Denny Hamlin has got the jump on his rivals with pole position for the penultimate round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season at Phoenix.
With Hamlin placed in a strong position in the points, he can gain what could be a critical bonus point if he leads just a single lap in Sunday’s race. He only needs to score an 11th place of better to secure one of four final spots in next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Hamlin set a time of 25.332 seconds on the one-mile flat oval to score his third Coors Light pole award of the season, his second at Phoenix and the 20th of his career. He beat another Chase contender in Brad Keselowski by just 0.006 seconds for the top starting spot in the final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Eliminator Round.
With Kevin Harvick third, Joey Logano fourth, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon sixth, Chase drivers claimed six of the top seven spots on the grid.
Not only does qualifying sort the grid, it also allows pit selection with Hamlin set to take the final stall on pit road, the one closest to the exit.
“I think the competition is just too close and tight to think that you’re just going to coast to an 11th-place finish,” said Hamlin.
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“Nowadays, the difference between 11th and third and 20th is not that much, so you’ve got to go all-out on every single lap and fight for every position on restarts.
“So, really, from my standpoint, there is no backing into this thing and coasting our way to Homestead. We have to go out there and perform at a high level, or else we’re not going to make it. There are too many cars that are too good for us to think that we’re just going to ride around and take our spot.”
Ryan Newman, who needs a ninth-place finish to advance to Homestead with title eligibility, qualified 20th, deepest in the field of the Chase drivers.
Plenty of focus is also on Kurt Busch after it was revealed pre-event that he is under police investigation for domestic assault; he will start 10th.
Marcos Ambrose will start from 21st on the grid after reporting that his car was a little too snug during his qualifying run.
“It’s consistent with where we were in practice,” said Ambrose.
“The car wasn’t bad. We need a little more speed.
We qualified when the sun went down, and that helped. The track is fast, and you just need a really fast lap.”
Meanwhile Alex Bowman and JJ Yeley have been creating plenty of attention with their “Dumb and Dumber To” paint schemes.
Bowman has Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carey) on the bonnet and rear quarter, while Bowman has Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniel’s) along for the ride. Plus both drivers are wearing race suits that mimic the bright dinner suits from the first movie.
The chances of the cars finishing 1-2 in Phoenix might be a one-in-a-million, but as Lloyd Christmas would say “So you’re telling me there’s a chance — YEH!”
Clay Rogers failed to make the 43-car field.
QUALIFYING: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 – Phoenix International Raceway
| POS. | CAR | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | MPH | BEST TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |  |
FedEx Ground | 142.113 | 25.332 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |  |
Miller Lite | 142.079 | 25.338 | –0.006 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |  |
Budweiser | 141.995 | 25.353 | –0.021 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | |
Shell Pennzoil | 141.794 | 25.389 | –0.057 |
| 5 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | |
Dollar General | 141.794 | 25.389 | –0.057 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
No. 19 Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota | 141.771 | 25.393 | –0.061 |
| 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
Axalta | 141.665 | 25.412 | –0.080 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
Target | 141.321 | 25.474 | –0.142 |
| 9 | 55 | Brian Vickers | |
Aaron’s Dream Machine | 141.287 | 25.480 | –0.148 |
| 10 | 41 | Kurt Busch | |
Haas Automation | 141.188 | 25.498 | –0.166 |
| 11 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
Richmond/Menards | 140.889 | 25.552 | –0.220 |
| 12 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 139.746 | 25.761 | –0.429 |
| 13 | 99 | Carl Edwards | |
Fastenal | 140.488 | 25.625 | –0.293 |
| 14 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
Furniture Row | 140.411 | 25.639 | –0.307 |
| 15 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
Lowe’s Patriotic | 140.356 | 25.649 | –0.317 |
| 16 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
Kelley Blue Book | 140.285 | 25.662 | –0.330 |
| 17 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
5-Hour Energy | 140.192 | 25.679 | –0.347 |
| 18 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
Cargill/Fry’s | 140.187 | 25.680 | –0.348 |
| 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
LiftMaster | 140.160 | 25.685 | –0.353 |
| 20 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
CAT Mining | 140.127 | 25.691 | –0.359 |
| 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | |
Stanley | 140.045 | 25.706 | –0.374 |
| 22 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
Farmer’s Insurance | 139.969 | 25.720 | –0.388 |
| 23 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
Farmland / Folds of Honor | 139.958 | 25.722 | –0.390 |
| 24 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
GLAD Trash Bags | 139.746 | 25.761 | –0.429 |
| 25 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
Cheerios | 139.697 | 25.770 | –0.438 |
| 26 | 33 | Ty Dillon | |
No. 33 Charter Communications Chevrolet SS | 139.432 | 25.819 | –0.487 |
| 27 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
Brandt | 139.394 | 25.826 | –0.494 |
| 28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
Sherwin Williams | 139.340 | 25.836 | –0.504 |
| 29 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops | 139.195 | 25.863 | –0.531 |
| 30 | 7 | Michael Annett | |
Accell Construction | 139.104 | 25.880 | –0.548 |
| 31 | 95 | Michael McDowell | |
KLOVE Radio | 138.873 | 25.923 | –0.591 |
| 32 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
GoDaddy | 138.851 | 25.927 | –0.595 |
| 33 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | |
Flasr.com Chevrolet | 138.691 | 25.957 | –0.625 |
| 34 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
Long John Silver’s | 138.307 | 26.029 | –0.697 |
| 35 | 34 | David Ragan | |
Taco Bell | 138.281 | 26.034 | –0.702 |
| 36 | 98 | Josh Wise | |
PPR98 | 137.942 | 26.098 | –0.766 |
| 37 | 23 | Alex Bowman | |
Dumb & Dumber To | 137.878 | 26.110 | –0.778 |
| 38 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
Newton Building Supplies | 137.857 | 26.114 | –0.782 |
| 39 | 37 | Mike Bliss | |
TBA | 137.515 | 26.179 | –0.847 |
| 40 | 26 | Cole Whitt | |
16T fuelxx/Tapout Muscle Recovery | 137.420 | 26.197 | –0.865 |
| 41 | 83 | J.J. Yeley | |
Dumb & Dumber To | 136.846 | 26.307 | –0.975 |
| 42 | 32 | Joey Gase | |
Zimmer.com | 136.199 | 26.432 | –1.100 |
| 43 | 66 | Mike Wallace | |
TBA | 134.088 | 26.848 | –1.516 |
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