Daniel Suarez records second career pole at Kentucky
With a lap time of 29.254 seconds (184.590 mph) at Kentucky Speedway on Friday (July 12), Daniel Suarez earned the provisional pole for the Quaker State 400.
If the pole stands after inspection Saturday, Suarez will net his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole of 2019 and second of his career.
“I am very proud of my guys and Ford Performance and Stewart-Haas Racing and everyone that makes this program go,” Suarez said. “We have been working very hard.”
Aric Almirola, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, laid down the second-fastest qualifying time (29.38 seconds/183.799 mph) during the single-car-one-lap qualifying session. If the time holds, Almriola will have his sixth front-row start of the season.
“We have part one done, we have qualified up front and got ourselves good track position and pit stall selection and good clean air,” Almirola said. “Now we just have to go put a race together.”
Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five starters.
Suarez will join Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, David Ragan and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as active drivers in the Cup Series who have two career poles.
Other drivers who earned two total poles in their Cup Series careers include Dave Blaney, Johnny Benson Jr., 1949 series champion Robert Byron and Marshall Teague.
THROUGH THE FIELD
Daniel Hemric was the highest qualifier among Rookie-of-the-Year candidates in sixth.
Last year’s polesitter and winner of the last two Kentucky races, Martin Truex Jr., qualified eighth.
Joey Logano, the defending series champion and current points leader, qualified 11th.
In total, the race will feature 36 starters. No open teams will be competing in the race.
RACEDAY
The Quaker State 400, race No. 19 of 36 this year, will be televised live on NBCSN Saturday (July 13) at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.