Harvick earns pole on fresh Texas track
FORT WORTH, TEXAS >> Kevin Harvick quickly got up to speed on the new pavement at Texas Motor Speedway, while some top drivers never made it on the track for qualifying.
Harvick won all three rounds of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Friday, earning his 19th career pole with a lap of 198.405 mph during the final segment at the 11/2-mile track that was completely repaved this year.
“It’s been a stressful day, coming and breaking in a new race track and then going out there and running as fast as we had to run for qualifying,” Harvick said.
Nine of the 40 cars in the race didn’t make it through inspection in time to make qualifying runs. Those included series points leader Kyle Larson, three of the four drivers for Hendrick Motorsports and defending race winner Kyle Busch after his practice crash earlier in the day.
Ryan Blaney qualified second at 198.020 mph, and will start on the front row Sunday even though he had the same qualifying speed as Clint Bowyer.
“The track has come a long way since we got on it for the first time this morning,” Blaney said. “The first hour was very sketchy getting into Turn 1. Turn 1 has been slick all day. Three and four has actually had a lot of grip. It is surprising how much throttle we can carry over there.”
The only Hendrick driver to get on the track for qualifying was Jimmie Johnson, but the six-time Texas winner got loose and spun on the track in the first round. He still got into the top 24, but will start 24th since he didn’t run a lap in the second round of qualifying after the spin.
Larson will start 32nd, a spot ahead of Hendrick driver Chase Elliott, who is second in points and will be in a backup car after crashing the primary No. 24 in practice.
Ganassi open to Larson in Indy — another year
LONG BEACH >> As the Indianapolis 500 draws near, the tweets start flooding Chip Ganassi’s inbox all asking the same question: When will he enter Kyle Larson in the Indy 500?
Larson wants to run the race, and Ganassi is open to entering the budding NASCAR star. But it has to make sense for the team, driver and organization.
“I think it’s just a matter of us having the right people and the right timing, and obviously it takes sponsorship,” Ganassi said. “Every time this gets talked about, it’s in April or May. Nobody ever wants to talk about it in June or July or August when it’s time to plan for the next year.”
Ganassi said there’s no way to enter Larson for next month’s showcase race in Indy, but he’d be hesitant anyway right now.
Chinese GP practices wiped out by rain, fog
SHANGHAI >> When Lewis Hamilton finally emerged from the garages on a rainy, foggy Friday at the Chinese Grand Prix, it wasn’t to take his Mercedes out for a practice lap, it was to sign hats to throw into the crowd.
Hamilton and the other Formula One drivers had very little time on the Shanghai International Circuit after poor visibility wiped out much of the day’s two practice sessions.