Carl Edwards has ended a pole drought that stretched 18 months in setting the fastest time for the 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It was also his first pole for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, with a speed of 217.5254km (135.164 mph), his first pole at the track and 14th of his career.
“I’ve struggled at this race track, so this is big for me personally,” said Edwards.
“Everybody at JGR has been working so hard. These Toyotas are fast.”
Joey Logano was second-fastest in the Team Penske Ford. He set exactly the same time as David Ragan, but got the spot based on team owners’ standings.
Last week’s winner at Kentucky Speedway, Kyle Busch, will start fourth, while another JGR Toyota in the hands of Denny Hamlin will start fifth.
Ryan Blaney, who failed to qualify the part-time Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford the past two weekends because of qualifying rainouts, easily made the field this week in 16th.
Reed Sorenson and the Premium Motorsports Chevrolet failed to qualify for the 43-car field for the fifth time this season.
VIDEO: Edwards talks about his pole
QUALIFYING: 5-Hour Energy 301 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | MPH | BEST TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Carl Edwards |  |
Sport Clips | 135.164 | 28.179 | Leader |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano |  |
Shell Pennzoil | 135.021 | 28.209 | –0.030 |
| 3 | 55 | David Ragan | |
Aaron’s Dream Machine | 135.021 | 28.209 | –0.030 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
Interstate Batteries | 134.725 | 28.271 | –0.092 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | |
FedEx Freight | 134.601 | 28.297 | –0.118 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch |  |
Haas Automation | 134.596 | 28.298 | –0.119 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
Lowe’s | 134.501 | 28.318 | –0.139 |
| 8 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | |
Dollar General | 134.430 | 28.333 | –0.154 |
| 9 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
Great Clips | 134.397 | 28.340 | –0.161 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | |
Miller Lite | 134.023 | 28.419 | –0.240 |
| 11 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
McDonald’s/Cessna | 133.999 | 28.424 | –0.245 |
| 12 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | |
Jimmy John’s/ Budweiser | 133.591 | 28.511 | –0.332 |
| 13 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
Interstate Moving Services/Precon Marine Inc. | 134.174 | 28.387 | –0.208 |
| 14 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
Safety-Kleen Ford Fusion | 134.075 | 28.408 | –0.229 |
| 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
Furniture Row/Visser Precision | 134.042 | 28.415 | –0.236 |
| 16 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | |
SKF | 134.009 | 28.422 | –0.243 |
| 17 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
Target | 133.802 | 28.466 | –0.287 |
| 18 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
5-Hour Energy | 133.788 | 28.469 | –0.290 |
| 19 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
Nationwide | 133.464 | 28.538 | –0.359 |
| 20 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
GoDaddy | 133.450 | 28.541 | –0.362 |
| 21 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 133.403 | 28.551 | –0.372 |
| 22 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
Better Than Bouillon | 133.184 | 28.598 | –0.419 |
| 23 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
AARP MEMBER ADVANTAGES | 133.068 | 28.623 | –0.444 |
| 24 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
Dow | 132.924 | 28.654 | –0.475 |
| 25 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
Mobil 1 | 132.877 | 28.664 | –0.485 |
| 26 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
Quicken Loans | 132.715 | 28.699 | –0.520 |
| 27 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | |
Shaws/Smithfield | 132.623 | 28.719 | –0.540 |
| 28 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
Richmond/Menards | 132.609 | 28.722 | –0.543 |
| 29 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
Smithfield | 132.531 | 28.739 | –0.560 |
| 30 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
Brandt | 132.526 | 28.740 | –0.561 |
| 31 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | |
Advocare Ford Fusion | 132.388 | 28.770 | –0.591 |
| 32 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
Fastenal Ford Fusion | 132.172 | 28.817 | –0.638 |
| 33 | 35 | Cole Whitt | |
Taco Bell | 132.103 | 28.832 | –0.653 |
| 34 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | |
Dockside Logistics | 131.656 | 28.930 | –0.751 |
| 35 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | |
Burger King | 131.370 | 28.993 | –0.814 |
| 36 | 26 | Jeb Burton | |
Maxim Fantasy Sports | 130.972 | 29.081 | –0.902 |
| 37 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
MDS | 130.765 | 29.127 | –0.948 |
| 38 | 46 | Michael Annett | |
Pilot Flying J | 130.300 | 29.231 | –1.052 |
| 39 | 23 | J.J. Yeley | |
Dr. Pepper | 129.384 | 29.438 | –1.259 |
| 40 | 7 | Alex Bowman | |
Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet | 129.103 | 29.502 | –1.323 |
| 41 | 32 | Eddie MacDonald | |
Draftdemons.com | 128.994 | 29.527 | –1.348 |
| 42 | 33 | Derek White | |
Braille Battery/Grafoid | 126.165 | 30.189 | –2.010 |
| 43 | 98 | Timmy Hill | |
Residence Inn | 102.022 | 37.333 | –9.154 |
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