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USA

Clint Bowyer wins Las Vegas pole - his first in 12 years

Stewart-Haas Racing will lead the way in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Pole Award winner Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang

Pole Award winner Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang

John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

Clint Bowyer, behind an average lap speed of 178.926 mph, topped his three SHR teammates to win the pole for Sunday’s South Point 400, his first pole since the 2007 season.

The pole is just the third of Bowyer’s career, which spans 14 fulltime seasons in the Cup Series.

“I get to sign my name on some sheet that I don’t think I’ve ever signed before and I’m going to go brag for a little bit,” Bowyer said about winning the pole. “I’m going to rub it in to all these guys. 

“Something’s wrong with them when I beat them to a pole.”

Asked about the prospects for Sunday’s race, Bowyer said: “Tomorrow’s a whole new day. The thing's got to turn left at the end of the straightaway tomorrow and it has to do it for a long time, unlike just one lap today.

“Just timing is everything and we had some good fortune.”

Daniel Suarez ended up second, Kevin Harvick third and Aric Almirola fourth as SHR locked up the first two rows of the field.

Las Vegas native Kurt Busch qualified fifth and is the first non-Ford in the lineup. 

Rounding out the top-10 starters are Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Michael McDowell.

Denny Hamlin was the highest qualifying Toyota driver, and will line up 13th.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Time Gap Mph
1 14 United States Clint Bowyer  Ford 30.180   178.926
2 41 Mexico Daniel Suarez  Ford 30.189 0.009 178.873
3 4 United States Kevin Harvick  Ford 30.206 0.026 178.772
4 10 United States Aric Almirola  Ford 30.252 0.072 178.501
5 1 United States Kurt Busch  Chevrolet 30.318 0.138 178.112
6 8 United States Daniel Hemric  Chevrolet 30.366 0.186 177.830
7 3 United States Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 30.454 0.274 177.317
8 9 United States Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 30.463 0.283 177.264
9 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 30.488 0.308 177.119
10 34 United States Michael McDowell  Ford 30.490 0.310 177.107
11 38 United States David Ragan  Ford 30.527 0.347 176.893
12 17 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 30.531 0.351 176.869
13 11 United States Denny Hamlin  Toyota 30.539 0.359 176.823
14 24 United States William Byron  Chevrolet 30.567 0.387 176.661
15 42 United States Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 30.590 0.410 176.528
16 47 United States Ryan Preece  Chevrolet 30.615 0.435 176.384
17 6 United States Ryan Newman  Ford 30.618 0.438 176.367
18 2 United States Brad Keselowski  Ford 30.619 0.439 176.361
19 88 United States Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 30.620 0.440 176.355
20 18 United States Kyle Busch  Toyota 30.633 0.453 176.280
21 21 United States Paul Menard  Ford 30.672 0.492 176.056
22 22 United States Joey Logano  Ford 30.674 0.494 176.045
23 12 United States Ryan Blaney  Ford 30.706 0.526 175.861
24 19 United States Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 30.721 0.541 175.776
25 95 United States Matt DiBenedetto  Toyota 30.726 0.546 175.747
26 20 United States Erik Jones  Toyota 30.740 0.560 175.667
27 13 United States Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 30.742 0.562 175.655
28 37 United States Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 30.774 0.594 175.473
29 36 United States Matt Tifft  Ford 30.808 0.628 175.279
30 00 United States Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 30.839 0.659 175.103
31 43 United States Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 30.893 0.713 174.797
32 15 United States Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 31.027 0.847 174.042
33 32 United States Corey Lajoie  Ford 31.081 0.901 173.740
34 52 United States Garrett Smithley  Chevrolet 31.411 1.231 171.914
35 51 United States B.J. McLeod  Chevrolet 31.413 1.233 171.903
36 53 United States J.J. Yeley  Chevrolet 31.538 1.358 171.222
37 77 United States Reed Sorenson  Chevrolet 31.752 1.572 170.068
38 27 United States Joe Nemechek  Chevrolet 32.070 1.890 168.382
39 66 United States Joey Gase  Toyota 32.086 1.906 168.298

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