Carl Edwards won the pole for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon.
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“The auto was super fast in practice”, Edwards said. “We got a great start to the Chase and we’ve just keeping that rolling”.
Even so, Edwards came perilously close to missing the cut at the end of the second round. Harvick and the #4 team will be on a victory mission this Sunday in New Hampshire and I wouldn’t want to get in his way (especially if I’m behind the wheel of a #48 car).
Johnson, who expressed remorse for how the situation affected Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers, team owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas and the entire Stewart-Haas organization, said he was unsure how Harvick would race him.
“I don’t look back”, Harvick said. Aggressive enough to retaliate against Johnson?
The Chase drama has started early this season as defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick finds himself in dire straits after crashing last weekend in Chicago after an incident with Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer tries to rebound from a major penalty smack down from NASCAR for having modified parts.
Johnson went to Harvick’s motorhome after the race to speak to Harvick, but Harvick walked out of the bus and shoved Johnson in the chest with a closed fist. He would not answer reporters’ questions earlier Friday but was required to visit the media center after qualifying second on the 1-mile track. Gordon, who is retiring after this season, has not missed a start since making his NASCAR career debut at Atlanta, November 15, 1992. “I can’t see where (Harvick) did anything wrong. I’m starting to really enjoy coming to New Hampshire”. That is all I was trying to do there. “I was just trying to get back on the racetrack, and unfortunately that contact took place”, Johnson said. “That is not the situation that any of us wanted to have happen”. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) helped me a lot. He rolls off fifth in Sunday’s SYLVANIA 300 at New Hampshire, where Harvick starts second. “The first lap was a 28.20”, Chris Heroy replied. “I just wish it was three spots higher, but it’s something to be proud of”, said Keselowski. Some of these predictions will be bolder than others. But a solid day would nearly guarantee us advancing to the next round. “I think that right front air hurt me in the middle”. “It’s not a bad thing”, Logano said. “Definitely could have been a little more aggressive in Turn 2”.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the final driver to make it through and his lap of 27.812 seconds was just a single thousandth clear of Kenseth.
Just how aggressive will be something to watch on Sunday. Of course it will be interesting if it is one of his teammates that he could be taking the win from.
“It was the difference maker today”, Kurt Busch said. “If I tried to run too hard into the corner, I got way loose. Just no speed – I don’t know“, said Kyle Busch, who qualified 17th.
“You want to knock out the fastest cars you can”. “Believe me, I knew good and well he wasn’t going to be in the best mood”. The cars are good.
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Failing to make it beyond the first round of qualifying was Michael Waltrip Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who will start Sunday’s race from 26th place. Travis Kvapil failed to qualify for the race.
