Bristol, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Larson claimed his first career pole in the Nationwide Series after beating Kyle Busch in Saturday's qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Larson, who is now in his rookie season in the Sprint Cup Series, made a lap around this 0.533-mile, high-banked track at 124.476 mph. His maiden pole came in his 37th start in NASCAR's second-tier series.
One year ago, Busch and Larson battled hard for the win in the closing laps of the 300-lap race at Bristol. Busch beat Larson, then a rookie in Nationwide, to the finish line by just 0.023 seconds.
Matt Kenseth, who is Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified third, followed by Brian Scott and Ryan Blaney, who is driving the No. 22 car for Team Penske in this race. Brad Keselowski drove the No. 22 to victory in last weekend's Nationwide event at Las Vegas.
Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith, the current points leader, James Buescher, rookie Ty Dillon and Mike Bliss will start sixth through 10th, respectively.
[SportsNetwork.com]
