After the dust had settled in Saturday's Sprint Cup Series qualifying event, Matt Kenseth emerged with pole position for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 race. Kenseth edged out AJ Allmendendinger with an average speed of 137.101 mph.
Kenseth's win gives him his third pole win of the season and the Roush Fenway Racing team its 10th pole victory of the season (most of all teams). The race helps Roush in another way too: Kenseth's fellow Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards now moves from eighth to ninth in the starting order and allows him to start on the inside. Tony Stewart, who ranks three points behind Edwards, will start eighth but on the outside where the grip of the track is less favorable.
Kenseth drove the #17 car for Roush Fenway. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top three of Satruday's qualifying race.
Following are qualifying results for the Sprint Cup 500 in Phoenix. Full results here.
| Pos | Car | Driver | Speed | Time | Series Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
137.101 | 26.26 | 2278 | |
| 2 |  |
136.446 | 26.38 | 946 | |
| 3 |  |
136.307 | 26.41 | 895 | |
| 4 |  |
136.08 | 26.46 | 871 | |
| 5 |  |
136.08 | 26.46 | 882 | |
| 6 |  |
136.008 | 26.47 | 738 | |
| 7 |  |
135.988 | 26.47 | 694 | |
| 8 |  |
135.911 | 26.49 | 2313 | |
| 9 |  |
135.701 | 26.53 | 2316 | |
| 10 |  |
135.675 | 26.53 | 957 |