Hamlin crashes Championship 4 party, wins Busch Pole Award in Miami

Denny Hamlin crashed the Championship 4 party at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday after he won the Busch Pole Award by wheeling his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the track at 173.863 mph.

Hamlin just beat out Kyle Busch, who will start second in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, after recording a best lap of 173.622 mph in the final round of the three-round qualifying session for the 2018 championship race.

The race is set to be the final one in Hamlin’s pairing with crew chief Mike Wheeler. The JGR driver tweeted earlier Friday, indicating it was their last race together.

The pole is Hamlin’s third at Homestead-Miami, his fourth this season and the 30th of his career.

RELATED: Qualifying results

Fellow Championship 4 driver Martin Truex Jr. will start third after circling the track at 173.539 mph in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Brad Keselowski will start fourth, and playoff driver Joey Logano will start fifth after moving his No. 22 Team Penske Ford around the track at 173.366 mph.

Kevin Harvick posted the worst qualifying speed of the Championship 4 drivers as he struggled to find speed in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford throughout qualifying. He will start 12th in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex, Busch and Logano were second, third and fourth in the second round, as Harvick trailed behind the other Championship 4 drivers in eighth.

Busch, Logano and Truex Jr. finished 1-2-3 in the opening round of the three-round session, while Harvick was 16th fastest in his first attempt around the 1.5-mile track.

This story will be updated.

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