Kyle Busch wins pole for Friday night's Truck race at Kansas, Ryan Blaney starts second - MotorSportsTalk

Kyle Busch will start Friday night’s SFP 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway from the pole.

Busch was the No. 1 qualifier with a field-best run around the 1.5-mile track at 178.921 mph (at 30.181 seconds).

Ryan Blaney, who hopped out of his truck after qualifying and climbed into his Sprint Cup car to attempt to qualify for his first career Cup race, will start the Trucks race on the outside pole (178.873 mph).

Two incidents of note occurred during the overall qualifying period.

In the first session, Ben Kennedy lost control of his truck and hit the outside retaining wall, first with the rear and then the front of his truck.

“I don’t really know,” Kennedy said. “I knew we had a free setup the first couple laps, but I didn’t think it would be that free. I just drove it into (Turn 1) and I don’t really know what happened, the truck just broke loose. I saved it for a second and then by that time, I tried to keep it out of the wall, but unfortunately I hit it.”

Kennedy’s team went to its backup truck for Friday night’s race. As a result, he’ll start from the back of the pack when the green flag falls.

During the second session, smoke poured from under the truck of Darryl “Bubba” Wallace Jr.

According to a report on Fox Sports 1, the fan inside the motor compartment came loose and damaged the oil cooling line.

The team was attempting to determine whether the damage can be repaired or whether Wallace will also have to go to a backup truck, but a subsequent Fox Sports 1 report indicated Wallace will start from the rear of the field due to an engine change.

Here’s the starting lineup for Friday night’s SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway:

Row 1 Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney

Row 2 Johnny Sauter, Brian Ickler

Row 3 Joey Logano, Jeb Burton

Row 4 Austin Dillon, Timothy Peters

Row 5 Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter

Row 6 John Wes Townley, Brennan Newberry

Row 7 Tayler Malsam, Ron Hornaday Jr.

Row 8 Tyler Young, Joe Nemechek

Row 9 German Quiroga Jr., Mason Mingus

Row 10 Spencer Gallagher, Jimmy Weller III

Row 11 Darrell Wallace Jr. (will start from the back due to an engine change), Bryan Silas

Row 12 Todd Shafer, T.J. Bell

Row 13 Charles Lewandoski, Justin Jennings

Row 14 Jennifer Jo Cobb, Ryan Ellis

Row 15 Norm Benning, Ben Kennedy (will start from rear of field due to going to backup truck)

Row 16 Scott Stenzel

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SPIELBERG, Austria — Valtteri Bottas upstaged Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to take pole position Saturday for the Formula One Austrian GP.

The Finnish driver edged out the world champion by 0.012 seconds to claim the top spot for the season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. He clenched his fist as he climbed out of his car and shared a hug with Hamilton.

“It’s something special when you push the car to the limit,” said Bottas, who is chasing an eighth career win. “Feels so good. It’s very impressive (from the team).”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, and Lando Norris gave McLaren a boost by finishing fourth. Verstappen has won the past two years here, including 2019 when he started third behind Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“It’s going to be interesting quite a bit warmer tomorrow and hopefully this will play to our advantage,” Verstappen said. “Today, Mercedes was on a different level, unfortunately. Last year we were also a little bit off in qualifying so I expect we will be a bit better in the race.”

Bottas had the leading time when drivers embarked on their final laps and beat his own mark before sliding off the track into the gravel.

Hamilton was chasing a record-extending 89th career pole. He was ahead but then dropped off slightly as Bottas secured a 12th career pole.

“Great job by Valtteri. It’s a great start to the season,” Hamilton said. “We show year on year that we continue to be the best team. We’re open-minded … constantly learning from each other and pushing the boundaries.”

Ferrari struggled for speed, with Leclerc nearly one second behind in seventh and Sebastian Vettel failing to make it into the third and final part of qualifying, known as Q3. He starts the race from 11th on the grid.

Vettel is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season with his future in F1 uncertain.

Earlier, Hamilton posted the fastest time in morning practice. The 35-year-old British driver was also quickest in both sessions on Friday.

Midway through third practice, F1 newcomer Nicholas Latifi misjudged the exit of a turn and spun his Williams car into a protective tire wall.

Kyle Busch wins pole for Friday night’s Truck race at Kansas, Ryan Blaney starts second

Valtteri Bottas takes pole position for season-opening Austrian GP