Denny Hamlin has again proved the power of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas with pole position for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol.
Hamlin took the pole position with a fast lap of 211.48km/h (131.407 mph) in the final round of qualifying, which set a new track record. It is his second pole of the season, 22nd of his career and third at the track.
Further underlining JGR dominance was that they took the top three with Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards set to start second and third.
David Ragan will be in Row 2, with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski making up Row 3.
Last week’s Michigan winner Matt Kenseth did not advance to the final round of qualifying and will start 13th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (starting 20th), Martin Truex Jr. (starting 23rd) and Jeff Gordon (starting 24th) did not advance to the final round of qualifying.
The three cars that failed to make the 43-car field were Jeb Burton, Travis Kvapil and Reed Sorenson.
QUALIFYING: Irwin Tools Night Race – Bristol Motor Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | MPH | TIME | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |  |
FedEx Ground | 131.407 | 14.602 | Leader |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
Skittles | 131.263 | 14.618 | –0.016 |
| 3 | 19 | Carl Edwards | |
Stanley | 130.655 | 14.686 | –0.084 |
| 4 | 55 | David Ragan | |
Aaron’s Online Dream Machine | 130.460 | 14.708 | –0.106 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano |  |
Shell Pennzoil | 130.344 | 14.721 | –0.119 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | |
Miller Lite | 130.327 | 14.723 | –0.121 |
| 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |  |
Budweiser / Jimmy John’s | 130.300 | 14.726 | –0.124 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
Fastenal Ford Fusion | 130.123 | 14.746 | –0.144 |
| 9 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
5-Hour Energy | 130.053 | 14.754 | –0.152 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
LOWE’S PRO SERVICES | 129.947 | 14.766 | –0.164 |
| 11 | 41 | Kurt Busch | |
Haas Automation | 129.447 | 14.823 | –0.221 |
| 12 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
Target | 128.848 | 14.892 | –0.290 |
| 13 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | |
Dollar General | 129.675 | 14.797 | –0.195 |
| 14 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
Brandt | 129.351 | 14.834 | –0.232 |
| 15 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | |
SKF | 129.212 | 14.850 | –0.248 |
| 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
Dow | 129.151 | 14.857 | –0.255 |
| 17 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
Cheez-It Ford Fusion | 128.822 | 14.895 | –0.293 |
| 18 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
Caterpillar | 128.701 | 14.909 | –0.307 |
| 19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
Great Clips | 128.606 | 14.920 | –0.318 |
| 20 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
Nationwide | 128.537 | 14.928 | –0.326 |
| 21 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
McDonald’s/Cessna | 128.262 | 14.960 | –0.358 |
| 22 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | |
Advocare Ford Fusion | 128.193 | 14.968 | –0.366 |
| 23 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
Furniture Row/Visser Precision | 128.159 | 14.972 | –0.370 |
| 24 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
Axalta | 127.988 | 14.992 | –0.390 |
| 25 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
Bush’s Grillin Beans | 128.563 | 14.925 | –0.323 |
| 26 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | |
Blue Emu | 128.253 | 14.961 | –0.359 |
| 27 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | |
No Escape | 128.176 | 14.970 | –0.368 |
| 28 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 127.920 | 15.000 | –0.398 |
| 29 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
Knauf / Menards | 127.801 | 15.014 | –0.412 |
| 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | |
Thrivent Financial | 127.605 | 15.037 | –0.435 |
| 31 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
Smithfield | 127.563 | 15.042 | –0.440 |
| 32 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
GoDaddy | 127.537 | 15.045 | –0.443 |
| 33 | 35 | Cole Whitt | |
Speed Stick | 127.461 | 15.054 | –0.452 |
| 34 | 32 | Josh Wise | |
VISONE RV PARTS | 127.368 | 15.065 | –0.463 |
| 35 | 46 | Michael Annett | |
Pilot Flying J | 127.241 | 15.080 | –0.478 |
| 36 | 7 | Alex Bowman | |
Accell Construction | 127.208 | 15.084 | –0.482 |
| 37 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
Cash Cash | 126.964 | 15.113 | –0.511 |
| 38 | 23 | J.J. Yeley | |
VooDoo BBQ Sauce & Grill | 126.821 | 15.130 | –0.528 |
| 39 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
Carsforsale.com | 126.645 | 15.151 | –0.549 |
| 40 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 | 126.562 | 15.161 | –0.559 |
| 41 | 98 | Timmy Hill | |
Premium Motorsports | 126.063 | 15.221 | –0.619 |
| 42 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | |
Cosmo Motors | 125.592 | 15.278 | –0.676 |
| 43 | 33 | Mike Bliss | |
TBA | 125.469 | 15.293 | –0.691 |
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