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

Looking to capture his second Sprint Cup victory of 2015, Kurt Busch took home the pole for Sunday's Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway. His best lap time of 50.676 seconds in the third round of qualifying was just enough to eclipse Carl Edwards.

According to NASCAR Stats, winning the pole might bode well for Busch this weekend given his history at Pocono:

"What a day today," Busch said to Fox Sports 1 after he earned the P1 position, per NASCAR Talk's Jerry Bonkowski. "I feel like there were six corners out there. We reverted to the setup when we sat on the outside pole here. We'll take it. We worked real hard for it. I'm surprised and happy at the teamwork."

Earlier in the day, Jeff Wackerlin of Motor Racing Network wrote about how Turn 2 at Pocono Raceway has become much more difficult to handle for drivers this year. Mother Nature had its way with the Tunnel Turn, leaving it less than pristine.

Busch let his feelings about the Tunnel Turn be known, per USA Today's Jeff Gluck:

According to ESPN's Bob Pockrass, there won't be enough time for the track organizers to smooth out the bumps between now and race day:

Maybe somebody should give Jimmie Johnson a pickax.

Neither Busch nor the rugged Turn 2 was the topic of discussion following qualifying, however.

Under the current structure, the final round lasts five minutes. Once that five minutes is up, the third round is over.

During Friday's final round, the clock neared zero as Denny Hamlin spun out. Although he avoided crashing into the wall and significantly damaging his car, the damage was already done to the rest of the field, per NASCAR:

Pockrass explained the clock situation and how it affected the remaining drivers who had yet to complete a lap:

Hamlin was only the eighth car to run during the third round, meaning that five other drivers were denied a chance to even post a time during the round. They occupy the eighth through 12th spots for Sunday's Axalta 400 lineup.

You can view the top 12 qualifiers below, with the full starting grid available at NASCAR.com:

Pos.	Driver	Best Lap
1	Kurt Busch	50.676
2	Carl Edwards	50.690
3	Martin Truex Jr.	50.698
4	Jeff Gordon	50.787
5	Kevin Harvick	50.790
6	Austin Dillon	50.984
7	Brad Keselowski	51.146
8	Denny Hamlin	50.654
9	Jimmie Johnson	50.737
10	Kyle Busch	50.792
11	Joey Logano	50.905
12	Kasey Kahne	51.116

NASCAR was undoubtedly in a tough situation. Either it stopped qualifying without all of the drivers getting a shot or it would set a new precedent regarding the clock. Gluck sided with NASCAR in its strict implementation of the rule:

Some of the notable drivers to miss out on the top 12 include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray.

Earnhardt had quite possibly the best reaction to his somewhat poor performance, per Mike Davis, a public relations director for JR Motorsports:

It's easier to accept a few qualifying struggles when you already have a win under your belt in 2015.

If the Chase for the Sprint Cup were to begin right now, Bowyer, Patrick and Biffle would be the first three out. They all have some serious ground to cover on Ryan Newman, who sits in 16th place.

Of course, there is still a lot of time between this weekend and the Challenger Round. And all it takes to secure a place in the Chase is a victory.

Meanwhile, McMurray and Martin Truex Jr. will both be looking for a first checkered flag of 2015 after having had strong starts to the campaign. Their point totals might be enough on their own to wind up in the top 16, but getting a win would eliminate any of that drama.