HOMESTEAD, Fla. — For the third time in the last four seasons, Denny Hamlin rained on the Championship 4’s parade by stealing the pole position during qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin powered his No. 11 FedEx Toyota to a lap of 31.059 seconds (173.863 mph) during the third and final knockout round on Friday night, earning his 30th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole and fourth of the season just hours after revealing on Twitter that this weekend would be his last working with crew chief Mike Wheeler.

The Chesterfield, Va., native will seek his first win of the season on Sunday.

“Man, this is just emotional because we’re good friends,” said Hamlin of Wheeler. “It’s been a push for us to get this race team up front here, but we definitely want to end on a high note and try to win.”

Hamlin has won a race in every season he’s competed in the Cup Series. He has one final shot on Sunday to keep that streak alive, and he pulled off the feat by winning the season finale five years ago.

“In 2013, we were in the same predicament … where we hadn’t won a race until the final race, and we got it done. Hopefully, it’s our time to do it and we’re going to keep digging no matter what,” Hamlin said. “Hats off to this team. We were hanging around seventh to 10th in the first couple of rounds and Wheels made the right adjustments. It’s cool to see and be a part of.”

Kyle Busch led the four championship contenders during qualifying with a time of 31.102 seconds (173.622 mph), placing him alongside Hamlin on the front row for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400.

Busch said afterwards that he didn’t expect Hamlin to concede the coveted No. 1 pit stall.

“That’s probably too far, but it would be nice,” Busch noted.

Busch then added that he feels confident in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Sunday’s race.

“The first run was really good, and then the second run we made was okay. On the third run, I thought we made the right adjustments and I thought I hit the right line and did a good job with everything,” Busch noted. “We just didn’t quite have enough speed there. Overall though, I’m pleased with the effort today and my guys did a good job. The car felt pretty good.”

Martin Truex Jr. will line up second among the title-eligible drivers in third, flanked by Brad Keselowski, while Joey Logano completed the top five on the time sheets.

Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson qualified sixth through 11th, respectively, while Kevin Harvick was the lowest of the four title contenders in 12th.

Despite that fact, Harvick was emphatic that a less-than-stellar qualifying lap doesn’t mean he won’t be in contention when it matters most on Sunday night at the end of 400 miles.

“We qualified 12th, not last,” Harvick pointed out. “It’s not that big of a deal if we can get our car driving right for Sunday. We didn’t qualify well here last year, either, and didn’t drive really well in qualifying trim all day today. We just have to get it driving right for Sunday. That’s what matters most.”

For a look at the complete starting grid, advance to the next page.