Phoenix winner Matt Kenseth was fourth overall, while Brad Keselowski starts his quest for a second Cup title from fifth after barely skating through the first two knockout rounds.

“This sure doesn’t feel bad, but there’s a long way to go,” said Keselowski. “Today was one day in a three-day weekend, and it’s just qualifying trim, which is great for your starting position and pit selection but not as important in a long race. Hopefully we get a decent pit stall out of this; that’s a win in itself. It’s encouraging and we’ll make the most of what we have here. It’s like a poker game … and tomorrow you’ll start to see the turn of the cards.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch filled in positions six through eight, respectively, with Kevin Harvick starting as the lowest of the four championship contenders after qualifying ninth.

“Our Jimmy John’s Ford was good, but I went into Turn 1 and even coming to the green, the car was just loose and about spun out coming down to the apex in Turn 1,” said Harvick. “It’s not exactly how I wanted it to go, but all in all I think we’re going to be fine. It’s not like we’re 39th or something.”

“The good news is they didn’t get the pole and the first pit box, so that’s really what today is all about.”

Jamie McMurray tied Keselowski’s time of 31.322 seconds (172.403 mph) during the second round, but due to car owner points Keselowski got the nod and the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet landed 13th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Other notables knocked out in the second round included leading rookie Erik Jones (14th), Chase Elliott (18th), Joey Logano (19th) and seven-time and outgoing champion Jimmie Johnson (22nd).

Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not make a lap in round two and will officially start 24th for his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, but Earnhardt will have to drop to the rear before the green flag on Sunday due to an engine change during Friday’s practice session.

Just hours after announcing that 2017 will mark her final full-time season in racing, Danica Patrick qualified 25th (31.588/170.951) in the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford, just missing the cut to move on to the second round.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will return to the track Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for the first of two rounds of practice before Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400.

Full qualifying results can be viewed on the next page…