CONCORD, N.C. (AP) - Kevin Harvick has already proven he's a factor at Charlotte Motor Speedway, especially during night races. With the top starting spot Saturday night, he'll be tough to beat in the opening race of the second round of NASCAR's playoffs.
Harvick turned a lap at 196.029 mph in a Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to earn the top starting spot in Thursday night qualifying. He edged Alex Bowman, the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is not racing for the championship.
It is Harvick's first pole of the season.
"I think any time you can eliminate track position, that's definitely a bonus for us," he said. "This hasn't really been our strongest day all year, qualifying day, in general has not been very good for us. So, to see the speed that the car immediately had I'm just really proud of the guys who will hopefully catapult us in the right direction to get the night started right."
Chase Elliott qualified third and was followed by Kyle Busch, the highest qualifying Toyota driver, Tony Stewart and AJ Allmendinger.
Martin Truex Jr., winner of two of the first three Chase races, qualified seventh.
He was followed by Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, the top qualifying Ford driver, and Jimmie Johnson as Chase drivers took eight of the top 11 spots in Thursday night qualifying.
Kasey Kahne qualified 12th as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers made the final round of qualifying.
But it was Harvick, with his fast lap, who stole the spotlight.
Harvick, the 2014 champion, has been looking forward to racing at Charlotte and a potential automatic berth into the third round of the Chase. Harvick has three career points victories at Charlotte, including the October race during his championship season.
Sprint Cup Lineup
1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 196.029 mph
2. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 196.000
3. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 195.759
4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 195.228
5. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 195.228
6. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 195.087
7. (78) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 194.826
8. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 194.553
9. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 194.168
10. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 194.049
11. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 192.630
12. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 188.547
13. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 194.161
14. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 194.007
15. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 193.966
16. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 193.868
17. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 193.791
18. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 193.736
19. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 193.722
20. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 193.625
21. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 193.209
22. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 193.009
23. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 192.205
24. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 191.489
25. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 191.980
26. (34) Chris Buescher, Ford, 191.829
27. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 191.544
28. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 191.530
29. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 191.469
30. (44) Brian Scott, Ford, 191.381
31. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 190.954
32. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 190.617
33. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 190.564
34. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 190.054
35. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 188.864
36. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 186.002
37. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 185.976
38. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 185.039
39. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 183.673
40. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 183.343