Starting lineup at New Hampshire: Chase contender Carl Edwards tops qualifying

RESULTS: Kevin Harvick wins at New Hampshire, gets berth in second round of Chase

Carl Edwards led the field to green after he took the pole position for Sunday’s Bad Boys Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Get live updates now.

Edwards and his Joe Gibbs Racing team posted the top qualifying time on Friday afternoon. He’ll start alongside fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr., who won the opening Chase race at Chicagoland last weekend. 

Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin round of the top five. Other Chase contenders in the top 12: Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. 

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Of the 12 drivers in the final round of qualifying Friday afternoon, 10 were Chasers. 

The final minutes of the second round were tense for several of the Chase contenders. Four of those in the session were below the cutoff line of 12th with just two minutes to go. The top 12 would advance to vie for the pole position. 

Kevin Harvick tried to pick up the pace as he set outside that group, but appeared to be struggling with his car and could not gain ground on the field. After suffering a series of setbacks in the opening Chase race, Harvick will start 19th on Sunday. 

The story early in the qualifying was the inspection process, as several of the contenders were still not cleared to get on the track as the session started, according to the NBC broadcast. The session was briefly interrupted as Clint Bowyer spun on the tack, causing a caution that temporarily halted the clock. 

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Two Chase drivers failed to make it out of the first round. Austin Dillon, who was driving a back-up car after crashing in the opening practice, and Chris Buescher were each outside the top 24 after the first round. 

In the opening Chase race, the 16 drivers vying for the championship found themselves in a tight group after the qualifying session was rained out. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson did have to drop to the rear of the field at the start of the race, but rallied back. This week, drivers were vying for position on the track — and the start on Sunday will feature a mix of drivers who are contending for the championship and those who are not.

Here is the full starting lineup.