SONOMA, Calif. — Carl Edwards picked up his third pole of the season on Saturday, edging road course ace AJ Allmendinger to take the top spot for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Edwards had an average speed of 95.777 mph, beating out Allmendinger (95.676 mph) and Martin Truex Jr.
"I just can't say enough about my team," Edwards said. "Man this car is fast. It's cool to have a Toyota on pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. This place is so much fun."
Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson completed the top five.
Allmendinger, who started on the pole last year, scored his lone career Sprint Cup victory at the road course at Watkins Glen in 2014.
When I saw Carl's first lap, I was like, I don't care what kind of lap I run, I'm never going to catch that," Allmendinger said. "There's no pressure on me. He's won here before (in 2014); my best finish is seventh. We just have to go out and have a solid day."
Other drivers in the top 12 included Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, defending race winner Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and Brad Keselowski.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was fastest in Friday’s second practice session, was 13th in the first round of qualifying and missed having a chance for the pole by one spot.
Other notables who failed to advance to the final round included Jimmie Johnson (15th), Clint Bowyer (18th), Kasey Kahne (19th), Matt Kenseth (23rd) and Kevin Harvick (25th).
Cody Ware failed to qualify for the race.
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Toyota/Save Mart 350 Lineup
Saturday's qualifying results from the 1.99-mile road course at Sonoma Raceway:
1. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 95.777 mph.
2. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 95.676.
3. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 95.672.
4. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 95.654.
5. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 95.362.
6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 95.308.
7. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 95.276.
8. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 95.233.
9. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 95.134.
10. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 95.041.
11. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 95.035.
12. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 94.967.
13. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 95.329.
14. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 95.217.
15. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 95.027.
16. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 94.954.
17. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 94.906.
18. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 94.897.
19. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 94.886.
20. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 94.817.
21. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 94.712.
22. (44) Brian Scott, Ford, 94.704.
23. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 94.521.
24. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 94.501.
25. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 94.445.
26. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 94.436.
27. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 94.422.
28. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 94.401.
29. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 94.360.
30. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 94.356.
31. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 94.271.
32. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 94.207.
33. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 94.154.
34. (32) Patrick Carpentier, Ford, 93.858.
35. (98) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 93.668.
36. (34) Chris Buescher, Ford, 93.657.
37. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 93.257.
38. (93) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 93.082.
39. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 93.027.
40. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 91.997.
Failed to qualify
41. (55) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 91.676.
