Hamlin wins Coors Light pole at Homestead

Denny Hamlin won this third Coors Light Pole Award of the season

Robert Laberge/NASCAR via Getty Images

Denny Hamlin played the role of spoiler by taking the pole in Friday night’s qualifying for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, denying any of the four finalists in the Chase for the Sprint Cup a chance at the coveted front row in the season-finale race.

Hamlin was among the last cars to take the track for a single lap around the 1.5-mile oval in the third and final session, and raced to the top of the speed charts with a lap of 176.655 mph to knock Joey Logano from the top spot and claim his third pole of the season.

Logano held on for the second spot, while Kyle Busch took third as the highest qualifier among the Championship Four. Ryan Newman was fourth, followed by another of the final four drivers, Jeff Gordon, who qualified fifth in his final Sprint Cup Series start.

Martin Truex, Jr. was the third highest among the championship contenders, starting in 11^th spot, while defending series champion Kevin Harvick failed to make it out of the second round and qualified 13^th.

The highest finisher among the four drivers will be crowned the champion.

Hamlin, who was knocked out of the Chase in the third round, earned his 20^th top-10 start of the season as well as the 23^rd pole of his career.

"Definitely wish we had a little bit more to race for but you've got a great trophy at the end of this thing so proud of this whole FedEx Ground team for giving me a fast car," said Hamlin. "It's been fast all day so to run our fastest lap in the last session means it's a good sign.

"We wish we were a part of (the championship) but unfortunately a couple mechanical things took us out of this Chase but we're going to hopefully go out with a bang. Ultimately this weekend is about the company no doubt about it. What's the difference in me finishing 10th or 12th in points. Definitely our goal is to have a championship for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Kyle (Busch) this weekend, so we'll do everything we can. We obviously want to win the race so a perfect day would be us winning and him finishing second."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Logano captured the outside pole in what is sure to be a bittersweet final race of the season, after infamously missing out on making the Championship Four after being crashed out at Martinsville by Matt Kenseth.

"Life is short. This is a drop in the bucket," said Logano. "For me it works for me to stay positive. Is it disappointing we aren't racing with these guys for the championship? Of course it is. We want to be. But it is what it is and we move on."

Gordon, who will make his final-career Sprint Cup Series start when he takes the green flag on Sunday, got in the first shot across the bow when he knocked Harvick out of the top 12 with his own qualifying run in the second round.

Although Gordon was denied the pole – leaving him 81 poles, ranking him third all-time behind Richard Petty and David Pearson – he still hopes to end his career with a championship win.

"Obviously with our effort today in qualifying, I think we showed how bad we all want it, to be better than just being here battling for the championship and it being my final race," said Gordon. "I'm having a blast. Just seeing people that I grew up racing quarter midgets with, family and friends, and I mean, it's a winâ€'win for me this weekend, no matter what happens."

Harvick was just barely hanging onto the 12^th position when Gordon knocked him out of the top 12. Harvick came back onto the track to make a final run to try and advance, but came up short and will start last among the four vying for the title.

"It’s really no different than any other week," said Harvick of qualifying 13^th. "I mean, we've not qualified as well this year as we had last year, especially on some of these types of racetracks.

"Round 1 was really good for us, and then we went to round 2 and just really, really tight in the next two runs that we made. You know, we just never really recovered from what we did in the first round to make it repeat. All in all, I just think our balance was too tight. We'll work on the race car and go from there."

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Starting Position: 1st

Are you excited to get the pole?

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]"Definitely wish we had a little bit more to race for but you've got a great trophy at the end of this thing so proud of this whole FedEx Ground team for giving me a fast car. It's been fast all day so to run our fastest lap in the last session means it's a good sign."

How important is it for your team to end on a strong note?

"It's definitely important. No doubt about it. We wish we were a part of it but unfortunately a couple mechanical things took us out of this Chase but we're going to hopefully go out with a bang here similar to what we did in 2009 and propelled us to a great 2010. Every time we've won this race we've gone on to have one of our best seasons following so hopefully we keep that trait."

How did you qualify on the pole for the first time at Homestead?

"Fast car. Our car has been really fast all day so I've been very encouraged with what we've seen with our FedEx Ground Toyota. I don't know. Everything is going good. I wouldn't mind a little bit of rain tomorrow to not let these guys catch up in race trim. I'm certainly very optimistic we're going to have a good day on Sunday."

Do you have to help your teammate Kyle Busch win a championship on Sunday or focus on your own team?

"Well, ultimately this weekend is about the company no doubt about it. What's the difference in me finishing 10th or 12th in points. Definitely our goal is to have a championship for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Kyle (Busch) this weekend, so we'll do everything we can. We obviously want to win the race so a perfect day would be us winning and him finishing second. So, I hope he hears that."

How hard have the Joe Gibbs Racing cars worked this year on getting this right?

"A lot. I came here and tested a couple months ago and really arguably I think this is one of our best race tracks aside from Martinsville. I just don't know what it is about it. We definitely work really, really well here as a team. The four driver dynamic that Joe (Gibbs) has put together this year has just been great to work with. Had a great season with 15 wins throughout our organization this year. Hopefully we have 16 after Sunday."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M's Crispy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Starting Position: 3rd

Are you happy with your qualifying effort?

"Oh yeah. That's a really good run for this M&M's Crispy Camry. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) did a really good job with getting the best option for us in qualifying here. Those are some good company to follow right there with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) on the pole. He's obviously one of the best here and I've leaned on him a lot this week and we'll continue to do so here through practice tomorrow. But, so far so good. Just happy with the way we've got it right now and hopefully we'll get a good race car for tomorrow."

What type of information can you get from your JGR teammates?

"Just typically talking about lines and how to prepare for different race tracks. I lean on that and I lean on Carl (Edwards) as well too. Everybody and use all of their information and just kind of tried to use it already here today and more so tomorrow. It's going to be about getting the balance in the race car and making sure you can move all over this race track and be good for the race and fast cars and everything you've got to. Right now we've got a good starting spot so hopefully that continues on.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 5^th

HOW DID YOU PULL THAT OFF AFTER HAVING TO MAKE AN EXTRA RUN?

"Whew, it wasn't easy. Man, that was a heck of an effort by this team. We've got a great race car. I just totally messed up. That first run, without making a qualifying run in practice, I just didn't know how hard I could push it or how much the track had picked-up. And it cost me that first run because I felt like I drove in deep and got back on the gas early, but I didn't push it near hard enough to make it through. I hate we had to put that extra lap on the tires. I really believe we might have had a shot at this thing. I don't know if I could have run what Joey (Logano) ran there, or the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin), but man, a top 5, are you kidding me? That's awesome. I'm really proud of that."

IN RETROSPECT, THE EXTRA RUN IN ROUND 1 MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST OF THE DAY. DID YOU THINK YOU COULD PICK UP A TENTH AND A HALF AFTER YOU HAD JUST RUN MOMENTS AGO?

"You know, I wasn't sure. I was looking at everything and trying to figure out where I lost time. I felt like the balance of the car was good. I felt like the grip was good. I just obviously felt like I didn't push it hard enough and wasn't aggressive enough with it. So, I said well, I'm not going to leave anything on the table this time. And then we made that run, and the car was a little bit tight, but I was more aggressive and I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 good and that's what kind of saved the lap or saved us to get to Round 2. And then from that point on it was just oh man, how are we going to keep advancing because I already had too much on the tires at that point and at this place, fall-off is huge. We have a very strong race car in this Axalta Chevrolet, obviously, because to be able to do that the next couple of runs; I'm pretty proud of those laps. I had to make up to this team what I did on the first run, so I was glad I was able to make it up. It's pretty awesome to get Top 5. I'm really happy and proud of that."

THAT WILL BE YOUR FINAL QUALIFYING EFFORT AND A PRETTY GOOD NOTE TO GO OUT ON, ISN'T IT AFTER ALL THE EFFORT BY YOU AND BY YOUR TEAM?

"Well again, you're always looking for just confidence and momentum and the way our practice went earlier and then the rain hit and then that first lap on the track here in Qualifying, it wasn't looking good. But, that's what this team has done all year long is find a way to claw and scrape and then get ourselves back into it; and those next three runs were huge. So, yeah, that's what you've got to do if you're going to win this thing."

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