CONCORD, N.C. — Report by Race Chaser Online Correspondent James Pike — Jerry Markland/Getty Images North America photo —
Denny Hamlin went faster than the rest of the field in Sprint All-Star Race qualifying — by going in reverse.
After overshooting his pit box by inches, Hamlin regrouped to claim the pole for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race with a time of 145.648 mph.
Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint All Star Race is unique in that crews are required to complete a four-tire pit stop during their driver’s three-lap run around the Charlotte Motor Speedway,
The top qualifying effort is Hamlin’s first All-Star Race pole after a previous best start of third in 2012.
“I’m terrible at this, I really am, but I just have relied on Kyle and Carl who have been so good at [All-Star Race] qualifying before,” Hamlin said after his run. [It was a] great effort by our FedEx Camry team.”
Hamlin also admitted that he knew he was going to drive just past his pit box as he was reaching it, so he put the car into reverse gear before it came to a complete stop. That decision saved him precious tenths of a second and preserved the first All-Star pole for Toyota since 2012 (Kyle Busch).
Though Hamlin was able to recover from his pit road mishap, one of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates was not as fortunate. Driving a Sprint Cup car for the first time since he broke his ankle at Daytona in February, the younger Busch drove down pit road and overshot his stall on pit road by two boxes.
“I just misjudged it. I think it was the speed of the sticker tires,” Busch said. “Yesterday when we were on older tires we weren’t able to get down to pit road as quickly. All in all though, it’s good to be back behind the wheel of the M&Ms Red Nose Camry and hopefully we can have a pretty big celebration at the end of 110 laps tonight.”
Busch was forced to toil in reverse to complete his pit stop. He qualified with a speed of 134.478 mph and will start 19th on the grid.
Though Busch struggled, the trio of drivers who transferred from Friday night all turned in fast times. Sprint Showdown winner Clint Bowyer, runner-up Greg Biffle, and Sprint Fan Vote winner Danica Patrick will all start in the top six for tonight’s 110-lap race.
Of those three, Biffle was the fastest, turning in a time of 1:52.000 (144.643 mph). He will start second in tonight’s race.
“We qualified second last night and got off to a great start, so hopefully we can do the same tonight,” Biffle said. “Clint, Danica and I didn’t get a chance to go down pit road in qualifying practice yesterday, so it was kind of blind in the dark for us, but really glad to get this Ortho Ford on the front row.”
Though Biffle was not affected by the lack of practice in qualifying, he also admitted that he was not entirely immune to the pressure of All-Star night at Charlotte.
“I’m a little nervous now, because our chances of winning [the million dollars] just went way up!”
Behind Biffle, 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski slotted in third (1:52.228 / 144.349), followed by Bowyer, last night’s Truck winner Kasey Kahne and Patrick. Patrick will drop to the rear of the field before the start after an engine change Friday night following the Sprint Showdown.
Three-time All-Star champion Jeff Gordon qualified ninth for his final NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, while 2007 All-Star winner Kevin Harvick both slid through his pit stall and incurred a five-second penalty for a crew member coming over the wall too soon. He will start shotgun on the field, qualifying last of the 20-car field.
The 30th edition of the Sprint All-Star Race will start at 9:26 P.M. Eastern, with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 and the Motor Racing Network.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; Sprint All-Star Race Pole Qualifying; Charlotte Motor Speedway; May 16, 2015
- Denny Hamlin
- Greg Biffle
- Brad Keselowski
- Clint Bowyer
- Kasey Kahne
- Danica Patrick
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Jeff Gordon
- Carl Edwards
- Joey Logano
- Jimmie Johnson
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Jamie McMurray
- Tony Stewart
- Kurt Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Ryan Newman
- Kyle Busch
- Kevin Harvick
