and fourth of his career (winning). In his previous two poles won this year, the pilot of the No. 42 Chevrolet went on to win both races.
The start of the week wasn’t too kind to Larson. NASCAR lowered the boom on he and his Target race team. Larson was docked 35 points and will lose his Crew Chief, Chad Johnston, for the next three races. After Saturday nights second place finish, Larson failed his post-race inspection for an illegal brake cooling assembly. The 35 point loss dropped the four-year veteran from first to second in the Monster Energy Cup standing.
Starting on the front row alongside Larson is Martin Truex Jr. Last weeks winner at Kentucky Speedway was able to post a lap of 28.621. After the win last week. Truex Jr’s. Crew Chief, Cole Pearn, put an emphasis on winning Sunday’s race at New Hampshire with a lot of media and fans believe the team can only win on 1.5 mike tracks. This marks the sixth time in 2017 that Martin Truex Jr. will start on the front row.
Top 10 Qualifiers
The remaining top 10 qualifiers are Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch.
Although he has struggled in 2017, last years winner, Matt Kenseth, looks to be a favorite come Sunday. Kenseth has totaled three wins, 10 Top-5s, and 19 Top-10s in his career at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Green Flag will drop Sunday at 3:14 PM ET on NBCSN.
*Update*
After post-qualifying inspections concluded, NASCAR disallowed Kyle Larson’s time, moving him to the rear of the field on Sunday. NASCAR deemed Larson’s rear deck fin was illegal.
With Larsons time disallowed, Martin Truex Jr. will start on the pole in this weekends race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Truex Jr. said “Not the way we wanted to get our first pole of the year, but looking forward to starting up front and having a good pit selection.”
This will be the second consecutive week Larson will start at the rear. Last week, the Target Chevrolet did not make it through pre-qualifiying inspection.
