Kevin Harvick captured the pole for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard in an unusual Sunday qualifying session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Harvick's 185.766 mph lap withstood a surprising late challenge from Paul Menard (185.724 mph), who will start alongside him on the front row.
Jimmie Johnson moves up to fifth quickest as Paul Menard moves up to second!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 8, 2019
But it's Kevin Harvick on the pole at @IMS! Tune in at 2PM ET on @NBC. pic.twitter.com/FtDQaYqRgN
"(Clean air) is going to be huge … handling is going to come into play," Harvick told NBCSN after earning his third pole of the year — and 30th of his career.
"There's a number of things that have to come into play, and hopefully we can finish today where we start."
The race at Indianapolis marks the final event of NASCAR's regular season, and two of the drivers on the playoff bubble really helped themselves in qualifying, with Clint Bowyer qualifying third and Jimmie Johnson posting the fifth-fastest time. Bubble drivers Daniel Suarez, who qualified 20th, and Ryan Newman (22nd) will start well back in the pack.
The green-flag time for Sunday's race has been moved up to 2:05 p.m. ET.
NASCAR at Indianapolis starting lineup
| Starting | Driver | Number |
| No. 1 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| No. 2 | Paul Menard | 21 |
| No. 3 | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
| No. 4 | Joey Logano | 22 |
| No. 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 |
| No. 6 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| No. 7 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| No. 8 | Kurt Busch | 1 |
| No. 9 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
| No. 10 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
| No. 11 | Daniel Hemric | 8 |
| No. 12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 |
| No. 13 | Alex Bowman | 88 |
| No. 14 | Erik Jones | 20 |
| No. 15 | Bubba Wallace | 43 |
| No. 16 | Chris Buescher | 37 |
| No. 17 | David Ragan | 38 |
| No. 18 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
| No. 19 | Kyle Larson | 42 |
| No. 20 | Daniel Suarez | 41 |
| No. 21 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
| No. 22 | Ryan Newman | 6 |
| No. 23 | Ryan Preece | 47 |
| No. 24 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
| No. 25 | Ty Dillon | 13 |
| No. 26 | Matt DiBenedetto | 95 |
| No. 27 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
| No. 28 | Matt Tifft | 36 |
| No. 29 | William Byron | 24 |
| No. 30 | Corey LaJoie | 32 |
| No. 31 | Landon Cassill | 00 |
| No. 32 | Parker Kligerman | 96 |
| No. 33 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| No. 34 | Ross Chastain | 15 |
| No. 35 | B.J. McLeod | 51 |
| No. 36 | Ryan Sieg | 27 |
| No. 37 | Reed Sorenson | 77 |
| No. 38 | Garrett Smithley | 52 |
| No. 39 | Josh Bilicki | 53 |
| No. 40 | J.J. Yeley | 54 |
What time does the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard start?
The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
What channel is the race on?
The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard will be broadcast nationally on NBC. The race also can be live-streamed on the NBC Sports app or by subscribing to fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.