Tony Stewart sped to the pole for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 during Thursday evening's NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Stewart ran 191.959 mph to edge Matt Kenseth, who recorded a lap at 191.918 mph, for the number one spot.

"It was definitely better than we thought," Stewart said of the lap that earned him his first pole since Pocono in August 2010.

Carl Edwards clocked in third quick followed by A. J. Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Trevor Bayne.

Geoffrey Bodine, Scott Speed and Josh Wise did not make the 43-car starting field.

Sprint Cup drivers have two practice sessions scheduled Friday. Saturday night's race goes green at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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