KANSAS CITY — Kevin Harvick will start from the pole in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

That’s certainly no surprise - the pole is Harvick’s eighth in the Sprint Cup Series this season and third consecutive at Kansas.

“We’ve been dealt some bad luck throughout the year, but it hasn’t fazed us in continuing to work on the cars and the speed. The first three weeks we have led a bunch of laps and qualified well,” said Harvick, who has won twice this season, most recently in April at Darlington, S.C.

“Last week (at Dover, Del.) we had them covered and a valve stem got knocked off by a lug nut. Keep doing the things that you are doing and that luck will all come full circle and as long as the cars continue to be fast that stuff all comes back to you.

“Hopefully, it peaks at the right time.”

What was surprising Friday was the performance by six-time and reigning Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson, who spun out in the first round of qualifying and will start 32nd in Sunday’s race.

That’s Johnson’s worst starting position in a Chase race since he started 32nd in the 2005 season finale at Homestead, Fla.

Johnson declined to comment immediately after he drove his car into the garage following the spin but said through a spokesperson that he just got “really, really loose.”

Earlier in the day Friday, Johnson said he considered Kansas a track where he and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports would have a “good chance” at picking up a victory.