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

There are four drivers down and 12 to go in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. With the first of three races in the Contender Round kicking off at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, the Chase contenders got their chance to start their second round off right Thursday night. 

Under the lights in Charlotte, Matt Kenseth took the pole for the Bank of America 500 to kick off the next round of the Chase. Fox Sports sent a congratulatory tweet to Kenseth after his pole win:

Here is a look at the qualifying results for Saturday's race. For complete results, visit NASCAR.com.

Rank	Driver	Time (Seconds)
1	Matt Kenseth*	27.759
2	Kyle Busch*	27.957
3	Joey Logano*	27.976
4	Greg Biffle	27.987
5	Denny Hamlin*	27.992
6	Kurt Busch*	28.036
7	Jimmie Johnson	28.051
8	Carl Edwards*	28.061
9	Aric Almirola	28.092
10	Ryan Newman*	28.119
11	Kevin Harvick*	28.211
12	Dale Earnhardt Jr.*	28.328
13	Brad Keselowski*	28.181
14	Austin Dillon	28.183
15	Martin Truex Jr.*	28.264
16	Ryan Blaney	28.264
17	A.J. Allmendinger	28.286
18	Sam Hornish Jr.	28.299
19	David Ragan	28.349
20	Kasey Kahne	28.356
21	Casey Mears	28.364
22	Jeff Gordon*	28.429
23	Clint Bowyer	28.475
24	Danica Patrick	28.631
25	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	28.436

It's Kenseth's fourth pole of the season, a new career high, and his second consecutive pole win after getting the top spot at Dover last week.

NASCAR showed him moments after his pole win:

Kevin Harvick, who led in practice and during the first round of qualifying, will start in ninth place. 

Getting the top spot is especially vital for the first race of the Contender Round because all 12 drivers start with the same 3,000 points in the standings. Nine of those drivers are in decent shape as they sit within the top 12 qualifying spots.

Charlotte proved to be a fast track under the lights, as the average speed on the night was 195 mph, a testament to how the drivers were able to keep their cars on the track.

While all 12 drivers made it past the first round of qualifying, the second round saw three Chase drivers cut, as Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon didn't make it. 

Keselowski, starting in 13th, finished with the same time as 12th-place Carl Edwards at 28.181 seconds but was bumped. ESPN's Bob Pockrass explained why:

Gordon will be the lowest Chase driver in the field, as he'll start in 22nd on Saturday while Truex starts in 15th. They'll have their work cut out for them, as they will have to work their way toward the top of the pack Saturday to start the round on the right note.

Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated at Charlotte this year. With Denny Hamlin and Edwards already getting wins at this track in 2015, Kenseth now has the pole. If history means anything, we might see another Gibbs win Saturday.

Qualifying has shown that Charlotte will give drivers a stiff test come race day. With such a fast track awaiting the field, there are sure to be plenty of white-knuckle moments from Chase drivers looking to stake their claims early as the best in the business.