Carl Edwards has kicked started his title fight with pole position at the season finale at Homestead Miami.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup leader will start from the top spot after setting an average lap speed of 175.467 mph.
Edwards pole, his third for the season, is an early warning to rival Tony Stewart, who will start the race from 15th place. The pair are now separated by four points in a tension-filled finale.
Edwards completed his qualifying lap as the second last driver, and after he crossed the line, he knew he’d done enough for a front-row start.
“Awesome, guys, that is the way to come and perform,” he radioed to his crew.
Martin Truex Jr will start from second place in Sunday’s race, followed by Kasey Kahne, last week’s winner at Phoenix.
Stewart was disappointed with his time, but was confident that he has a good race car.
“We didn’t have a pole-winning car today, but our #14 Chevrolet is pretty good in race trim,” said Stewart.
Australian Marcos Ambrose will start the season-ending race in 18th place.
Qualifying results, Homestead-Miami
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac | 175.467 | 30.775 | Leader |
| 2 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 174.808 | 30.891 | -0.116 |
| 3 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 174.582 | 30.931 | -0.156 |
| 4 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 174.520 | 30.942 | -0.167 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 174.492 | 30.947 | -0.172 |
| 6 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 174.475 | 30.950 | -0.175 |
| 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 174.436 | 30.957 | -0.182 |
| 8 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Novec | 174.109 | 31.015 | -0.240 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 174.098 | 31.017 | -0.242 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | 173.969 | 31.040 | -0.265 |
| 11 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 173.907 | 31.051 | -0.276 |
| 12 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 173.734 | 31.082 | -0.307 |
| 13 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS My Choice | 173.678 | 31.092 | -0.317 |
| 14 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 173.371 | 31.147 | -0.372 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 173.333 | 31.154 | -0.379 |
| 16 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 173.321 | 31.156 | -0.381 |
| 17 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 173.277 | 31.164 | -0.389 |
| 18 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 173.271 | 31.165 | -0.390 |
| 19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 173.249 | 31.169 | -0.394 |
| 20 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 173.160 | 31.185 | -0.410 |
| 21 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 173.155 | 31.186 | -0.411 |
| 22 | 51 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit | 173.094 | 31.197 | -0.422 |
| 23 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Duracell / Menards | 173.083 | 31.199 | -0.424 |
| 24 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 172.966 | 31.220 | -0.445 |
| 25 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 172.889 | 31.234 | -0.459 |
| 26 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 172.701 | 31.268 | -0.493 |
| 27 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 172.656 | 31.276 | -0.501 |
| 28 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 172.425 | 31.318 | -0.543 |
| 29 | 84 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | Kangaroo Express | 172.392 | 31.324 | -0.549 |
| 30 | 55 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Ingersoll Rand | 171.991 | 31.397 | -0.622 |
| 31 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 171.821 | 31.428 | -0.653 |
| 32 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 171.685 | 31.453 | -0.678 |
| 33 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 171.059 | 31.568 | -0.793 |
| 34 | 135 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Big Red | 171.027 | 31.574 | -0.799 |
| 35 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Reese Towpower | 170.881 | 31.601 | -0.826 |
| 36 | 30 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | Inception Motorsports | 170.881 | 31.601 | -0.826 |
| 37 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 170.578 | 31.657 | -0.882 |
| 38 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 170.143 | 31.738 | -0.963 |
| 39 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | Hard Rock Vodka | 169.929 | 31.778 | -1.003 |
| 40 | 38 | Travis Kvapil+ | Ford | Long John Silver’s | 169.178 | 31.919 | -1.144 |
| 41 | 32 | T.J. Bell+* | Ford | Green Smoke | 167.707 | 32.199 | -1.424 |
| 42 | 36 | Geoffrey Bodine+ | Chevrolet | Luke & Associates | 162.842 | 33.161 | -2.386 |
| 43 | 71 | Mike Bliss | Ford | School Media | 169.940 | 31.776 | -1.001 |
| Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | 46 | Scott Speed | Ford | Green Stuff Absorbent | 169.529 | 31.853 | -1.078 |
| 45 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Speed Energy / Mapei | 169.359 | 31.885 | -1.110 |
| 46 | 37 | Mike Skinner | Ford | Koma Unwind | 168.587 | 32.031 | -1.256 |
| 47 | 192 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | BBI Waste Industries / Melling Engine Parts | 167.775 | 32.186 | -1.411 |
| 48 | 193 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | Hewes Concrete Polishing | 165.807 | 32.568 | -1.793 |
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