Truex tops finalists in championship qualifying

HOMESTEAD — The four drivers who will vie for NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup championship are well positioned after earning spots in the top 10 in qualifying for Sunday’s EcoBoost 400.

Denny Hamlin, who just missed being part of the Championship 4 last week at Phoenix, gained some consolation when he swooped in and grabbed the pole position Friday on the final run of qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin clocked the fast lap at 173.980 mph to wrest the pole from Martin Truex Jr., the favorite among the Championship 4.

The others who will vie for the title on Sunday were closely bunched, with Kyle Busch qualifying third, Brad Keselowski fifth and Kevin Harvick ninth.

“It’s half satisfaction, half of it is disappointment. Because you only run this good for so long,” said Hamlin, who has claimed the pole in three consecutive races. “Love this racetrack. Wish that we would have our chance [on Sunday], but there will be another day, another year for us.”

Truex is the only driver among the four finalists to not yet win the series title, but he has reason to believe that will change on Sunday. Six of his seven wins this year have come on 1.5-mile tracks similar to Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“It was definitely a really good day, just 5⁄1,000ths [of a second] off from being a perfect day,” Truex said. “We outran the other three guys, which is good, but I don’t think it’s a big deal because we’re all pretty tight together, and this is a track you can pass on.”

Pure speed will not necessarily be the determining factor. Homestead-Miami is one of the toughest on tire wear among tracks on the circuit.

Teams will have fewer tires at their disposal than they did last year due to a rule change. Monster Energy Cup teams will be allowed nine race sets in addition to the qualifying set they start the race on, as compared to 12 race sets plus one transferred practice set last year. That will put a premium on tire management.

“It certainly is one of the more dramatic tire fall-off tracks,” Keselowski said. “At the end of the day, it’s just another challenge for us as drivers to face. That’s not a bad thing. That’s how you can make the cream rise to the top.”

Thus, Harvick said, “You just don’t want to be at the end of this race with less sets of tires than the guys that you’re racing with the way the tire strategy is.”

Earnhardt’s pick

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will retire after Sunday’s race, has helped a number of drivers launch their careers, including Keselowski and Truex.

Earnhardt maintains close friendships with both of them. But he said Friday that he is putting his allegiance with Truex to win the championship.

“I’m team Martin for this weekend for sure,” Earnhardt said. “Me and Brad are great friends, and I’d love to see Brad do well. But with what Martin, just as a driver, has been through, it’d just be awesome to see him put his name on that trophy.”

Truex was without a sponsor after the 2013 season and said this week that he thought his Cup series career might be over before he landed a spot with Furniture Row Racing.

Shifting roles

Tony Stewart, who ended his career as a fulltime Cup series driver in last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, reflected Friday on his first season in which his primary role has been as team owner.

“I’ve enjoyed this year. There was one person over the course of the winter that told me this was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Stewart said. “As the year has gone on, they’re right. A lot bigger challenge than what I thought it would be.

“I’ve been busier than I’ve been in the last five years. It’s been nice being busy doing stuff I want to do versus things I have to do. A big difference there.”