Larson earns first pole of the season at Dover

Kyle Larson felt he “nailed” his lap in the final round of qualifying and it paid off with the pole for Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway.

The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was fastest in both the second round and the third round. Larson’s pole run was a lap of 158.103mph, and he was the only driver to crack the 158 mile-per-hour mark.

Dover starting lineup

Dover is Larson’s first pole of the season and the fifth of his career. Sunday will also be the first time that Larson has started from the top spot on a one-mile track.

“I feel like I nailed that lap pretty good – everything from coming to the green, [Turn] 1 and 2 was really good, [Turns] 3 and 4 maybe left a little bit out there, I got in there a little hot and up the track,” Larson said.

“I planned on kind of moving up the track each round. The first round caught me off guard, I was really loose getting in, but they made great adjustments throughout the next two rounds.”

Kevin Harvick joins Larson on the front row following a lap of 157.494mph. It is the fourth front-row start for Harvick this season.

Completing the top five were Martin Truex Jr. (157.432mph), Kyle Busch (157.226mph) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (157.006mph). Busch is the most recent Dover winner.

Rounding out the top 10 were Chase Elliott (156.733mph), Daniel Suarez (156.542mph), Brad Keselowski (156.447mph), Kurt Busch (156.284mph) and Denny Hamlin (155.993mph).

Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson starts 19th.

NEXT UP: Practice at 8:30 a.m. ET Saturday.