Joe Gibbs Racing the hero of the day again in NASCAR qualifying at Bristol

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, poses with Miss Coors Light Amanda Mertz and the Coors Light Pole Award Decal after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, poses with Miss Coors Light Amanda Mertz and the Coors Light Pole Award Decal after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, poses with Miss Coors Light Amanda Mertz and the Coors Light Pole Award Decal after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The fire continues to burn for Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR driver Denny Hamlin set a track qualifying record at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday in route to winning the pole for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series Irwin Tools Night Race.  Hamlin put down a lap of 14.602 seconds, 131.407 mph just past the halfway point of the final five minutes of three rounds of group qualifying to secure his second pole of 2015 and the 22nd of his career.  Two of his teammates were right there with him as Kyle Busch who led the final practice earlier Friday, will start second and Carl Edwards third. The front row matched that of Friday nights Xfinity Series race as Hamlin won the pole for that race and Busch lined up second.  Hamlin finished fifth in the two round preceding the final five minutes.

“I had a little bit left in the tank,” Hamlin said.  “The last round is the one that pays” MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.