Qualifying for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was shaping up to be a sentimental story-until #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said ‘No. The last driver to make a run in Saturday’s final round of knockout qualifying, Stenhouse knocked #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. off the provisional pole for Earnhardt’s last spring race at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. The Coors Light Pole Award was Stenhouse’s first since he secured his only previous top starting spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2013 in Atlanta. It was the first pole for a Ford driver at Talladega since Travis Kvapil won his only career pole in October 2008. And it was the first Talladega pole for Roush Fenway Racing since Mark Martin did the honors in both races in 1989. #2-Brad Keselowski qualified third, followed by #20-Matt Kenseth and #6-Trevor Bayne, Stenhouse’s teammate at Roush Fenway Racing. Note: #96-D.J. Kennington failed to qualify for the 40-car field.(NASCAR Wire Service)[More]
