NNS: Kahne Wins Indianapolis Pole

Nationwide

NNS: Kahne Wins Indianapolis Pole

Kasey Kahne's fast lap scores first Nationwide pole at Indy...

Mike Hembree | Posted July 28, 2012 Indianapolis, IN

Kasey Kahne won the pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first Indiana 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne will lead the field to the start of the first Nationwide Series race in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history.

Kahne won the pole for Saturday afternoon’s Indiana 250 with a speed of 176.284 miles per hour, outgunning second-place Kyle Busch. It was Kahne’s first pole of the Nationwide season.

Series part-timer Ty Dillon took third, followed by Denny Hamlin and series point leader Elliott Sadler.

In the second five were Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard and series defending champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Danica Patrick, making her return to Indy, qualified 20th.

The series traditionally runs at the Lucas Oil Speedway short track near Indianapolis but is moving to the 2.5-mile IMS for this afternoon’s event.

Mike Harmon and Morgan Shepherd failed to qualify.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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