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Fans can also vote for top Nationwide Series moment

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 9, 2014) — It’s another showdown between the rising stars and seasoned veterans of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR’s seven touring series, as voting for the Most Popular Driver Awards begins today, Thursday, October 9.

Additionally, fans can also vote on their top NASCAR Nationwide Series moment.

Regan Smith looks to defend his NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver title, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is guaranteed to have a new winner. Fans can vote once per day online for the Most Popular Driver Awards at www.NASCAR.com/mostpopulardriver, and for the NASCAR Nationwide Series top moment at www.NASCAR.com/nnstopmoment

Voting is open and runs through Friday, Nov. 14 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Saturday, Nov. 15 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, prior to the respective season finale races at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend. Voting for the NASCAR touring series will also conclude Saturday, Nov. 15.

The winners will be announced at the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards. The combined postseason gala will take place at the Trump National Doral Miami on Monday, Nov. 17.

The Most Popular Award winners for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series will be honored at the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards at the NASCAR Hall of Fame / Charlotte Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 13.

To be eligible to receive Most Popular Driver votes, drivers must have selected either the NASCAR Nationwide Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to receive 2014 championship driver points. Additionally, for all voting, drivers must have attempted at least half of their respective series races this season.

Selected by a panel of NASCAR industry representatives, here are the top NASCAR Nationwide Series moments from the past seven seasons that fans can vote on starting today:

Aug. 1, 2009 – Brad Keselowski wins the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway, taking home the Dash 4 Cash bonus in front of 60,000 fans.

July 3, 2010 – The new NASCAR Nationwide car makes its race debut at Daytona. Driving a blue-and-yellow No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet reminiscent of his father’s car, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola.

March 5, 2011 – Danica Patrick finishes fourth at Las Vegas, marking the best finish by a female driver in NASCAR national series history.

Aug. 6, 2011 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carl Edwards wreck coming across the finish line at Iowa Speedway battling for the win. Stenhouse would emerge as the winner, earning his first victory of the season.

Aug. 26, 2011 – Kyle Busch‘s victory at Bristol Motor Speedway moves him past Mark Martin as the series’ all-time wins leader (50). Busch has since upped his win total to 69.

Nov. 5, 2011 – At Texas Motor Speedway, Kenny Wallace supplants Jason Keller as the series’ all-time starts leader (520).

Nov. 16, 2013 – Austin Dillon wins the series championship by a scant three points over Sam Hornish Jr. It was Dillon’s second national series championship in three years.

April, 2014 – Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott wins consecutive races at Texas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway, becoming the youngest driver to win back-to-back races in series history.

Aug. 16, 2014 – Chris Buescher claims his first career win in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio, while honoring 6-year-old patient champion Luke Benner.

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Life is good for first-time series points leader

CONCORD, N.C. — In theory, Joey Logano can rest easy over the next two races.

His Hollywood Casino 400 victory in the opening race of the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Kansas Speedway advanced him to the Eliminator Round that begins on Oct. 26 at Martinsville Speedway.

But don’t tell the 24-year-old that.

"Right now, we are thinking about Charlotte," Logano said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "We are thinking about our Martinsville test we’ve got coming up this week. … These next two (races) are all about keeping the momentum going, keeping the ball rolling."

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Logano later simplified it even more.

"My goal is still to win," he said. "I might be greedy, but I want to win."

Still, the Kansas victory does bring a bit of relief for the Connecticut native.

"It’s nice to know you’re in because I think everyone was very nervous about this round," Logano said. "Knowing that it’s not a round that is going to win you the championship, but it’s a round that could keep you from winning it, when you think of Kansas and Talladega being in this round."

Logano’s five wins this year have come at a variety of tracks — from the short tracks at Bristol and Richmond to the "Magic Mile" of Loudon to the intermediate ovals of Texas and Kansas.

Clearly, the Team Penske driver is thriving like never before. In addition to more than doubling his win total entering this season (he came in with three career victories and has five in 2014), he has the most top-fives in one season (14) and has led more laps this year (916) than he had from 2009-2013. (660).

On top of that, shortly after his win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Challenger Round of the Chase, he inked a multiyear extension with Team Penske, the team he’s been with since 2013.

One of the year’s biggest thrills is also a career first for him: Holding the points lead, which he has now.

"One of the coolest things about winning last week is that we are the points leader now," Logano said. "That’s never happened for me before. Seeing your truck parked in the first spot, having that first garage stall, obviously it doesn’t mean much at this point, but it is something special."

At Kansas, Logano was able to avoid the tire woes that claimed several Chase contenders such as teammate Brad Keselowski, as well as six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Those three drivers occupy the lowest three spots in the standings among the Chase field coming into Charlotte.

With his teammate currently on the wrong side of the Chase bubble, Logano says there are no plans to do anything differently this weekend.

"We’re going to do what we normally do," Logano said. "We normally go out and try and help each other. As a two-car team, we have to work very tight together to make sure both our cars are fast. I feel like that’s something we applied to Team Penske a long time ago.

"We’ll pretty much do the same things we are already doing. Working together throughout practice, throughout qualifying, sharing our notes, talking about our race cars and then race each other as hard as we know how to on the race track."

Logano is enjoying arguably the best stretch of his career, with three wins in the past seven races, four top-five finishes to start the Chase and no finish worse than 14th in his past 11 Sprint Cup races. The Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) could very well keep the momentum going. He has three top-fives, six top-10s and a series-best average finish of 10.5 in 11 starts.

Still, despite having his spot in the next round locked up, Logano knows things could change, and next time it could be him instead of Keselowski or the other favorites who is in a tough position come the Eliminator Round.

"We are fortunate enough that it is not going be us this time," Logano said. "But like Roger (Penske) likes to say, ‘You can’t trip up over your own press clippings.’ "

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Lining up second to Busch is Chase contender Gordon

MORE: Full race lineup

CONCORD, N.C. — The fastest car in the first round of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series knockout qualifying, Kasey Kahne‘s No. 5 Chevrolet, will start 19th in Saturday night’s Bank of America 500, the fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kurt Busch, the new track record holder at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and the new record holder for top speed at a 1.5-mile speedway — will start 11th in the second race of the Chase’s Contender Round.

It was Kyle Busch, however, who ran the fastest lap when it counted most in Friday night’s time trials. Busch won the pole or Saturday night’s race with a lap at 197.300 mph (27.357 seconds) in the final round, edging Jeff Gordon (197.217 mph) for the top starting spot by .024 seconds.

The Coors Light pole award was Busch’s third of the year, matching the single-season high-water mark he achieved in 2013. It was his second pole at Charlotte and the 16th of his career.

Denny Hamlin, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate qualified third at 197.087 mph in a session that saw 21 drivers in the first round break Hamlin’s previous track record of 195.624 mph, set in May of 2013.

Tony Stewart (196.542 mph), the only non-Chase driver in the top five, will start fourth, followed by Ryan Newman (196.442 mph).

But it was Kurt Busch, Kyle’s brother, who posted the fastest lap ever run on a 1.5-mile speedway in the second round of time trials. Kurt toured Charlotte in a mind-boggling 27.167 seconds in posting an average speed of 198.771 mph, eclipsing the 198.282 mph run by Kevin Harvick at Texas in April.

Kurt Busch said his car was at optimum strength in the second round — hence, the record lap. But he’ll start 11th after his car tightened up in the final session.

"Car was loose the first lap (in Round One), perfect the second lap, tight the third lap (in the final round)," he said. "Yes, I was off-throttle some, but never out of it all the way."

Kyle Busch was fifth fastest in the first round, fourth in the second and the pole winner in the third, though his lap times in each session were remarkably consistent. The difference was that other drivers ran slower as the night progressed, a phenomenon Busch attributed as much to setup as to tire wear.

"It seemed like the guy that was the most consistent was able to win the pole tonight," said Busch, who is second in the Chase standings. "I think we had a .38 (27.38 seconds), then a .33 and then a .36 — so pretty good laps there…

"We tested here a few weeks ago, and I was really happy with the test. We unloaded today and not so happy about it — just Charlotte. It will be different again tomorrow. You can certainly chalk that up for sure. We’ll see how this weekend goes, and hopefully we can come out of here with a solid weekend and put ourselves in the right spot for continuing on in our Chase here."

It was anything but an easy night for two drivers who desperately need a stellar performance, if not a victory, in Saturday night’s race.

Jimmie Johnson aborted his first qualifying attempt because his car was too loose to drive, but he came back to run 10th as time wound down on Round One and advanced to the second session.

But Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet tightened up on his money lap in the second round, and the six-time series champion will start 21st on Saturday night.

"Just didn’t have the speed there on that final run," said Johnson, who is 11th in the Chase standings with a cut to the top eight looming after the Oct. 19 race at Talladega Superspeedway. "I got pretty tight off of (Turn) 4."

"I thought we had some hope after the first round, and our second outing we ran a very good lap. But just didn’t have any more there on that lap through Turns 3 and 4; we got wide and I had to let off a little bit so I didn’t get into the outside wall. It’s disappointing. There’s no way around it."

Similarly, Brad Keselowski needed a second attempt in the first round to advance, but a disappointing effort in the 10-minute second round left him 17th on the grid for the only night race in the Chase.

But Keselowski, 10th in the Chase standings, sounded optimistic despite failing to advance to the final round of qualifying.

"We’ve been off a little bit in qualifying trim since we’ve been here, but I thought our race trim was really good in practice and that’s the most important thing so we’ll keep working."

Kasey Kahne, ninth in Chase points, was fastest in the first round of qualifying but could do no better than 19th in the second round and will start from that position on Saturday. Dale Earnhardt Jr., currently 11th in the Chase standings, advanced to the final round and will start ninth.

Trevor Bayne failed to make the 43-car field in his first outing in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

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Kevin Swindell will lead off the start of qualifying on Friday at 4:10 p.m ET

Entry No. Driver Sponsor
1 93 Kevin Swindell JGL Racing Dodge
2 98 * Corey LaJoie(i) Carroll Shelby Engine Co. Ford
3 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Ford
4 91 * Jeff Green SupportMilitary.org Toyota
5 40 Matt DiBenedetto Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet
6 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota
7 87 Timmy Hill(i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
8 39 Ryan Sieg # RSS Racing Chevrolet
9 43 Dakoda Armstrong # WinField Ford
10 72 * Matthew Carter Crash Claims R Us Chevrolet
11 4 Jeffrey Earnhardt teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet
12 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet
13 11 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Toyota
14 9 Chase Elliott # NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
15 89 * Morgan Shepherd Courtney Construction Chevrolet
16 42 Kyle Larson(i) Cartwheel by Target Chevrolet
17 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com/AllSouthElectric.com Chevrolet
18 12 * Ryan Blaney(i) Western Star Ford
19 84 * Chad Boat # Corvetteparts.net Chevrolet
20 5 * Alex Bowman(i) Dirty Mo Radio Chevrolet
21 74 * Mike Harmon Dodge
22 10 * David Starr NCCER/Build Your Future Toyota
23 33 * Cale Conley(i) IAVA Chevrolet
24 14 Eric McClure Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota
25 55 Jamie Dick Viva Auto Group Chevrolet
26 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
27 46 * Ryan Ellis Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet
28 44 Will Kimmel III Ingersoll Rand Toyota
29 23 Carlos Contreras Retroinfinity.com Chevrolet
30 70 * Derrike Cope youtheory Chevrolet
31 60 Chris Buescher # RFRShop.com Ford
32 01 Landon Cassill Flex Seal Chevrolet
33 2 Brian Scott Charter Communications Chevrolet
34 52 Joey Gase Chevrolet
35 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Dodge
36 20 Matt Kenseth(i) GameStop Toyota
37 16 Ryan Reed # ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes/Lilly Diabetes Ford
38 3 Ty Dillon # Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
39 7 Regan Smith Vlasic Wish-Bone Chevrolet
40 17 * Tanner Berryhill # New Gulf Resources Toyota
41 80 * Ross Chastain(i) AISIN AW Toyota
42 99 James Buescher Toyota
43 31 Dylan Kwasniewski # FOE Chevrolet
44 77 * Jimmy Weller(i) Jo Dance Chevrolet
45 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota

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SHR drivers all fast early; Bayne, Keselowski top NNS sessions

Sprint Cup Series practice 1 | Results

Kevin Harvick was fastest in Thursday’s opening practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Bank of America 500 event.

Harvick lapped the track at a speed of 196.192 mph. The No. 4 driver has two previous wins at the North Carolina track.

Second-fastest was Richard Childress Racing driver and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Dillon with a speed of 196.107 mph.

Stewart-Haas Racing driver and co-owner Tony Stewart (195.327 mph), Jeff Gordon (195.016 mph) and Kurt Busch (194.911 mph) completed the leaderboard’s top five.

Dillon, Stewart, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. were the non-Chase drivers in the top 10. All four SHR teammates were in the top seven.

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski came in as 31st-fastest (191.932 mph). The Team Penske driver, who was once the top seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, now sits in 10th in the standings after a right-front tire issue sent him to the garage early at Kansas. The No. 2 driver now must race his way into the top eight in order to continue to the Eliminator Round.

Another driver who had a poor showing at Kansas that now finds himself in the bottom of the Chase running is seven-time Charlotte winner Jimmie Johnson. Johnson rounded the track at a speed of 194.049 mph coming in as 14th-fastest. The six-time Cup champion is currently sitting 12th in the Chase standings.

Nationwide Series practice 1 | Results

Trevor Bayne snuck by a dominant Kyle Busch late in opening Nationwide Series practice to top the session at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday afternoon.

On his 26th and final lap around the 1.5-mile speedway, the Roush Fenway Racing driver shot from sixth to first with a best speed of 180.856 mph, surpassing Busch’s high mark of 180.584 mph.

Busch was trailed by a pair of Team Penske drivers in Ryan Blaney (180.355 mph) and Brad Keselowski (180.108 mph).

Richard Childress Racing’s Brian Scott (179.683 mph) rounded out the top five, with and Bayne pushing his RFR teammate Chris Buescher (179.593 mph) to sixth.

Nationwide points leader Chase Elliott was eighth on the board, topping out at 179.027 mph over 35 laps. His closest points competitor, JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith, was 14th at 178.406 mph.

Nationwide Coors Light Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET (ESPN2) with the Drive for the Cure 300 later at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

Nationwide Series practice 2 | Results

Alex Bowman is off to a good start in his debut with JR Motorsports, pulling a dominant last lap to break up a near-tie at the top of the charts and finish with the fastest speed in final Nationwide Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday evening.

Brad Keselowski (180.650 mph) and Dylan Kwasniewski (180.638) were separated by 0.002 seconds at the top when Bowman ran his 28th and final lap at a 181.245 clip to knock them down a peg.

A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch were next on the charts at 180.210 and 180.054, respectively, to complete the top five.

Series points leader Chase Elliott was sixth at 179.904, while his teammate and closest points competitor Regan Smith was 20th at 177.515.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET (ESPN2) with the Drive for the Cure 300 later at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

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Hendrick Motorsports teammates face pressure after standings tumble

CONCORD, N.C. — Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson says the plan is simple.

"Try and take the trophy out of here; really, that solves our problem in the points that we have right now," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Johnson and teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, along with Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski, enter Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET) on the outside of the cutoff spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. Only the top eight after next week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway will advance and remain eligible for this year’s championship.

Different incidents at Kansas Speedway last week put a kink in their title hopes. Charlotte is an opportunity to win, move on and put aside any concerns about next weekend’s trip to Talladega.

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"If we can’t (win), we still need to focus on finishing as high as we can," Johnson, 39, said. "The reason that leaves a little bit of hope is because if you miss the big (wrecks) in Talladega, you could assume some of the other Chasers will be involved in one or two of those and you might have another chance.

"It’s a fading chance, the position I’m in I believe, but it’s still an opportunity and something for us to consider."

Johnson won here in May, the first of three wins by the No. 48 team in the span of four weeks. Since then, wins have not materialized and a single mishap threatens to paint Johnson out of the title picture.

"We’re just not where we want to be, bottom line," he said. "This sport is not forgiving and what you’ve done in the past doesn’t buy you a damn thing for the present. You’ve got to go out there and earn it and make the most of it.

"We’ve been a third- to fifth-place car. We can finish there and run there but we haven’t been a dominant car. We’re certainly hoping that when we come to tracks that have been very good for the 48 that we’re able to find that little bit, that extra tenth and put us in that position and get our mojo going the right way."

Johnson is a seven-time winner at CMS and sports an average finish of 11.2.

Earnhardt Jr. is still searching for his first points win at the 1.5-mile facility. Charlotte has not been as kind to the sport’s most popular driver. He’s won here in 2000 in the series’ annual All-Star race and again in 2012 in the Sprint Showdown.

But that lack of success hasn’t dulled his outlook for racing his way back into contention.

"We obviously know what the situation is with the points and how important it is for us to come in here and win the race," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I have been winless at Charlotte in a points-paying race since I started my career, so it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

"I always win at the weirdest times in the oddest circumstances. So I feel like everything is lining up and I feel real good about this weekend."

Unlike Johnson, who had his hands full at Kansas, Earnhardt Jr. was enjoying a strong run last week before a tire problem sent his No. 88 Chevrolet to the garage. He had led 45 laps and was out front when the incident occurred.

That performance, he said, gives him confidence going into this weekend’s race.

"I feel less pressure now I think than I did before the race at Kansas," he said. "Even … if we had run in the top five last week, I think … under the circumstances now I still feel less pressure for some reason — it’s weird.

"I just think that we have a shot and I feel good about it. I think our team is good. I think we are good enough. I think we should go out there and win. I believe we will."

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Bruce: Driver readies for second chance with team on upswing

Sam Hornish Jr. will return to full-time competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015 as driver of the No. 9 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Can Hornish, a former open-wheel champion with 131 starts in the series, contend for wins? Can he follow in teammate Aric Almirola‘s footsteps and earn a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup?

Does RPM have the tools and personnel to provide Hornish with the opportunity to accomplish either of those goals?

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Hornish, 35, obviously believes that’s the case. Although he hasn’t competed in a full-time capacity in the Sprint Cup Series since 2010, when he finished 29th in points with Team Penske, Hornish hasn’t exactly been sitting at home on the couch.

He finished out the year for Penske in 2012, running 20 races in the No. 22 entry after AJ Allmendinger was suspended. That same year, he finished fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

The following season, he finished second in the Nationwide Series, falling just three points short of the title won by Austin Dillon.

He’s made nine NASCAR starts this season, eight for Joe Gibbs Racing in Nationwide, winning at Iowa in the team’s No. 54 Toyota.

His lone Sprint Cup start came at Auto Club Speedway, a last-minute call putting him in the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin after Hamlin was sidelined for medical reasons.

Age isn’t an issue — six of this year’s 13 race winners are 35 or older, and they have combined for 15 wins in 30 races.

Experience shouldn’t be a problem, although rule changes, the lack of testing opportunities and getting settled in with a new team will affect how quickly the team is able to get up to speed.

Why return to the series in a full-time capacity? Hornish said he’s yet to complete what he originally hoped to accomplish when he made the transition from IndyCar, where he won championships in 2001, 2002 and 2006.

"A lot of people want to ask me ‘why don’t you go back to IndyCar?’ " Hornish said Wednesday. "I never came over here because I wanted to have a little bit more fame or I felt like I was going to make any more money doing it. I came over here because I was intrigued by the competition side of it.

"I felt like I had accomplished what I wanted to in the IndyCar Series. Now I put myself back in position where I could continue to build on what I originally came over here for."

And RPM, he said, can help him accomplish that.

It won’t be easy. While the organization clearly has made gains in the past few seasons, its drivers have won only sporadically. Almirola’s victory this season, in July at Daytona, earned the driver a spot in this year’s Chase, but both he and Marcos Ambrose struggled to find the consistency necessary to be a factor on a weekly basis.

It’s been a year of slow improvement for the group. Although Almirola failed to advance out of the first round of the Chase, he earned his first career win, and his two top-five and seven top-10 finishes are career bests.

Ambrose, who will return to Australia after the 2014 season, failed to earn the victory that could have put his No. 9 team in the Chase. His three top-five and five top-10 finishes through 30 races this year are on par with previous years’ results.

While he says the organization is "not where we want to be yet," Sammy Johns, director of competition for RPM, said the gains the group has made this year helped attract a driver with the potential and talent of Hornish.

RPM could have gone the other way with its choice, opting for a young driver with less experience. But by choosing Hornish, the team clearly expects to continue to move forward without taking a step back.

Both driver and team have something to prove.

"It’s kind of like a small ship," Hornish said of the organization. "It’s a lot easier to turn, and they’ve got a lot of things heading in a really good direction."

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See where every driver will pit Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC

MORE: Full Bank of America 500 race lineup

RELATED: Track your picks in the Perfect Chase Grid Challenge and Chase Battle Grid Presented by Toyota

Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Bank of America 500 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Charlotte Motor Speedway and chose the first pit stall at the exit of pit road, heading into Turn 1.

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Jeff Gordon qualified second and selected the 15th pit stall, the first with a front opening. Across the open stall is the third-fastest qualifier Denny Hamlin who will pit in the 11th box.

Tony Stewart was fourth in the final round of qualifying and selected the 22nd stall, three off of the start/finish line toward the Turn 4 side. Ryan Newman rounded out the top five and will pit in the 21st stall, across the opening from Stewart.

The rest of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender Round drivers will pit in the following spots:

Joey Logano, Second stall
Brad Keselowski, Ninth stall
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 12th stall
Jimmie Johnson, 24th stall
Kasey Kahne, 31st stall
Matt Kenseth, 38th stall
Carl Edwards, 41st stall
Kevin Harvick, 43rd stall

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See the order the drivers will head off in Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Thursday, 7:20 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

# Car Driver Team
1 66 Brett Moffitt RoyalTeakCollection.com Toyota
2 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford
3 38 David Gilliland MDS Transport Ford
4 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
5 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
6 5 Kasey Kahne Pepsi Chevrolet
7 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield/Waffle House Ford
8 2 Brad Keselowski Detroit Genuine Parts Ford
9 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
10 95 Michael McDowell Pieters Pals/KLOVE Ford
11 98 Josh Wise Provident Metals Chevrolet
12 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford
13 77 Corey LaJoie(i) Essex Homes Ford
14 36 Reed Sorenson Zing Zang Chevrolet
15 7 Michael Annett # Cypress HQ Chevrolet
16 51 Justin Allgaier # BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
17 33 Timmy Hill Retroinfinity.com Chevrolet
18 23 Alex Bowman # Dr Pepper Toyota
19 26 Cole Whitt # Rinnai Toyota
20 34 David Ragan CSX – Play It Safe Ford
21 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Breast Cancer Awareness Chevrolet
22 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
23 3 Austin Dillon # Dow Chevrolet
24 6 Trevor Bayne(i) AdvoCare Ford
25 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
26 16 Greg Biffle 3M Bondo Ford
27 83 JJ Yeley(i) Painter’s Ice Cream Toyota
28 22 Joey Logano Pennzoil Platinum Ford
29 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet
30 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
31 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet
32 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet
33 41 Kurt Busch State Water Heaters Chevrolet
34 32 Blake Koch(i) Leaf Filter Ford
35 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
36 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford
37 40 Landon Cassill(i) Chevrolet
38 18 Kyle Busch Doublemint Toyota
39 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
40 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
41 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet
42 15 Clint Bowyer Pink Lemonade 5-Hour Energy benefitting LBBC Toyota
43 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet
44 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Monopoly Chevrolet
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The Official Beer of NASCAR looks to fans to help find its next spokeswoman

RELATED: Vote for the new Miss Coors Light

Coors Light, the official beer of NASCAR, is giving race fans nationwide a chance to select the next Miss Coors Light from a "six pack" of candidates.

"If I have said it once, I have said it a million times; being Miss Coors Light has been the greatest job in the world."

—Rachel Rupert

Hundreds of candidates were interviewed for the position and the final six candidates were announced today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The final phase of the search will take place on NASCAR.com/MissCoorsLight and legal-drinking-age fans will have until November 16 to vote. The new Miss Coors Light will be announced December 4 during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week™ in Las Vegas.

The World’s Most Refreshing Beer officially launched the Miss Coors Light program in 2010 with the selection of Rachel Rupert during the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™." After more than four years as the face of the brand’s partnership with NASCAR, Rupert will hang up her fire suit and prep the next Miss Coors Light for the position.

"If I have said it once, I have said it a million times; being Miss Coors Light has been the greatest job in the world," said Rupert. "It’s been an unbelievable experience to be the voice of the fans every week for Coors Light. For me, it’s not race day without a crisp, refreshing Coors Light, and no matter where I am in the world, that won’t change."

Although there will be a new face and fire suit walking pit road, fans can expect the next Miss Coors Light to uphold the traditions of the program.

Miss Coors Light will continue to wave the green flag during qualifying and present the Coors Light Pole Award in Victory Lane. Along with at-track activities, Miss Coors Light will continue to post unique content to Facebook.com/MissCoorsLight and NASCAR.com’s "Out Front with Miss Coors Light," a weekly video series with each weekend’s pole winner.

Fans across the country can meet Miss Coors Light at grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and restaurants prior to every race. Follow the search for the next Miss Coors Light by heading to Facebook.com/MissCoorsLight and following @MissCoorsLight on Twitter.