NASCAR at Kansas 2015 Qualifying Results: Race Order, Final Times and Reaction

NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup will reach its halfway point Sunday at Kansas Speedway with 12 drivers alive in the Contender Round, the second of four stages in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.

Brad Keselowski, seeking his second championship, captured the Hollywood Casino 400 pole Friday with a high speed of 195.503 miles per hour. However, he was forced to forgo his pit selection as punishment for receiving his fourth inspection warning earlier this week.

Keselowski ended up with stall No. 42, while Carl Edwards, who qualified second, selected the first stall, which he told Kenny Bruce of NASCAR.com is an advantage for getting off pit road with minimal obstacles:

Chase contenders accounted for nine of the top 10 starting spots. Here is a look at the qualifying results from Friday. For the full results, visit NASCAR.com:

Rank	Driver	Time (Seconds)
1	Brad Keselowski*	27.621
2	Carl Edwards*	27.628
3	Kyle Busch*	27.717
4	Kevin Harvick*	27.727
5	Denny Hamlin*	27.730
6	Jeff Gordon*	27.746
7	Martin Truex Jr.*	27.482
8	Ryan Blaney	27.483
9	Kurt Busch*	27.787
10	Ryan Newman*	27.792
11	Matt Kenseth*	27.812
12	Greg Biffle	27.855
13	Paul Menard	27.827
14	Joey Logano*	27.830
15	Dale Earnhardt Jr.*	27.835
16	Brian Scott	27.836
17	Tony Stewart	27.859
18	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	27.872
19	Trevor Bayne	27.876
20	Kyle Larson	27.909
21	Jimmie Johnson	27.930
22	David Ragan	27.934
23	Aric Almirola	27.974
24	Kasey Kahne	27.974
25	Austin Dillon	28.075

The pole is Keselowski’s first at Kansas, second in 2015 and 10th overall since joining the series in 2008. Keselowski also topped the leaderboard during the opening round of Friday's practice, per NASCAR.com. The 2012 champion is coming off a ninth-place finish at Charlotte and 13 points off the Chase lead. 

Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com tweeted that Keselowski earned a toy car for winning the pole, which his newborn daughter eagerly welcomed:

Along with Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch put three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the top five for Sunday’s start.

Ten of the 12 Chase drivers advanced to the final round of qualifying, with Chase leader Joey Logano (14th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15th) being the only two on the outside. Logano won last week at Charlotte and is the reigning champion of the fall race at Kansas. 

If last year was any indication, fans are in for a treat. Logano outlasted then-rookie Kyle Larson by .480 seconds to secure his fifth victory in 2014, while Chase favorites Earnhardt, Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson all endured issues that played major factors in their eventual elimination.

After Kansas, the Sprint Cup Series will trek to Talladega—the true wild card of the Chase—for the final race of the Contender Round. From there, the top eight in the standings will advance to the Eliminator Round.