LOUDON, New Hampshire (AP) Carl Edwards will start from pole position in Sunday’s NASCAR race in New Hampshire as he bids to give the Joe Gibbs Racing team its fourth straight victory.
Edwards continued JGR’s dominance in qualifying on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick was second, the boost he needed after finishing 42nd last week in the opener of the title-deciding Chase for the Sprint Cup championship at Chicagoland. Kurt Busch, Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing’s teammate, was third.
Edwards has found a qualifying groove at New Hampshire, sweeping the top spot for both races this season, as JGR closes in on Toyota’s first title.
”We got a great start to the Chase and we’re just keeping that rolling,” Edwards said.
JGR has won three consecutive Cup races and nine of the past 12. After one race in the Chase, the top of the standings are all JGR: Matt Kenseth is the leader, followed by Denny Hamlin – the winner in Chicagoland – Edwards and Kyle Busch.
”Certainly the last few months, the JGR Toyotas have been strong, so hopefully we can continue to improve and continue to keep getting better the next nine weeks and keep getting some results,” Kenseth said.
Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers took 10 of the top 11 spots for the race Sunday. Brad Keselowski was fourth and Jimmie Johnson fifth.
Hamlin was seventh, followed by Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth is 13th, Busch 17th, Paul Menard 20th, Martin Truex Jr. 21st and Jamie McMurray 23rd.
Last in the Chase standings, Clint Bowyer at 26th also had the worst qualifying spot for any of the 16 drivers in championship contention. Bowyer’s slim shot at winning the championship in Michael Waltrip Racing’s final season took a huge hit this week when NASCAR penalized the team 25 points for a parts infraction in the opening playoff race.
Kyle Larson was the highest non-Chase qualifier at sixth.
There are two races remaining in the opening round of the Chase before four drivers will be cut from the 16-driver field.
When Gordon takes the green flag Sunday, he will make his 789th consecutive start, passing Ricky Rudd for the record. Rudd set the mark in 2002 when he snapped Terry Labonte’s streak of 655 consecutive races.
”This is not a stat that I have ever thought about, but now that I’ve reached it, I’m thinking about it a lot and it’s one of the most significant stats that I’ve had,” Gordon said.
Harvick and Johnson are separated by only three spots on the starting grid after they were involved in a motorhome skirmish last weekend after Harvick blamed Johnson for an accident.
Johnson hadn’t talked to Harvick since and hoped there would be no retaliation on the track.
”I truthfully don’t know what to expect,” Johnson said. ”I certainly know what to hope for, but there is no telling what will take place.”
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