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

Kurt Busch can probably get used to the early 2015 success he has experienced in qualifying sessions. 

Busch won the pole for Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with a late push Friday. It was his second pole of the season in only his fourth qualifying effort of 2015, with the first coming at Phoenix International Raceway. 

NASCAR passed along an image and Busch’s top speed from Friday’s performance, while Fox Sports NASCAR noted his winnings:

It is no accident that Busch already has two pole victories in 2015. NASCAR Stats noted that he joined some fairly impressive company with his victory Friday:

Here is a look at the entire top 12 from Friday’s qualifying run, per NASCAR.com:

Place	Driver	Best Speed	Best Time	Behind
1	Kurt Busch	193.847	27.857	---
2	Kevin Harvick	193.722	27.875	0.018
3	Brad Keselowski	193.195	27.951	0.094
4	Kasey Kahne	192.933	27.989	0.132
5	Jimmie Johnson	192.424	28.063	0.206
6	Joey Logano	192.369	28.071	0.214
7	Ryan Newman	192.253	28.088	0.231
8	Paul Menard	192.109	28.109	0.252
9	Kyle Larson	192.048	28.118	0.261
10	Jamie McMurray	191.721	28.166	0.309
11	Tony Stewart	191.489	28.200	0.343
12	Jeff Gordon	189.547	28.489	0.632

Busch wasn’t the only one who enjoyed Friday, as his teammate Kevin Harvick finished in second place. Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson all placed in the top five as well, but Fox Sports noted that there was a Stewart-Haas Racing flavor to the entire process:

While Busch and Harvick stepped up when it mattered most in the final two rounds of qualifying, it was Jeff Gordon who made an early statement. NASCAR noted that Gordon was actually in first place after the first round:

Gordon was able to make it all the way through into the third round and finished in the top 12 heading into Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Harvick then made his move in the second round and turned in the fastest lap. Jay W. Pennell of Fox Sports passed along some of the important numbers from that second round before the final one began:

It was in that third and final round that Busch made his late push. Pennell pointed out that Busch certainly waited until the very end to turn in his winning time:

Ideally for Busch, he will be able to parlay that late momentum into an impressive showing Saturday. If recent history is any indication, turning in a formidable performance in qualifying at the Texas Motor Speedway is a good omen moving forward into the actual race.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports provided some details: “We're going to go out on a sturdy limb and say one of the drivers in the top 10 will win the race. You have to go back to Denny Hamlin's win in the fall race in 2010 to find a driver who has won starting outside the top 10 at Texas.”

That is encouraging for Busch, who emphasized the importance of a solid outing in qualifying, per Jerry Bronkowski of NBC Sports: “Everything is so tight in qualifying, and I wanted to try and run the same each time out. Everybody chipped in. It’s all about getting this little extra, and we did.”

That little extra time should pay off for Busch given the number of marquee names that finished in the top 12 alone from Friday. Between more favorable spots in pit road to the chance to stay out of too many crowded packs in the middle of the race, Busch is in an ideal position with some of the sport's best racers, trailing just behind.

Busch has one victory, three top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes at Texas Motor Speedway in his career. He took the all-important first step Friday to adding to those impressive totals.