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 | - |
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