NASCAR Dover 2017 qualifying results: Kyle Busch wins AAA 400 pole

Toyota drivers sweep the top-four positions in qualifying for Sunday’s Cup Series race at Dover.

Led by Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing’s resurgence continued Friday with the team taking three of the top four position in qualifying for Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Busch’s lap of 158.954 mph nipped Martin Truex Jr. (158.877 mph) of Furniture Row Racing, which shares a close technical alliance with JGR, with teammates Daniel Suarez and Matt Kenseth, third and fourth, respectively. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

Completing the top 10 were Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, and JGR’s Denny Hamlin. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the final two drivers to advance to the final round of qualifying, will start 11th and 12th, respectively.

“To sit on the pole here means a little bit for us — it gives us a really good pit selection for Sunday and, more importantly, just gives us the track position right off the bat,” Busch said. “We’ll work on our Camry tomorrow in practice and make sure we get a good race setup underneath us so we can hopefully stay up front.”

The pole is Busch’s first of the season, and comes amidst JGR experiencing an uncharacteristic slow start to the season. Through 12 races, the Toyota-backed team is winless — the first time it’s gone this late into a season without a victory in 10 years. At this time a year ago, JGR’s four drivers collectively won seven of 12 races.

Busch finished second last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, only losing the Coca-Cola 600 when Dillon pulled off a fuel-mileage gamble to win his first career race. Kenseth finished fourth, with Hamlin fifth and Suarez 11th.

“I think the competition has just caught up to us,” Busch said. “... I feel like we’re close, and it’s just a matter of time before (JGR) can be where it needs to be and that’s to consistently beat (the competition) every week.”

Ten-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson will line up 14th. The defending and seven-time Cup Series champion had issues in qualifying throughout the year, not starting any race better than 11th. Among his track-record 10 wins, Johnson’s started as far back as 19th, and he said he’s not concerned about being competitive on Sunday.

“Today was pretty challenging in the practice session trying to find the right balance,” Johnson said. “Just got off a little there. We got it closer for qualifying here, but just not enough speed to transfer.

“We are trying. Qualifying is very important to us. We are very aware of that. It is just not suiting us this year. This is my favorite track and I know come race time we will be just fine.”