Kenseth wins Homestead pole, Johnson qualifies seventh

Homestead, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Matt Kenseth gained ground in his battle with Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup Series championship by winning the pole for Sunday’s season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kenseth, who is attempting to win his second title in NASCAR’s premier series, turned a lap at 177.667 mph during Friday’s qualifying for his third pole of the season and the 11th of his career. It’s also his first pole at this 1.5- mile South Florida track.

Johnson will start seventh in his attempt to claim a sixth Sprint Cup championship. He enters this race with a comfortable 28-point lead over Kenseth and a 34-point advantage over Kevin Harvick, who will roll off from the sixth spot.

Five days ago, Kenseth had one of his worst performances of the season at Phoenix, finishing 23rd. He had been just seven points behind Johnson. Harvick remained in title contention with his Phoenix victory. Johnson finished third there.

Kurt Busch qualified second, followed by Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, who clinched his first Sprint Cup championship one year ago at Homestead, and Denny Hamlin.

Categorized in: NASCAR