NASCAR at Texas 2014 Qualifying Results: Live Leaderboard Updates

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Matt Kenseth was the winner of knockout qualifying on Friday evening at Texas Motor Speedway, and he will sit on the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.

He will be joined on the front row by Jeff Gordon, the current points leader after his second-place finish last week at Martinsville.

Of the eight remaining drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, only Brad Keselowski, eliminated after the first round, and Denny Hamlin, eliminated in the second round, failed to qualify for a chance at the pole.

Kenseth, Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards, still in Chase contention, will all begin the race in the top 12.

And position is crucial heading into Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win last week at Martinsville leaves only two remaining races for Chase drivers to secure their passage into the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 in Miami with a victory.

While it’s understandable that the Chase was the dominant story on Friday in Texas, Tony Stewart, long eliminated from the competition, made some history of his own.

During the second round of qualifying he set a new track record speed of 200.111 miles-per-hour, but he ended up qualifying in sixth position.