Seems like nothing can keep Matt Kenseth down as he grabbed the top spot for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond.

Following the news of a penalty from NASCAR, Kenseth followed up by winning the pole for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. During Friday’s Cup Series qualifying session Kenseth won the pole by posting a lap of 130.334 mph in 20.716 seconds. The pole win Friday is the second consecutive pole for Kenseth this season.

Joining Kenseth on the front row will be Brian Vickers, who is still filling in for an inactive Denny Hamlin, making it a Joe Gibbs Racing front row. Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin close out the top 10.

With the pole win on Friday it gives the No. 20 and Kenseth a breath of fresh air and some confidence heading into the race weekend following the penalty from earlier in the week. NASCAR had penalized the No. 20 team on Wednesday for a connecting rod in the engine, docking Kesneth 50 driver points as well as other penalties around the team.

Following the news of the penalty, it looked like it would hurt the team badly. As JGR gets ready to appeal the penalty, the pole win sets them up in a great position to recover this weekend. If Kenseth were to dominate the race in Richmond like he had in Kansas, it would be the perfect way to get back at that Penalty for the engine.

Christy Valdez is a NASCAR writer for Rant Sports. Follow her on Twitter @Knowursports and on Facebook at On The Sidelines With Christy