The attention may be on the four drivers who will race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship Sunday, but Friday belonged to non-Chase driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin put down a lap 30.568, 176.655 mph at Homestead-Miami Speedway late in the final five minute round of qualifying Friday to win his third pole of the season and the final one of the 2015 season. The pole was Hamlin’s third of the season, the 23rd of his career and his first at Homestead where he has two wins.
“Fast car,” Hamlin said. “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.”
The drama however belonged to the four drivers who will contend for the championship, specifically Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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