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Hamlin Grabs Coca-Cola 600 Pole Position In Record Breaking Fashion

Concord, NC., May 23-Just two weeks into his comeback from serious back injuries, Denny Hamlin gave the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors notice of his return as he blistered the track record at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to claim the Coors Light Pole Award for the 54th Annual Coca-Cola 600.

Making his qualification run late in the order, Hamlin toured the 1.5 mile circuit in 27.604 seconds at an average speed of 195.624 mph and torched the previous mark of 27.877 seconds and 193.708 mph set by Greg Biffle in October, 2012.

Hamlin’s effort knocked Kurt Busch off the top spot and into the outside front row starting position, after Busch’s earlier run of 27.661 seconds (195.261 mph) at first appeared to be unbeatable as the session began to wind down. Matt Kenseth made a valiant late run but fell just short and wound up third with a lap of 27.679 seconds and an average speed of 195.094 mph while Mark Martin turned in another strong qualifying effort at 27.750 seconds and 194.595 mph. Clint Bowyer represented the final bullet Hamlin needed to dodge to secure the pole and Bowyer’s 27.763 second lap (194.503 mph) was only good enough for fifth.

Kasey Kahne earned the sixth starting position and he was followed by Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch as the top eight qualifiers bested the old track record. Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman rounded out the top and they were followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and All-Star Race winner Jimmie Johnson in eleventh and twelfth respectively. Mike Bliss was the lone driver not to earn a starting position as 44 cars took qualifications for the 43 car starting field.

QUOTES:
DENNY HAMLIN (WINNER, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota): “We ran real fast. You gotta
have a fast car. The crew just gave me an awesome car. We knew we had to improve
from where we ran last week. Darian Grubb (crew chief) and the guys stepped up.
I’ve got to thank the Joe Gibbs team for giving me cars that are capable of
speeds like that. We’re happy about everything. It’s like a victory for me. I
normally wouldn’t commit myself to running a lap like that. It’s too dangerous.
I would take my fifth or sixth place and kind of move on. We have a mission
ahead, and that is to try and make The Chase. The best way to do that is to win
races. To win races you have to have every advantage you can. I was really just
committed to running the best lap I could. This is a big step for the weekend.
It’s a sign of things to come. I think winning would be the validation to being
back. Ultimately, getting the trophy would be the validation that you are truly
back. For me, it’s going to take some wins and a lot of really good consistency
throughout these summer months to have a chance for the championship. That’s
what we’re here for. These small victories, though, help build confidence. I am
still capable and still able to do the job 100 percent like I should be. Any
kind of confidence booster for me is good.”

KURT BUSCH (2nd Place, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet) “It was an extremely
fast car. Those guys, they keep delivering pole-winning type cars each and every
week. I just didn’t quite hit my mark exactly right in (turns) 3 and 4. And I
knew we might get beat by somebody. I was just hoping that we might get a gift.
But Denny Hamlin laid it down and it was incredible to watch. It was just
hugging the line in (turns) 3 and 4 exactly like you would watch cars back in
the day. You knew that was going to be a fast lap. I didn’t do my job, but the
crew is doing an incredible job. We just have fast cars week in and week out. I
told them we had a pole-winning car today. We didn’t have a pole-winning draw in
the midrange. It’s part of the game. For us, this is nothing to hang our heads
about. We have a front row starting spot for the Coca-Cola 600 and I’m pumped
up. I think the race will come to us and we just have to work hard on Saturday
to get the car dialed in for 50-lap stints instead of 20-lap stints, which you
see in the All-Star Race. Again, my guys give me fast cars and I want to deliver
for them.”

MATT KENSETH (3rd Place, No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota) “We really got ready
for tonight. We have all day Saturday to get ready for Sunday. So we haven’t
been in race trim at all, like most of the people in the garage did. I really
like the way this car drives. I’m really encouraged how it responded to all the
changes we made to it today, so I feel good about that. It was a good lap and I
was pretty happy with that.”

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