Denny Hamlin has had the fastest car in New Hampshire all weekend during practice for the second race in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup.
He's moved pretty quickly in reverse, too.
Shortly after backtracking from a tweet in which he seemed to guarantee a victory, Hamlin went out for qualifying with the wrong pressure in his tires. Although that left him 32nd in today's starting grid, Hamlin tried to sound positive about the second gaffe by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew in the first two weeks of the Chase.
"If there was nothing wrong, then I would really be shaking my head," he said. "At least we identified what the problem was."
Tied with Brad Keselowski for the season victory lead with four, Hamlin is fourth in the points race after running out of gas and finishing 16th because his gas man failed to fill up the tank in the Chase opener in Chicago.
Hamlin, who was the fastest in practice Friday and again Saturday, will need a mistake-free run today to remain competitive in the Chase.
Jeff Gordon won the pole after barely qualifying for the Chase and then crashing with 80 laps to go in Chicago to finish 35th.
"I think we surprised ourselves a little bit with this pole. So, this was a big one. And, certainly, good timing," Gordon said.
Kyle Busch, who is not in the Chase, will join Gordon on the front row. Other Chase competitors starting near the front include Tony Stewart (third), Kasey Kahne (sixth) and Martin Truex Jr. (ninth).
Points leader Keselowski will start in the eighth row.
