Carl Edwards has proved he knows the fast way around New Hampshire Speedway by backing-up his July pole position with another quick time ahead of this weekend’s race.
Although Edwards finished seventh last time out in Loudon, his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch did take the win. The organisation has continued to be hot with another JGR racer in Denny Hamlin opening the Chase for the Sprint Cup last week at Chicagoland with victory. That win came after successive wins to Edwards (Darlington) and Matt Kenseth (Richmond).
Starting alongside is defending series champion Kevin Harvick, who last week finished second-last after contact with Jimmie Johnson on the track cut a tyre. Then he made further contact with Johnson when he shoved the six-time champion during a post-race discussion at the back of the garage area.
Harvick will need a strong result this weekend to keep his title hopes alive and avoid a must-win situation next week at Dover.
Kurt Busch starts third and Brad Keselowski fourth, while Johnson will go from fifth. 10 of the top 11 drivers on the grid are in the Chase. The only non-Chase driver in the top 10 is Kyle Larson. Clint Bowyer is the lowest Chase driver in the field. He’ll start 26th.
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | MPH | TIME | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Carl Edwards |  |
Sport Clips | 137.980 | 27.604 | Leader |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |  |
Ditech | 137.845 | 27.631 | –0.027 |
| 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | |
Haas Automation | 137.800 | 27.640 | –0.036 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |  |
Miller Lite | 137.671 | 27.666 | –0.062 |
| 5 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
LOWE’S PRO SERVICES | 137.621 | 27.676 | –0.072 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
Target Plaid | 137.517 | 27.697 | –0.093 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | |
FedEx Freight | 137.457 | 27.709 | –0.105 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | |
Shell Pennzoil | 137.378 | 27.725 | –0.121 |
| 9 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
Caterpillar | 137.022 | 27.797 | –0.193 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
Drive to End Hunger | 136.580 | 27.887 | –0.283 |
| 11 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
Nationwide | 136.560 | 27.891 | –0.287 |
| 12 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
Farmers Insurance | 136.365 | 27.931 | –0.327 |
| 13 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | |
Dollar General | 136.943 | 27.813 | –0.209 |
| 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
Ford EcoBoost Ford Fusion | 136.825 | 27.837 | –0.233 |
| 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
Smithfield | 136.697 | 27.863 | –0.259 |
| 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
Cheerios | 136.516 | 27.900 | –0.296 |
| 17 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
Pedigree | 136.409 | 27.922 | –0.318 |
| 18 | 55 | David Ragan | |
Aaron’s Dream Machine | 136.360 | 27.932 | –0.328 |
| 19 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 136.306 | 27.943 | –0.339 |
| 20 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
Sylvania / Menards | 136.082 | 27.989 | –0.385 |
| 21 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
Furniture Row/Visser Precision | 136.048 | 27.996 | –0.392 |
| 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
GoDaddy | 135.951 | 28.016 | –0.412 |
| 23 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
FLIR | 135.516 | 28.106 | –0.502 |
| 24 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
AccuDoc Solutions | 135.333 | 28.144 | –0.540 |
| 25 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
Kleen Performance Products Ford Fusion | 135.796 | 28.048 | –0.444 |
| 26 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
5-Hour Energy | 135.772 | 28.053 | –0.449 |
| 27 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
Code 3 Associates / Mobil 1 | 135.651 | 28.078 | –0.474 |
| 28 | 35 | Cole Whitt | |
Taco Bell | 135.607 | 28.087 | –0.483 |
| 29 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | |
Shaws/Smithfield | 135.554 | 28.098 | –0.494 |
| 30 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
Bush’s Chili Beans | 135.448 | 28.120 | –0.516 |
| 31 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | |
Dockside Logistics LLC | 135.333 | 28.144 | –0.540 |
| 32 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
Interstate Moving Services | 135.121 | 28.188 | –0.584 |
| 33 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | |
Advocare Ford Fusion | 135.021 | 28.209 | –0.605 |
| 34 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
MDS Transportation | 134.620 | 28.293 | –0.689 |
| 35 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | |
Cosmo Motors | 134.411 | 28.337 | –0.733 |
| 36 | 7 | Alex Bowman | |
Nikko RC/Toy State Car | 134.292 | 28.362 | –0.758 |
| 37 | 98 | Ryan Preece | |
Mohawk Northeast, Inc. | 134.117 | 28.399 | –0.795 |
| 38 | 46 | Michael Annett | |
Switch Hitch | 133.553 | 28.519 | –0.915 |
| 39 | 33 | B J McLeod | |
TBA | 132.526 | 28.740 | –1.136 |
| 40 | 26 | Josh Wise | |
Maxim | 132.213 | 28.808 | –1.204 |
| 41 | 23 | Jeb Burton | |
Bullhorn | 132.177 | 28.816 | –1.212 |
| 42 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | |
ARUNDEL FORD/ WEIRS GMC/ BANGOR TRUCK EQUIPMENT | 131.948 | 28.866 | –1.262 |
| 43 | 62 | Timmy Hill | |
TBA | 129.878 | 29.326 | –1.722 |
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