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NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying: Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger Claim Pole Positions

Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, the final driver to take a qualifying time, edged out Stewart-Haas Racing pilot Ryan Newman to take the top spot. Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.

There were a bevy of penalties, affecting Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Marcos Ambrose, and Mark Martin.

Kasey Kahne was on pace for a great, possibly pole-winning qualifying effort but lost control and slammed the turn three wall, destroying his No. 5 Chevrolet. He will start from the rear of the field tomorrow night in a backup car.

A.J. Allmendinger won the pole for the preliminary Sprint Showdown, a 30-lap last-chance race from which three drivers - the top-two finishers and the winner of a Fan Vote - advance to the All-Star Race. Martin Truex Jr. was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, and Aric Almirola.

Visit NASCAR.com for the full Sprint All-Star Race and Sprint Showdown qualifying results.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.