Homestead qualifying has Cup contenders far apart (cont'd)

Kenseth, who will start third on Sunday, continued a trend of qualifying in the top five at Homestead with a lap at 171.429 mph in the No. 17 Ford. Last year, he was fourth at the start and ended up winning the race. He has another top-five to go with three top-10s, and his average finish is 20.0.

Kevin Harvick is another one who runs well here, with five top-10s in seven starts, and he put his No. 29 Chevrolet in fifth at 171.043 mph soon after Edwards' blazing-fast run. Harvick ranks second to Edwards in finishing average at 10.1.

Kyle Busch has weathered the storm of the Chase as well as can be expected for a driver who won eight of the season's first 26 races, and he put the No. 18 Toyota in eighth at 170.729 mph. Busch's best finish at Homestead is 20th, and his average finish is a dismal 33.0.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart has not qualified all that well in the Chase, but for his final race with Joe Gibbs Racing, he responded with a lap at 170.363 mph in the No. 20 Toyota. That put him 13th for Sunday.

Stewart, who won the first two races here in 1999 and 2000, has another top-five finish and four in the top 10 and has led 330 laps in nine races. His average finish is 12.2.

Jeff Burton has a history of qualifying poorly but racing well. On Friday, he qualified well, putting the No. 31 Chevrolet in 17th at 170.116 mph. Burton has three top-five and four top-10 finishes in nine starts, and two of the top-fives are third-place finishes. Burton's average finish is 13.1, toward the top of the Chase field.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not run well at Homestead, as his best finish is 13th in eight starts. Earnhardt was one of the first cars out and posted a lap at 169.731 mph in his No. 88 Chevrolet. That put him 22nd in Sunday's lineup. His average finish is 21.3, near the bottom of the Chase field.

Greg Biffle, along with Stewart and Kenseth as the only Chasers to have won here, has three victories to his credit and is seeking a fourth. His Ford was clocked at 169.354 mph and he'll start 23rd on Sunday. Biffle has won half his six starts at Homestead and led 173 laps, but his average finish is 12.7, on the upper end but not the best among Chasers.

Denny Hamlin put the No. 11 Toyota in the field in 25th after his lap at 169.454 mph. Hamlin has finished third twice in three starts, including last year, and his average finish of 13.0 is in the top half of the Chase grid.

Clint Bowyer, making his third start at Homestead, put his No. 07 Chevrolet in at 169.321 mph. Bowyer was 10th in his first start here, but his average finish is 24.5. He'll roll off 27th on Sunday.

Jeff Gordon has never won at Homestead, one of three tracks where he has yet to taste Victory Lane, but he has managed to be in the top 10 here on seven of nine occasions and in the top five four times for an average finish of 10.6. His No. 24 Chevrolet will start 37th on Sunday after his lap at 168.334 mph.