NASCAR Charlotte: Denny Hamlin denies Kurt Busch pole
Denny Hamlin took his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole since his return from injury as he topped qualifying for Sunday's 600-mile race at Charlotte
Going into the latter stages of Thursday evening's session, Kurt Busch appeared to have taken the second pole of the season for himself and the Furniture Row team, with no one able to challenge his 27.661-second lap.
But Hamlin was able to rustle up a 27.604s effort in his Joe Gibbs Toyota to deny Busch the top spot.
Busch held on to the outside front row position, as Matt Kenseth underlined Gibbs' pace by securing third.
Mark Martin was on the provisional front row for a spell before falling back to fourth, just ahead of Michael Waltrip Racing team-mate Clint Bowyer.
Last year's winner Kasey Kahne was sixth fastest in the best of the Hendrick entries.
Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman completed the top 10, with everyone back to Busch below the previous track record.
Championship leader Jimmie Johnson and nearest points rival Carl Edwards will start 12th and 13th. Reigning champion Brad Keselowski was 20th.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota 27.604s 2. Kurt Busch Furniture Row Chevrolet 27.661s + 0.057s 3. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Toyota 27.679s + 0.075s 4. Mark Martin Waltrip Toyota 27.750s + 0.146s 5. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 27.763s + 0.159s 6. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet 27.785s + 0.181s 7. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 27.801s + 0.197s 8. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 27.842s + 0.238s 9. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 27.879s + 0.275s 10. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 27.887s + 0.283s 11. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 27.915s + 0.311s 12. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 27.937s + 0.333s 13. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 27.940s + 0.336s 14. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 27.985s + 0.381s 15. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 28.049s + 0.445s 16. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 28.083s + 0.479s 17. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 28.097s + 0.493s 18. Aric Almirola Petty Ford 28.106s + 0.502s 19. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 28.107s + 0.503s 20. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford 28.142s + 0.538s 21. Casey Mears Germain Ford 28.142s + 0.538s 22. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 28.165s + 0.561s 23. JJ Yeley Baldwin Chevrolet 28.274s + 0.670s 24. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 28.298s + 0.694s 25. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 28.303s + 0.699s 26. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 28.322s + 0.718s 27. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 28.348s + 0.744s 28. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota 28.359s + 0.755s 29. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 28.360s + 0.756s 30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford 28.385s + 0.781s 31. Joey Logano Penske Ford 28.414s + 0.810s 32. Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 28.426s + 0.822s 33. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 28.452s + 0.848s 34. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 28.511s + 0.907s 35. David Ragan Front Row Ford 28.564s + 0.960s 36. Regan Smith Phoenix Chevrolet 28.613s + 1.009s 37. David Reutimann BK Toyota 28.665s + 1.061s 38. David Stremme Swan Toyota 28.683s + 1.079s 39. Timmy Hill FAS Lane Ford 28.706s + 1.102s 40. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 28.711s + 1.107s 41. Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.712s + 1.108s 42. Josh Wise Front Row Ford 28.969s + 1.365s 43. Scott Speed Leavine Ford 28.623s + 1.019s Did not qualify: Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Toyota 28.690s + 1.086s
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