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Martin Truex Jr. wins Phoenix pole, Kyle Larson second

By Nick Tylwalk

AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 09: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 5-hour Energy/Bass Pro Shops Toyota, poses with the Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 9, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 09: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 5-hour Energy/Bass Pro Shops Toyota, poses with the Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 9, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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Someone other than Kevin Harvick will get a chance to lead some laps to begin the TicketGuardian 500 on Sunday. Probably.

Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t quite picked up where he left off as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, but he’ll get a chance to show his stuff from P1 when the TicketGuardian 500 goes green from ISM Raceway on Sunday.

Truex topped all 37 cars in the field to capture his first pole of the 2018 NASCAR season and 16th of his career on Friday afternoon. He’ll be joined in Row 1 by Kyle Larson, who was less than a tenth of a second behind Truex’s time.

Kevin Harvick, who has been the story of the young season so far, will start 10th as he seeks his third straight victory and ninth career Phoenix win. He had the second-fastest Ford in qualifying behind Cup Series points leader Joey Logano, who will start the race fifth.

The early story was struggling Jimmie Johnson putting up the fastest lap in the first round of qualifying, perhaps a sign that his 48 team was ready to break out of its doldrums. However, Johnson faded in the second round and will start the race 17th. Another driver who will be looking for more speed on Sunday is Brad Keselowski, who didn’t even make the second round and will roll off 25th.

Coverage of the TicketGuardian 500 will begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on FOX, with the green flag slated for approximately 3:44 p.m.

Next: TicketGuardian 500: Full NASCAR Phoenix TV schedule

TicketGuardian 500 qualifying results from ISM Raceway (Phoenix)

  1. Martin Truex Jr.
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Chase Elliott
  4. Alex Bowman
  5. Joey Logano
  6. Denny Hamlin
  7. Kyle Busch
  8. Jamie McMurray
  9. Erik Jones
  10. Kevin Harvick
  11. William Byron
  12. Ryan Blaney
  13. Ryan Newman
  14. Paul Menard
  15. Daniel Suarez
  16. David Ragan
  17. Jimmie Johnson
  18. Austin Dillon
  19. Clint Bowyer
  20. AJ Allmendinger
  21. Trevor Bayne
  22. Aric Almirola
  23. Kurt Busch
  24. Chris Buescher
  25. Brad Keselowski
  26. Kasey Kahne
  27. Bubba Wallace
  28. Ty Dillon
  29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  30. Matt DiBenedetto
  31. Michael McDowell
  32. Gray Gaulding
  33. Corey LaJoie
  34. D.J. Kennington
  35. Timmy Hill
  36. Ross Chastain
  37. Jeffrey Earnhardt
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