Kyle Busch wins Brickyard pole; Stewart starts 3rd and Gordon 21st

Kyle Busch (R) won the 2015 Brickyard 400 (Getty).

 

Kyle Busch has a prime opportunity to defend his 2015 Brickyard 400 win.

Busch took the pole away from Carl Edwards just seconds after his teammate had crossed the finish line in the final round of qualifying for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Busch’s lap of 184.634 MPH was just faster than Edwards’ lap of 184.547 MPH. Edwards had narrowly edged out Tony Stewart for the top spot as Busch was exiting turn 4 on his qualifying lap.

Stewart, an Indiana native who is retiring at the end of the season, is making his final start at Indianapolis. He started fourth in last year’s race but the race itself went awry and he finished outside the top 20. But that fourth-place starting position last year felt a bit like a fluke. With the speed Stewart has shown over the last few weeks, a top-three spot on Sunday wouldn’t be too surprising either.

The top five was rounded out by Denny Hamlin, a Joe Gibbs Racing teammate to Busch and Edwards, and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski. Penske has never won the Brickyard 400.

Jeff Gordon, subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr., didn’t make it to the final round of qualifying. Gordon will start 21st as none of Hendrick Motorsports’ four cars made the final round of qualifying.

Busch won the 2015 race while in the midst of a blistering stretch that got him into the Chase en route to his first Cup title. Busch’s Brickyard win was his fourth in five races and came in just his ninth race of the season after he returned from injuries suffered in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona.

He also won 2015’s Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis and has the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race as well. His Sprint Cup Series pole comes with a bit of luck as well. Busch spun in practice Friday after making contact with Patrick Carpentier while trying to pass the slower driver. Busch’s car went sliding towards the inside and as he kept it from sliding further, he also avoided a barrier on the inside; an impact that likely would have resulted in a backup car for Sunday’s race.

Here’s how the field will line up on Sunday:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Tony Stewart
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Ryan Newman
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Jamie McMurray
10. Kyle Larson
11. Kurt Busch
12. Austin Dillon
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Joey Logano
15. Chase Elliott
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Ryan Blaney
18. Matt Kenneth
19. Greg Biffle
20. Trevor Bayne
21. Jeff Gordon
22. Chris Buescher
23. Paul Menard
24. Danica Patrick
25. AJ Allmendinger
26. Kasey Kahne
27. Michael McDowell
28. David Ragan
29. Aric Almirola
30. Matt DiBenedetto
31. Clint Bowyer
32. Brian Scott
33. Landon Cassia
34. Casey Mears
35. Cole Whitt
36. Ryan Ellis
37. Regan Smith
38. Michael Annett
39. Reed Sorenson
40. Patrick Carpentier