Martin Truex Jr. looks to make it two in a row at Kentucky Speedway and will start from the pole on Saturday night.
To earn his first ever Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona last Saturday, Erik Jones had to outduel one of the top drivers in the sport, defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. That might be an even tougher task at Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400, a race Truex just happened to win last year.
Jones is starting in a great spot on the outside of Row 1, but the man leading the field to the green flag is Truex, so that might be one spot too little. Truex captured his fourth Busch Pole Award of 2018, squeaking by Jones by just over one tenth of a second. The rest of the top five is full of heavy hitters, with Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch starting third through fifth Saturday night.
As has been the case more often that they would like this year, the Chevrolet camp looked a little slow during qualifying at Kentucky. Ryan Newman was the fastest Chevy, and he’ll only start 10th. Chase Elliott (16th) and Kyle Larson (18th) will be among just six Camaros in the top 20 when the race gets underway.
Truex is trying to keep pace with both Harvick and Kyle Busch, both of whom have more wins than him so far this season. He came close to adding another one in a wild night at Daytona, but Jones managed to get the better of him in a narrow finish.
Next: Kyle Busch throws major shade at Stenhouse
Coverage of the Quaker State 400 begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with the green flag expected to wave around 7:46 p.m.
2018 Quaker State 400 starting grid for Kentucky Speedway
- Martin Truex Jr. – No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota
- Erik Jones – No. 20 Freightliner Toyota
- Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Busch Light Ford
- Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Discount Tire Ford
- Kyle Busch – No. 18 Snickers Intense Toyota
- Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 DEX Imaging Ford
- Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Haas 30 Years of the VF1 Ford
- Kurt Busch – No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
- Ryan Newman – No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 Arris Toyota
- Aric Almirola – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
- Austin Dillon – No. 3 AAA Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford
- Alex Bowman – No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Matt Kenseth – No. 6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford
- Kyle Larson – No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
- Chris Buescher – No. 37 Gain Chevrolet
- William Byron – No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet
- Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Arctic Cat Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford
- David Ragan – No. 38 MDS Transport Ford
- Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Petty’s Garage/Medallion Bank Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
- Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
- Kasey Kahne – No. 95 Dark Matter presented by Ionomy Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain – No. 15 TBD Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie – No. 72 Monarch Chevrolet
- JJ Yeley – No. 23 Steakhouse Elite Toyota
- Landon Cassill – No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- B.J. McLeod – No. 51 Prefund Capital Chevrolet
- Garrett Smithley – No. 99 Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota
- Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford
- Jesse Little – No. 7 TBD Chevrolet
- Timmy Hill – No. 66 Crypto Crow Crypto Currency Toyota