Qualifying report
NASCAR Cup Charlotte
Kurt Busch tops Jimmie Johnson for Coke 600 pole
Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Nick DeGroot
Edited: May 24, 2020, 9:08 PM
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William Byron's 180.264mph lap was enough to secure him the provisional pole early in the session. But it would not hold as teammate Jimmie Johnson, a four-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, took over the top spot with 181.214mph lap.
With no practice, the track was treacherous for some. J.J. Yeley cut down a left rear tire on his run after a significant tire rub during his lap.
Matt DiBenedetto slammed the wall on the exit of Turn 4 during his lap, forcing the Wood Brothers to roll out the backup car.
Soon after, Aric Almirola spun sideways, making slight contact with the outside wall as his car slid into the infield.
Several drivers took a shot at Johnson's lap, but none could seem to top the No. 48 machine.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Kurt Busch was finally able to unseat Johnson in the closing moments of the session, taking pole position by just 0.009s (181.269mph). For Busch, this is his 28th career pole and his first in NACAR's longest race.
"I'm just so proud of Matt McCall (crew chief) and all our guys and the way we have to communicate right now and get through everything, such as those last-minute details and those fine adjustments," Busch said. "I mean - wow. What a Chevrolet and being up front - this is pretty sweet.
"It's an awesome pole. I was really more geared up for downforce and being ready for 600 miles. This means Matt McCall has something up his sleeve and we should be good tonight!'
This will be Johnson's seventh front row start at Charlotte Motor Speedway and his fourth in the 600.
Chase Elliott will qualified third, Matt Kenseth fourth, Tyler Reddick fifth, Austin Dillon sixth, Joey Logano seventh, Martin Truex Jr. eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth, and William Byron tenth.
Keselowski, Almirola, Yeley, and Timmy Hill will start from the rear for unapproved adjustments while DiBenedetto will start from the rear for switching to the backup car.
Read Also:
Cla # Driver Manufacturer Time Gap Mph 1 1 
Kurt Busch Chevrolet 29.790 181.269 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 29.799 0.009 181.214 3 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 29.834 0.044 181.002 4 42 Matt Kenseth Chevrolet 29.847 0.057 180.923 5 8 Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 29.850 0.060 180.905 6 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 29.877 0.087 180.741 7 22 Joey Logano Ford 29.925 0.135 180.451 8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 29.946 0.156 180.325 9 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 29.953 0.163 180.282 10 24 William Byron Chevrolet 29.956 0.166 180.264 11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 30.019 0.229 179.886 12 88 Alex Bowman Chevrolet 30.020 0.230 179.880 13 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 30.027 0.237 179.838 14 20 Erik Jones Toyota 30.033 0.243 179.802 15 95 Christopher Bell Toyota 30.042 0.252 179.748 16 13 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 30.059 0.269 179.647 17 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 30.071 0.281 179.575 18 6 Ryan Newman Ford 30.072 0.282 179.569 19 17 Chris Buescher Ford 30.081 0.291 179.515 20 14 Clint Bowyer Ford 30.095 0.305 179.432 21 77 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 30.150 0.360 179.104 22 4 Kevin Harvick Ford 30.156 0.366 179.069 23 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. Chevrolet 30.172 0.382 178.974 24 32 Corey Lajoie Ford 30.183 0.393 178.909 25 38 John Hunter Nemechek Ford 30.254 0.464 178.489 26 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 30.313 0.523 178.141 27 34 Michael McDowell Ford 30.324 0.534 178.077 28 41 Cole Custer Ford 30.334 0.544 178.018 29 37 Ryan Preece Chevrolet 30.352 0.562 177.912 30 00 Quin Houff Chevrolet 30.848 1.058 175.052 31 27 Gray Gaulding Ford 31.160 1.370 173.299 32 66 Timmy Hill Toyota 31.234 1.444 172.889 33 21 Matt DiBenedetto Ford 31.452 1.662 171.690 34 7 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 31.480 1.690 171.537 35 15 Brennan Poole Chevrolet 31.502 1.712 171.418 36 78 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 31.590 1.800 170.940 37 96 
Daniel Suarez Toyota 31.858 2.068 169.502 38 53 Garrett Smithley Chevrolet 31.971 2.181 168.903 39 51 Joey Gase Ford 33.538 3.748 161.011 40 10 Aric Almirola Ford -- -- --
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