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Nick DeGroot

Brad Keselowski takes pole position for RFK at Texas

Brad Keselowski led an all-Ford front row, beating Team Penske's Joey Logano by 0.028s

His lap of 188.99mph (28.573s) was enough for his 18th career pole position and his first in over three years.

"We want to win, but you got to start somewhere," said Keselowski after celebrating with his crew. "Had a good test last week at Homestead -- learned a bunch. We really needed that and now we're able to apply it here in Texas with our RFK No. 6 Ford. We'll see, 500 miles on Sunday is a little bit different from qualifying, but a great start for us for sure.

Speaking of the work he has put in to help RFK become competitive again: "Yeah, it's a lot of pain but now we're starting to feel the gains from it. It's just like working out. It sucks. It really does. But then, when you get out of the gym and you feel better a week or two later, you start to see the results and that's what we're getting as a team."

Looking ahead to the race, he said drivers will have to "versatile" in what will be a long, hot and difficult day. "I think there's been a lot of eyes on the Xfinity race here in just a little bit to see what we can learn but you know, Texas is a really tough track and as hot as it is this weekend, it's going to make it that much tougher."

Beyond the front row was William Byron placing third, Tyler Reddick fourth, and Michael McDowell with an impressive qualifying effort in fifth.

Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-ten.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 6 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 1 28.573     188.990
2 22 United States Joey Logano Ford 1 28.601 0.028 0.028 188.805
3 24 United States William Byron Chevrolet 1 28.601 0.028 0.000 188.805
4 8 United States Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 1 28.664 0.091 0.063 188.390
5 34 United States Michael McDowell Ford 1 28.719 0.146 0.055 188.029
6 9 United States Chase Elliott Chevrolet 1 28.731 0.158 0.012 187.950
7 3 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 1 28.793 0.220 0.062 187.546
8 11 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 28.879 0.306 0.086 186.987
9 5 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 28.996 0.423 0.117 186.233
10 99 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 1 29.126 0.553 0.130 185.401

Round 1 / Group A

Ty Gibbs was the first driver in qualifying to reach the 28-second bracket, but it wasn't enough to advance. He was eventually bumped by Logano.

Reddick, who led all Group A drivers in practice, repeated that performance in qualifying. His 28.593s lap topped the round. Larson, Logano, Keselowski, and Hamlin also advanced.

RFK Racing remained impressive a week after their Bristol victory, with Keselowski advancing and Chris Buescher being the first driver on the outside. He missed out by just 0.040s. 

Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell were the only playoff drivers who failed to advance. Blaney will start 14th and Bell 22nd.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 8 United States Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 1 28.593     188.857
2 5 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 28.665 0.072 0.072 188.383
3 22 United States Joey Logano Ford 1 28.674 0.081 0.009 188.324
4 6 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 1 28.698 0.105 0.024 188.166
5 11 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 28.723 0.130 0.025 188.003
6 17 United States Chris Buescher Ford 1 28.763 0.170 0.040 187.741
7 12 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 1 28.768 0.175 0.005 187.709
8 23 Ty Gibbs Toyota 1 28.836 0.243 0.068 187.266
9 45 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 1 28.851 0.258 0.015 187.169
10 20 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 1 28.963 0.370 0.112 186.445
11 10 United States Aric Almirola Ford 1 29.084 0.491 0.121 185.669
12 43 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 1 29.137 0.544 0.053 185.331
13 38 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 1 29.150 0.557 0.013 185.249
14 31 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 1 29.261 0.668 0.111 184.546
15 42 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 1 29.305 0.712 0.044 184.269
16 15 United States Garrett Smithley Ford 1 29.501 0.908 0.196 183.045
17 78 United States B.J. McLeod Ford 1 29.744 1.151 0.243 181.549
18 51 United States Cody Ware Ford      

Round 1 / Group B

Landon Cassill had a loose moment on his warm-up lap, but managed to evade disaster. 

It was Dillon who then put the No. 3 Chevrolet at the top of the charts with a 28.716s lap, but that time was nearly two tenths off his teammate from the first group. He held the position until William Byron eclipsed it with a 28.588s lap.

Dillon ended up second, followed by Elliott, Suarez, and McDowell.

Elliott was the last driver out, and bumped Austin Cindric with his time. The Penske driver missed advancing by 0.030s.

Cindric, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe were the playoff drivers who failed to advance. Cindric will start 11th, Chastain 12th, Bowman 17th, and Briscoe 30th.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 24 United States William Byron Chevrolet 1 28.588     188.890
2 3 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 1 28.716 0.128 0.128 188.048
3 99 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 1 28.719 0.131 0.003 188.029
4 9 United States Chase Elliott Chevrolet 1 28.719 0.131 0.000 188.029
5 34 United States Michael McDowell Ford 1 28.721 0.133 0.002 188.016
6 2 United States Austin Cindric Ford 1 28.751 0.163 0.030 187.820
7 1 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 1 28.753 0.165 0.002 187.806
8 19 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 1 28.826 0.238 0.073 187.331
9 48 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 1 28.837 0.249 0.011 187.259
10 18 United States Kyle Busch Toyota 1 28.840 0.252 0.003 187.240
11 21 United States Harrison Burton Ford 1 28.851 0.263 0.011 187.169
12 47 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 1 28.944 0.356 0.093 186.567
13 4 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 1 28.994 0.406 0.050 186.245
14 41 United States Cole Custer Ford 1 29.051 0.463 0.057 185.880
15 16 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 1 29.103 0.515 0.052 185.548
16 7 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 1 29.170 0.582 0.067 185.122
17 14 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 1 29.181 0.593 0.011 185.052
18 77 United States Landon Cassill Chevrolet 1 30.380 1.792 1.199 177.749
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