NASCAR starting lineup at Fontana: Martin Truex Jr. wins second straight pole

Martin Truex Jr. has this qualifying thing down. The driver of the No. 78 car won his second straight pole Friday posting a time of 38.59 seconds to earn the front spot at the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Sunday.

"First time ever," Truex told FS1 after qualifying. "It's definitely really cool, just proud of everybody."

Kyle Busch qualified second as he will pursue his fourth victory in Fontana while Kyle Larson was third.

Kevin Harvick, who will go for his fourth straight win to start the year managed to break the course record in the first round with a time of 38.147 seconds, but will start 10th after he struggled on his final qualifying lap.

Chase Elliott was not so lucky. As good as he was last week finishing third in Phoenix, the 22-year-old failed to pass tech and was unable to put out a time on the track. He is one of the favorites to win the race, but if he does so it will have to be a come-from-behind effort.

Failing inspection was a theme of the day, though, as 13 drivers failed to record a time. Jimmie Johnson, who is the all-time win leader in Fontana, did not record a time. In fact, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers failed to pass inspection.

The Auto Club 400 starts at 3:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, on Fox.

Starting lineup for the Auto Club 400

1. Martin Truex Jr. 2. Kyle Busch 3. Kyle Larson 4. Erik Jones 5. Austin Dillon 6. Joey Logano 7. Kurt Busch 8. Ryan Blaney 9. Ryan Newman 10. Kevin Harvick 11. Brad Keselowski 12. Chris Buescher 13. Trevor Bayne 14. Paul Menard 15. Jamie McMurray 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17. Ty Dillon 18. Matt DiBenedetto 19. Darrell Wallace Jr. 20. Gray Gaulding 21. David Ragan 22. Michael McDowell 23. Jeffrey Earnhardt 24. Reed Sorenson 25. Denny Hamlin 26. Clint Bowyer 27. Aric Almirola 28. Alex Bowman 29. William Byron 30. Daniel Suarez 31. Chase Elliott 32. AJ Allmendinger 33. Jimmie Johnson 34. Kasey Kahne 35. Timmy Hill 36. Ross Chastain 37. Cole Whitt