Kurt Busch tops Jimmie Johnson for Coke 600 pole

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.

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	--	--	--