Jamie McMurray set the fast time, while championship favorite Kevin Harvick struggled in NASCAR qualifying at Martinsville Speedway.
As Jamie McMurray surged in Sprint Cup qualifying Friday, Kevin Harvick dug himself a sizeable hole to climb out of in Sunday's race at Martinsville Speeway.
A lap of 99.905 miles per hour gave McMurray his second pole position of the year. Second-place qualifier Joey Logano will start on the front row for the eighth time in 2014. Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin completed the top five.
"Great start to our weekend," McMurray said. We tested here and I thought we had a really good test.
"It's amazing you can go quicker your second time out. For years we came here to these places and ran slower. That was a good lap."
Logano, Kenseth and Hamlin are among the eight drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Others Chasers: Brad Keselowski qualified sixth, Ryan Newman was ninth, Carl Edwards 11th, Jeff Gordon 13th and Harvick placed 33rd.
It was Harvick's effort which was most surprising. Never showing any speed, Harvick, a championship favorite with a series-best eight poles this season, hit the wall on both of his attempts.
On a short track where cars can get lapped quickly, starting towards the rear puts Harvick at a severe disadvantage Sunday. Only once in 131 Martinsville races has a driver won starting in the 30s. (Kurt Busch started 36th in 2002.)
"We just missed it today," Harvick said. "We were way too loose. We have to get better (Saturday in practice) and be ready to go on Sunday."
All 43 drivers entered qualified.
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