Date:               July 10, 2015

Event:             Kentucky 400 Qualifying (Round 18 of 36)

Series:             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location:        Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5-mile oval)

Pole Winner:   None, qualifying canceled due to rain (field set via NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rule book) 

SHR Lineup:   Kurt Busch (13th)

                      Kevin Harvick (15th)

          Tony Stewart (22nd)     

                      Danica Patrick (23rd

Rain canceled Friday’s qualifying session for the Kentucky 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. As a result, the 43-car field for Saturday night’s 267-lap event around the 1.5-mile oval was set by taking the fastest lap each driver posted during Friday’s practice session, per the NASCAR rulebook. 

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will start 13th. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for SHR, will start 15thTony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS for SHR, will start 22nd. Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, will start 23rd. 

Busch’s fast lap in practice was 30.173 seconds at 178.968 mph. Harvick turned a lap of 30.234 seconds at 178.607 mph. Stewart timed in at 30.655 seconds at 176.154 mph. Patrick stopped the clock in 30.668 seconds at 176.079 mph.

Kyle Larson will start first as he posted the fastest speed in Friday’s lone, rain-shortened practice session with a lap of 29.583 seconds at 182.537 mph. Joining him on the outside of row one is Brad Keselowski, who timed in at 29.729 seconds at 181.641 mph. Jeff Gordon (29.938 seconds at 180.373 mph), Joey Logano (29.983 seconds at 180.102 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (30.007 seconds at 179.958 mph) comprised the remainder of the top-five.

The Kentucky 400 gets underway at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday with live coverage provided by NBC Sports Network

-SHR-