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Friday, 02 May 2008 19:00 |
 By: Jay W. Pennell
Sprint Cup Correspondent
HardcoreRaceFans.com
Denny Hamlin is glad to be home. The Chesterfield, Virginia-native will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday night\'s Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400. Winless at his home track in his previous four starts, Hamlin looked at ease after Friday night\'s qualifying session. Hamlin captured the pole by laying down a lap of 21.395 seconds at 126.198 mph. This pole is the sixth of Hamlin\'s career and the first this season.
\"Good start to the weekend that\'s for sure,\" Hamlin explained. \"A pole at Richmond equals a race win anywhere else I go that\'s for sure. It\'s a great accomplishment for our race team.\"
Hamlin went on to explain, \"I knew I had pressure because my heart was beating out of my chest during my lap. When your foot sitting there is shaking on the gas pedal the nerves get to you. There\'s just something about this race track, you feel it\'s home and when you perform well it gives you that extra boost of confidence going into the weekend.\"
Hamlin bumped what was an all-DEI front row by taking the top spot. Mark Martin will roll off Saturday from the second spot after laying down a lap of 21.423 seconds at 126.033 mph. Martin Truex Jr. will start from the third spot in the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.
Patrick Carpentier laid down the fastest lap of the go-or-go-home drivers by putting his No. 10 LifeLock Dodge in the fourth spot. \"The car was really good and really hooked up. I never expected we were going to end up fourth today, so for the first time I won\'t see the leaders come by me so quickly hopefully,\" the Raybestos Rookie contender joked. \"It\'s tough being with these guys up there, but hopefully we get to stay there for a while in the race and enjoy it a little bit.\"
Reed Sorenson rebounded from a dismal weekend at Talladega Superspeedway by putting his No. 41 Target Dodge in the fifth starting spot. Sorenson will start next to his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified sixth.
Those that failed to qualify for Saturday night?s event were Ken Schrader (No. 40), Scott Wimmer (No. 33), John Andretti (No. 34) and Jon Wood (No. 21). ![](\"/images/stories/hcrflogo.jpg\")
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