Kurt Busch tops Jimmie Johnson for Coke 600 pole

Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

William Byron’s 180.264mph lap was enough to secure him the provisional pole early in the session. But it would not hold as teammate Jimmie Johnson, a four-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, took over the top spot with 181.214mph lap.

With no practice, the track was treacherous for some. J.J. Yeley cut down a left rear tire on his run after a significant tire rub during his lap.

Matt DiBenedetto slammed the wall on the exit of Turn 4 during his lap, forcing the Wood Brothers to roll out the backup car.

Soon after, Aric Almirola spun sideways, making slight contact with the outside wall as his car slid into the infield.

Several drivers took a shot at Johnson’s lap, but none could seem to top the No. 48 machine.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch was finally able to unseat Johnson in the closing moments of the session, taking pole position by just 0.009s (181.269mph). For Busch, this is his 28th career pole and his first in NACAR’s longest race.

“I’m just so proud of Matt McCall (crew chief) and all our guys and the way we have to communicate right now and get through everything, such as those last-minute details and those fine adjustments,” Busch said. “I mean – wow. What a Chevrolet and being up front – this is pretty sweet.

“It’s an awesome pole. I was really more geared up for downforce and being ready for 600 miles. This means Matt McCall has something up his sleeve and we should be good tonight!’

This will be Johnson’s seventh front row start at Charlotte Motor Speedway and his fourth in the 600.

Chase Elliott will start third, Matt Kenseth fourth, Tyler Reddick fifth, Austin Dillon sixth, Joey Logano seventh, Martin Truex Jr. eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth, and William Byron tenth.

Cla#DriverManufacturerTimeGapMph
11 Kurt BuschChevrolet29.790 181.269
248 Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet29.7990.009181.214
39 Chase ElliottChevrolet29.8340.044181.002
442 Matt KensethChevrolet29.8470.057180.923
58 Tyler ReddickChevrolet29.8500.060180.905
63 Austin DillonChevrolet29.8770.087180.741
722 Joey LoganoFord29.9250.135180.451
819 Martin Truex Jr.Toyota29.9460.156180.325
92 Brad KeselowskiFord29.9530.163180.282
1024 William ByronChevrolet29.9560.166180.264
1118 Kyle BuschToyota30.0190.229179.886
1288 Alex BowmanChevrolet30.0200.230179.880
1311 Denny HamlinToyota30.0270.237179.838
1420 Erik JonesToyota30.0330.243179.802
1595 Christopher BellToyota30.0420.252179.748
1613 Ty DillonChevrolet30.0590.269179.647
1747 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Chevrolet30.0710.281179.575
186 Ryan NewmanFord30.0720.282179.569
1917 Chris BuescherFord30.0810.291179.515
2014 Clint BowyerFord30.0950.305179.432
2177 Ross ChastainChevrolet30.1500.360179.104
224 Kevin HarvickFord30.1560.366179.069
2343 Darrell Wallace Jr.Chevrolet30.1720.382178.974
2432 Corey LajoieFord30.1830.393178.909
2538 John Hunter NemechekFord30.2540.464178.489
2612 Ryan BlaneyFord30.3130.523178.141
2734 Michael McDowellFord30.3240.534178.077
2841 Cole CusterFord30.3340.544178.018
2937 Ryan PreeceChevrolet30.3520.562177.912
3000 Quin HouffChevrolet30.8481.058175.052
3127 Gray GauldingFord31.1601.370173.299
3266 Timmy HillToyota31.2341.444172.889
3321 Matt DiBenedettoFord31.4521.662171.690
347 J.J. YeleyChevrolet31.4801.690171.537
3515 Brennan PooleChevrolet31.5021.712171.418
3678 B.J. McLeodChevrolet31.5901.800170.940
3796 Daniel SuarezToyota31.8582.068169.502
3853 Garrett SmithleyChevrolet31.9712.181168.903
3951 Joey GaseFord33.5383.748161.011
4010 Aric Almirola Ford—  — —

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