Matt Kenseth collects Coca-Cola 600 pole
CONCORD, N.C. — Matt Kenseth knows the pole position for NASCAR's longest race doesn't matter all that much.
But he's certainly not going to complain about starting first in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
"It's just one lap," Kenseth said Thursday night after winning his second pole of the season. "We have 600 miles Sunday, but it's a great place to start."
Kenseth (194.252 mph) edged Joey Logano (192.836) for the top spot, followed by Carl Edwards, one of Kenseth's Toyota teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing.
"You hear you got second and you're like, 'Cool,'" Logano said. "Then you hear how far off you are and you're like, 'Not even close!' We have some work to do."
Greg Biffle was a surprising fourth for Roush Fenway Racing, followed by another JGR driver, Denny Hamlin.
Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10.
In a bit of a shocker, no Hendrick Motorsports driver made the final round of qualifying. That included Jimmie Johnson (13th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15th), Jeff Gordon (18th) and Kasey Kahne, who will start 33rd after suffering a cut tire in the first round.
"The good thing is it's a long race," Kahne said. "It shouldn't be too big of an issue getting toward the front."
Rising rookie Chase Elliott made the race in a fifth Hendrick car and will start 28th.
There were 48 cars who entered the race, which means five were sent home. That list included Jeb Burton, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Jeff Green and Brendan Gaughan.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
PHOTOS: 2015 Sprint Cup race winners
Cup-Coca-Cola 600 Lineup
Thursday's qualifying from the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway (car number in parentheses):
1. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 194.252 mph.
2. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 192.836.
3. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 192.733.
4. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 192.226.
5. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 192.007.
6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 191.884.
7. (55) David Ragan, Toyota, 191.625.
8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 191.272.
9. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 191.266.
10. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 190.322.
11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 189.833.
12. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 185.414.
13. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 191.727.
14. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 191.714.
15. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 191.686.
16. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 191.666.
17. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 191.428.
18. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 191.354.
19. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 191.15.
20. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 190.954.
21. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 190.826.
22. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 190.597.
23. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 189.98.
24. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 183.711.
25. (95) Michael McDowell, Ford, 190.806.
26. (9) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 190.779.
27. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 190.597.
28. (25) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 190.375.
29. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 190.181.
30. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 189.947.
31. (7) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 189.88.
32. (40) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 189.847.
33. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 189.673.
34. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 189.288.
35. (51) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 189.221.
36. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 189.049.
37. (35) Cole Whitt, Ford, Owner Points.
38. (98) Josh Wise, Ford, Owner Points.
39. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Owner Points.
40. (34) Brett Moffitt, Ford, Owner Points.
41. (23) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, Owner Points.
42. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, Owner Points.
43. (33) Alex Kennedy, Chevrolet, Owner Points.
Failed to Qualify
44. (26) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 188.291.
45. (32) Mike Bliss, Ford, 186.89.
46. (39) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 186.31.
47. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 184.068.
48. (62) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 181.165.