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Sam Hornish Jr. wins the pole for Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Day 1

LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 12: Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the #2 Rheem Chevrolet, on track during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series 4th Annual Mid-Ohio Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 12, 2016 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)

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Sam Hornish Jr. was fastest in both rounds of qualifying on Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a lap of 96.374 mph. It was the eighth pole of Hornish’s career, his fourth on a road course, and his first in three starts this year.

Hornish enters Mid-Ohio looking for his second win of the season and will lead the field to the green flag next to the car he won in at Iowa Speedway in June, the No. 18. Owen Kelly is behind the wheel for Joe Gibbs Racing this week and will start second with a lap of 95.877 mph.

“The car was so good,” Hornish told NBC Sports. “These guys brought us such a good No. 2 Rheem machine that man, I don’t know what will happen if it rains. I usually like racing in the rain but the car is so good right now I hate to see what would happen if it did. That’s a possibility, but hats off to those guys for bringing such a good piece of equipment and thanks to everybody at Richard Childress Racing for the opportunity.”

The top five were Hornish, Kelly, Ryan Blaney (95.739 mph), Elliott Sadler (95.675 mph), and Daniel Suarez (95.613 mph).

Here is how qualifying played out:

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