INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Busch won the pole position Saturday as he chases an unprecedented third consecutive NASCAR Brickyard 400 victory Sunday.

Busch earned the top qualifying spot on his final lap with a speed of 187.301 mph on the 2.5-mile oval. Kevin Harvick was second at 186.332, and Jamie McMurray qualified third.

It’s the second consecutive year Busch has claimed the Indianapolis pole. The only other Cup drivers with back-to-back pole wins at the Brickyard are Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1996 and Ernie Irvan in 1997 and 1998.

Busch is trying to become the second driver to win three consecutive races at Indy. Former Formula One star Michael Schumacher won the U.S. Grand Prix four times in a row.

XFINITY: William Byron’s first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended with an unforgettable finish.

After taking the lead with 15 laps left, the teenage rookie used some savvy moves and a little luck to hold off hard-charging Paul Menard for his third series win in less than a month. The margin of 0.108 seconds was the narrowest in race history, and Byron did it by successfully blocking the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner on the last two laps while dealing with a troublesome tire for the final 20.

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“I can’t believe that tire held,” Byron shouted after the postrace celebration. “But it is awesome, man.”

At 19 years, 7 months, 23 days, Byron became the youngest winner of a major race on Indy’s historic 2.5-mile oval. Brazil’s Matheus Leist set the previous mark in May when he won the Indy Lights race at 19 years, 8 months, 19 days.

In three short weeks, Byron has visited Victory Lane at two tracks – Daytona and Indy – that often torment more experienced drivers. Getting there Saturday sure wasn’t easy.

Byron and the series’ other drivers used restrictor plates, new air ducts and a different splitter in hopes of making the race more competitive than in past years. In part, it worked.

Eight drivers traded the lead 16 times, both race records. Before Menard pressed the issue, Byron had to hold off Joey Logano, who finished third, more than three seconds back.

“I made a pretty aggressive dive into (turn) one on the last lap to see if I could get him loose, but he hung on,” Menard said. “Maybe I could have gotten his bumper, but it would have killed my momentum, too. I definitely tried to get him loose and couldn’t.”

But there was plenty of single-file racing, too. Series officials will now debate whether a similar package would make for a more entertaining Cup race next September.


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