New Hampshire NASCAR: Carl Edwards takes pole for Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards will start Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire from pole position
A week after the Toyota team took four of the top five places at Kentucky, Edwards led the way as the JGR quartet all qualified inside the top eight on the one-mile oval.
In taking his 14th career pole, Edwards acknowledged that he "took a huge gamble" in completing only one lap in each of the three qualifying phases.
"I've struggled at this track," Edwards said, "this is big for me."
With his lap in the final five-minute block, 28.179 seconds, Edwards secured pole by just 0.030s from Joey Logano - who topped the second segment - and David Ragan, who set identical times.
Chasing his third win in four events and a spot in the Chase, Edwards' stablemate Kyle Busch will start fourth, with the other JGR Toyotas of Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth qualifying fifth and eighth.
Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson will start sixth and seventh, while Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick also featured in the final phase.
Hillman Smith Motorsports driver Landon Cassill narrowly missed a place with them, settling for 13th, four spots ahead of practice pacesetter Kyle Larson.
The only driver to have contested every top-flight NASCAR race at New Hampshire, Jeff Gordon will start his 40th and final race at the circuit in 23rd place.
Amid a lean run of form, Tony Stewart could not make it through to the second phase of qualifying.
He'll line up 25th, one spot ahead of another three-time New Hampshire winner, Ryan Newman.
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.179s | - |
| 2 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.209s | 0.030s |
| 3 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.209s | 0.030s |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.271s | 0.092s |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.297s | 0.118s |
| 6 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.298s | 0.119s |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.318s | 0.139s |
| 8 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.333s | 0.154s |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.340s | 0.161s |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.419s | 0.240s |
| 11 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.424s | 0.245s |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.511s | 0.332s |
| 13 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.387s | - |
| 14 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.408s | - |
| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 28.415s | - |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.422s | - |
| 17 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.466s | - |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.469s | - |
| 19 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.538s | - |
| 20 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.541s | - |
| 21 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.551s | - |
| 22 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.598s | - |
| 23 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.623s | - |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.654s | - |
| 25 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.664s | - |
| 26 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.699s | - |
| 27 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.719s | - |
| 28 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.722s | - |
| 29 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.739s | - |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.740s | - |
| 31 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.770s | - |
| 32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.817s | - |
| 33 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.832s | - |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.930s | - |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.993s | - |
| 36 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.081s | - |
| 37 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.127s | - |
| 38 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.231s | - |
| 39 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.438s | - |
| 40 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 29.502s | - |
| 41 | Eddie MacDonald | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 29.527s | - |
| 42 | Derek White | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 30.189s | - |
| 43 | Timmy Hill | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 37.333s | - |
| 44 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.431s | - |
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