Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, will lead the field for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after winning the Coors Light Pole with a lap of 31.038 seconds, 173.980 mph.
Hamlin earned his second pole and 24th top-10 start in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and his second pole (2015) in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin has four top-5 and eight top-10 finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which includes wins in the Ford EcoBoost 400 in 2009 and 2013.
“Honestly, it was a great run and we did great adjustments there,” said Hamlin. “Our car was obviously very fast that last run. I love this race track and wish we would have our chance, but that will be another day, another year for us.”
The Championship 4 drivers – Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick – will be starting within the top-10 positions for Sunday’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex will start alongside Hamlin in the front row in the second position, while Busch will start in third. Keselowski will begin the 267-lap championship race in fifth and Harvick will start in the ninth position.
“It was a good day overall,” said Truex following the qualifying session. “We missed it a little bit that last round and lost more grip than I anticipated. We made some adjustments and knew it was going to go that way, but just not far enough. I can’t say enough about this group, just a really strong day – five one-thousandths away from it being a perfect day. Just proud of everyone and they did what they needed to do today and we’ll get to work tomorrow.”
“Definitely was pole worthy, so I hate it that we weren’t able to get the number one pit stall,” said Busch about his qualifying run. “I felt like that was a great opportunity. I felt like when Truex ran the .043 that there was a shot out there for a 90-something. That’s kind of what I was shooting for. I was trying to find that 90 and being able to be number one.”
Tickets to Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale, in addition to tomorrow’s XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 championship race, are available and can be purchased by calling (866) 409-RACE (7223) or visiting www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com
The Ford EcoBoost 400, which will air on NBC and MRN Radio/Sirius XM, will start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 19.
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