NASCAR starting lineup at Homestead: Denny Hamlin on pole for title race

Denny Hamlin snuck in during the final moments to capture the pole for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday night, but the four drivers with a chance to win NASCAR's title are all in good position.

Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. will race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Truex Jr. qualified in second place Friday while Kyle Busch was close behind in third. All four of the remaining playoff drivers are still in range of the championshp though as Keselowski qualified fifth and Kevin Harvick in ninth.

The Ford EcoBoost 400 begins at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 19, and can be seen on NBC and the NBC Sports app.

The rules are simple: The highest-finishing driver from among the four finalists wins the title. There will still be three stages of racing, but in-race points will not be awarded. The four title-contending drivers' points were reset to 5,000 for the final race. (Same goes for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series which will also determine their 2017 champions this weekend at the South Florida track.)

Truex is the only driver not to win a previous title, but he is the favorite to join the others Sunday as six of his seven wins this year have come on 1.5-mile tracks similar to Homestead-Miami Speedway with an incredible 2.7 average finish and a 4.7 average running position this season.

The weather forecast for Sunday in Homestead calls for a high in the low to mid-80s with relatively low humidity and only a 10 percent chance of rain.

Also of note from Friday's qualifying, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is retiring after Sunday's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, qualified 24th.

NASCAR Cup Series playoffs standings

Kyle Busch (win)
Kevin Harvick (win)
Martin Truex Jr. (points)
Brad Keselowski (points)

Starting lineup for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 173.980 mph
2. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 173.952 mph*
3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 173.930 mph*
4. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 172.678 mph
5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 172.452 mph*
6. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 172.359 mph
7. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 172.205 mph
8. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 172.106 mph
9. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 171.876 mph*
10. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 171.789 mph
11. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 171.789 mph
12. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 171.124 mph
13. (1) Jamie McMurry, Chevrolet, 172.403 mph
14. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, 172.166 mph
15. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 172.155 mph
16. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 171.652 mph
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 171.652 mph
18. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 171.592 mph
19. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 171.298 mph
20. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 171.206 mph
21. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 170.913 mph
22. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 170.913 mph
23. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 170.670 mph
24. (88) Dale Earnhardt. Jr., Chevrolet, 172.414 mph
25. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, 170.951 mph
26. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 170.881 mph
27. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 170.773 mph
28. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 170.713 mph
29. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 170.632 mph
30. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 170.616 mph
31. (32) Matt Dibenedetto, Ford, 169.737 mph
32. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 169.646 mph
33. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 168.676 mph
34. (23) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, 167.177 mph
35. (83) Joey Gase, Toyota, 164.654 mph
36. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 164.629 mph
37. (15) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 163.651 mph
38. (66) David Starr, Chevrolet, 163.512 mph
39. (51) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 158.777 mph