NASCAR at Texas 2017 Qualifying Results: Kevin Harvick Captures Pole

Kevin Harvick captured the pole for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday by posting the best qualifying time in the final round Friday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.

It's the second pole of the season for Harvick, who previously led the field to the start line in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski round out the top five starters.

Here's a look at the complete qualifying results from Texas:

Place	Car No.	Driver	Best Time
1	4	Kevin Harvick	27.217
2	21	Ryan Blaney	27.270
3	14	Clint Bowyer	27.270
4	22	Joey Logano	27.306
5	2	Brad Keselowski	27.333
6	1	Jamie McMurray	27.482
7	78	Martin Truex Jr.	27.492
8	20	Matt Kenseth	27.509
9	31	Ryan Newman	27.618
10	41	Kurt Busch	27.692
11	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	27.761
12	6	Trevor Bayne	28.113
-	-	Eliminated Round 2	-
13	95	Michael McDowell	27.703
14	13	Ty Dillon	27.714
15	34	Landon Cassill	27.734
16	47	A. J. Allmendinger	27.781
17	11	Denny Hamlin	27.823
18	43	Aric Almirola	27.855
19	10	Danica Patrick	27.876
20	19	Daniel Suarez	27.937
21	38	David Ragan	28.058
22	27	Paul Menard	28.254
23	83	Corey LaJoie	28.614
24	48	Jimmie Johnson	DNP
-	-	Eliminated Round 1	-
25	3	Austin Dillon	28.339
26	32	Matt DiBenedetto	28.371
27	7	J. J. Yeley	28.452
28	72	Cole Whitt	28.542
29	23	Gray Gaulding	28.683
30	15	Reed Sorenson	28.695
31	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	29.532
32	42	Kyle Larson	DNP
33	24	Chase Elliott	DNP
34	18	Kyle Busch	DNP
35	5	Kasey Kahne	DNP
36	77	Erik Jones	DNP
37	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	DNP
38	37	Chris Buescher	DNP
39	51	Timmy Hill	DNP
40	55	Derrike Cope	DNP

Harvick is enjoying a strong season from a qualifying perspective, but he's struggled to carry that success into race day. Only once in six starts so far during the 2017 campaign was his finishing spot higher than his starting spot (sixth in the Camping World 500 at Phoenix after starting 23rd).

That said, the 41-year-old veteran will gladly keep racking up poles and take his chances from there. Friday's triumph results in the 19th pole victory of his Cup Series career.

NASCAR highlighted his qualifying runs:

Fox Sports NASCAR provided reaction from the California native, who will seek his first win in this event Sunday:

The other key story Friday was the group of drivers who failed to post a qualifying time.

Kelly Crandall of Racer provided the complete list, which included marquee names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch:

Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson passed inspection but spun out late in the first qualifying session, which prevented him from competing in the second round.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports pointed out a quirk in the NASCAR rulebook that works against the seven-time Cup Series champion:

Looking ahead, the high number of drivers who didn't even make it on to the track for qualifying will make for a jumbled field Sunday. A lot of fast cars are starting near the rear and will need to navigate a lot of traffic, and potentially some early crashes, to move into contention.

This race has also been traditionally wide open, too. There have been 10 different winners over the past 11 editions, with Kyle Busch being the only repeat winner over stretch. Those factors should produce an entertaining 334 laps this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.