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Kasey Kahne won the pole for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Friday afternoon.

Kahne won the pole in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a lap of 201.992 mph around the 2-mile course in 35.645 seconds.

The pole was Kahne’s first since 2012.

Qualifying second fastest was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (201.613 mph) while Brad Keselowski (201.449 mph) of Team Penske was third.

“I got through (turns) 1 and 2 pretty good,” Kahne said. “I just got a little free but was able to stay in it. And then in (Turn) 3 I was like man, I was a little loose there and I’ve been back-pedaling more than I wanted to. So, I pushed harder in (Turn) 3 and I started to kind of slide the nose, so I had to backpedal and go back down. I knew it killed my exit a little, but it was still a great lap. Our Great Clips Chevrolet has had speed all three runs, so I knew we’d have a shot today, so that was cool. It’s been a while since we’ve had a pole.”

Kahne will be looking for his first victory of the season at the re-vamped  this weekend at the revamped MIS track.

He will now be able to chase that first victory with the benefit of his pick of pit stalls.

“It’s going to be really important,” Kahne said of stall selection. “The track is going to change a lot, though, come Sunday, with all the racing going on this weekend and then our practices tomorrow. The track will be a lot different Sunday. So, there will be some passing for sure, but it’s not going to be easy. So, track position will play a big role in being there at the end of the race.”

 

 

(This story will be updated shortly)

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