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
