Dover NASCAR: Denny Hamlin continues strong form with pole
Denny Hamlin kept his momentum rolling from last weekend's victory at Loudon to claim pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase round at Dover
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver beat the previous benchmark set by Penske Racing's Sam Hornish Jr and his lap of 22.599 seconds stood unbeaten.
Michael Waltrip Racing duo Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr, fastest in Friday's opening practice, got closest but had to take second and third on the grid respectively.
"I didn't think it was a pole-winning lap when I ran it," said Hamlin. "That's why I ran a second lap, just to try to improve it.
"Definitely [crew chief] Darian [Grubb] is working out some magic and obviously our qualifying is working a lot better this year and that's one thing that we've definitely improved this year that's helped with our results.
"Starting from the pole is obviously going to be a huge advantage for us on Sunday."
Hornish ended up a surprising fourth as the best of those who are not contending for the title, followed by Hamlin's team-mate Kyle Busch, also out of the championship battle this year.
Right behind them the majority of title contenders lined up with Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle sixth as the fastest Ford ahead of Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon.
His team-mate Kasey Kahne and early Chase leader Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10 ahead of seven-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson, who survived sideways moments on his first lap to then get 11th with his second one.
"I was happy to get that second lap in," said Johnson. "I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first [lap].
"The first lap I was on the rev limiter down the back straightaway, so I know I busted [Turns] 1 and 2 well. But it takes a complete lap to get it done around here. It was still a respectable time."
Tony Stewart, who struggled at this track a year ago while fighting for the title, could only manage 24th on the grid ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr, the slowest qualifier among those in the Chase.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who will replace Matt Kenseth at Roush Fenway Racing next year, was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 17th, while David Stremme, Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Cole Whitt and Kelly Bires failed to make the field.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 22.599s
2. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 22.604s + 0.005s
3. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 22.613s + 0.014s
4. Sam Hornish Jr Penske Dodge 22.676s + 0.077s
5. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 22.689s + 0.090s
6. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 22.707s + 0.108s
7. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 22.721s + 0.122s
8. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 22.742s + 0.143s
9. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet 22.748s + 0.149s
10. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 22.763s + 0.164s
11. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 22.772s + 0.173s
12. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 22.786s + 0.187s
13. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 22.789s + 0.190s
14. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 22.789s + 0.190s
15. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 22.792s + 0.193s
16. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 22.811s + 0.212s
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford 22.816s + 0.217s
18. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 22.835s + 0.236s
19. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 22.842s + 0.243s
20. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 22.936s + 0.337s
21. Aric Almirola Petty Ford 22.941s + 0.342s
22. Landon Cassill BK Toyota 22.955s + 0.356s
23. Josh Wise Front Row Ford 22.984s + 0.385s
24. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 22.989s + 0.390s
25. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 22.997s + 0.398s
26. Mark Martin Waltrip Toyota 23.005s + 0.406s
27. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 23.033s + 0.434s
28. Kurt Busch Phoenix Chevrolet 23.043s + 0.444s
29. Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Chevrolet 23.044s + 0.445s
30. Casey Mears Germain Ford 23.050s + 0.451s
31. David Ragan Front Row Ford 23.074s + 0.475s
32. Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 23.094s + 0.495s
33. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota 23.120s + 0.521s
34. Scott Speed Leavine Ford 23.160s + 0.561s
35. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 23.169s + 0.570s
36. Scott Riggs R3 Chevrolet 23.188s + 0.589s
37. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 23.217s + 0.618s
38. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 23.222s + 0.623s
39. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 23.222s + 0.623s
40. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 23.279s + 0.680s
41. JJ Yeley Baldwin Chevrolet 23.293s + 0.694s
42. TJ Bell FAS Lane Ford 23.349s + 0.750s
43. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 23.424s + 0.825s
Did not qualify:
David Stremme Inception Toyota 23.262s + 0.663s
Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Toyota 23.280s + 0.681s
Jason Leffler Robinson-Blakeney Toyota 23.306s + 0.707s
Cole Whitt Circle Sport Chevrolet 23.416s + 0.817s
Kelly Bires Go Green Ford 23.425s + 0.826s
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