NASCAR New Hampshire 2017 qualifying results: Kyle Busch tops Kyle Larson to win pole at Loudon

Kyle Busch won his series-best eighth pole of the season in qualifying for Sunday’s playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch will start on the pole for the second consecutive Monster Energy Cup Series playoff race, earning the pole Friday in qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Busch’s top lap of 135.049 mph around the one-mile track bested Kyle Larson, whose 134.911 mph lap puts him on the outside of the front row for Sunday’s ISM Connect 300. Denny Hamlin (134.763 mph) and Ryan Blaney (134.720 mph) share the second row.

Martin Truex Jr., who won the playoff opener last week at Chicagoland Speedway, qualified fifth. Defending race winner Kevin Harvick starts sixth, followed by Kurt Busch, rookie Erik Jones, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth completed the top 10. Only Jones is not among the 16 playoff-eligible drivers vying for the series championships.

When Busch started on the pole last week at Chicagoland, he led the 85 of the first 87 laps before two issues on pit road dropped him two laps behind the field. He would rally to finish 15th, with Truex earning the win that automatically advanced him to the second playoff round.

The pole was Busch’s series-best eighth pole of the season, though only once has he gone on to win after setting fast time in qualifying. His other win on the year came from the 18th starting position at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

“It’s been fun to have fast cars on Friday and fast cars throughout the weekend,” Busch said. “We just haven’t been able to close the deal."