Joey Logano might be forgiven if he thought he had permanent ownership of the pole at Kentucky Speedway. Elliot Sadler thought differently.
Logano won the past three poles at the 1.5-mile track, but will start fourth in the Feed the Children 300, behind Sadler, who posted a blistering lap at 173.734mph; Carl Edwards, who was one-hundredth of a second behind Sadler at 173.678mph and Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (173.511 mph).
The pole is Sadler's second of the season and he joins Edwards and Stenhouse as the only repeat pole winners in 2011.
Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Brian Scott, Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace and Trevor Bayne make up spots five through 10 as the only drivers to eclipse the 172 mph barrier. Mark Martin, considered a rookie for the race despite a series leading 49 wins, qualified 12th.
Kyle Busch, winner of Thursday night's Truck Series race, crashed on his first qualifying lap and will start in a back-up car in the rear of the field.
Danny Efland and Carl Long failed to make the 43-car field.