New Hampshire NASCAR: Carl Edwards on pole for Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards will start the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from pole
Edwards, fastest in practice, clocked a lap of 27.604 seconds in the final five-minute qualifying shootout to edge his Chase rival Kevin Harvick to pole by 0.027s, taking his second of the year at New Hampshire.
Kurt Busch, the fastest man in the opening phase of qualifying, had to settle for third, ahead of Brad Keselowski and three-time New Hampshire race winner Jimmie Johnson.
Kyle Larson was the best of the non-Chase drivers, lapping sixth fastest for Chip Ganassi.
Chicagoland winner Denny Hamlin will start from seventh, while Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10.
Hendrick Motorsports team-mates Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kasey Kahne were 11th and 12th, the slowest of the runners in final qualifying.
Richmond winner Matt Kenseth narrowly missed out on a spot in the final pole shootout, bumped down to 13th by late improvement from Hamlin.
His Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch will start 17th, with fellow Chase drivers Paul Menard 20th, Martin Truex Jr 21st and Jamie McMurray 23rd.
Two-time New Hampshire winner Clint Bowyer was the slowest of the Chase contenders down in 26th, eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying.
Bowyer's Chase aspirations hang in the balance after he and his Michael Waltrip Racing team were penalised for a technical infringement last time out at Chicagoland.
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.604s | - |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.631s | 0.027s |
| 3 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.640s | 0.036s |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.666s | 0.062s |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.676s | 0.072s |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.697s | 0.093s |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.709s | 0.105s |
| 8 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.725s | 0.121s |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.797s | 0.193s |
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.887s | 0.283s |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.891s | 0.287s |
| 12 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.931s | 0.327s |
| 13 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.813s | - |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.837s | - |
| 15 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.863s | - |
| 16 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.900s | - |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.922s | - |
| 18 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.932s | - |
| 19 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 27.943s | - |
| 20 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.989s | - |
| 21 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 27.996s | - |
| 22 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.016s | - |
| 23 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.106s | - |
| 24 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.144s | - |
| 25 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.048s | - |
| 26 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.053s | - |
| 27 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.078s | - |
| 28 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.087s | - |
| 29 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.098s | - |
| 30 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.120s | - |
| 31 | Brett Moffitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.144s | - |
| 32 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.188s | - |
| 33 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.209s | - |
| 34 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.293s | - |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.337s | - |
| 36 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.362s | - |
| 37 | Ryan Preece | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | 28.399s | - |
| 38 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.519s | - |
| 39 | B.J. McLeod | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 28.740s | - |
| 40 | Josh Wise | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.808s | - |
| 41 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.816s | - |
| 42 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 28.866s | - |
| 43 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Ford | 29.326s | - |
Previous article
Travis Pastrana to make NASCAR return in Truck series race
Next article
New Hampshire NASCAR: Matt Kenseth wins, Kevin Harvick out of fuel
Why NASCAR's most resilient driver has landed on his feet at 23XI
In a career that has had many ups and downs, Kurt Busch has been written off many times before. But facing career uncertainty after the sale of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team, the 2004 Cup champion has found a new berth at Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan's 23XI organisation - which underlines his enduring value
The F1 nearly-man winding back the clock in NASCAR’s European cousin
A multiple F3000 race winner, Marc Goossens was on the precipice of making Formula 1 in the 1990s - but a lack of budget left him without a path to the promised land. Turning to an illustrious racing career in sportscars, Goossens left the endurance circuit to try his hand at racing stock cars - and now calls the NASCAR Euro Series home
Why a British prospect is trying to make it in NASCAR
There has never been a full-time British driver in the NASCAR Cup. But Alex Sedgwick, who is rising through the stock car ranks, wants that to change and could be a trailblazer for European talents to reach the top echelons of the NASCAR ladder
How Earnhardt’s death changed American motorsport
It's 20 years since legendary driver Dale Earnhardt Sr died at the Daytona 500, but the legacy of his crash continues today through the pioneering safety work done by NASCAR
The NASCAR subplots to keep an eye on in 2021
This weekend's Daytona 500 kickstarts a NASCAR Cup season that promises plenty of intrigue courtesy of new owners and a refreshed calendar. Here's what you need to know ahead of the new season
How a second-chance NASCAR ace is rebuilding his career
From a disgraced NASCAR exile, Kyle Larson has been given a shot at redemption by the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports squad. Replacing seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is no easy billing, but Larson has every intention of repaying the team's faith
Autosport's top 5 NASCAR machines
The American stock car scene is more famous for its close racing and occasional punch-ups, but there have been some fantastic machines too. As part of Autosport's 70th anniversary celebrations in 2020, we picked out five of its best
Why NASCAR's latest second-generation champion is just getting started
Chase Elliott's late charge to the 2020 NASCAR Cup title defied predictions that it would be a Kevin Harvick versus Denny Hamlin showdown. While the two veterans are showing no signs of slowing down, Elliott's triumph was a window into NASCAR's future
