NASCAR at New Hampshire 2016 Qualifying Results: Race Order, Times, Reaction

In preparation of Sunday's Bad Boy Off Road 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase's round of 16, the field was set on Friday in three rounds of qualifying. 

Carl Edwards took the pole as he leads a field of 40 drivers that looks like this:

Rank	Driver	Best Time
1	Carl Edwards*	28.119
2	Martin Truex Jr.*	28.169
3	Ryan Newman	28.235
4	Jimmie Johnson*	28.243
5	Denny Hamlin*	28.256
6	Kyle Larson*	28.280
7	Majie McMurray*	28.323
8	Matt Kenseth*	28.347
9	Kasey Kahne	28.377
10	Chase Elliott*	28.445
11	Brad Keselowski*	28.489
12	Kyle Busch*	28.542
2nd Cut
13	Kurt Busch*	28.348
14	Paul Menard	28.349
15	Joey Logano*	28.385
16	Ryan Blaney	28.385
17	AJ Allmendinger	28.417
18	Alex Bowman	28.477
19	Kevin Harvick*	28.484
20	Michael McDowell	28.609
21	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	28.631
22	Tony Stewart*	28.642
23	David Ragan	28.686
24	Danica Patrick	28.895
1st Cut
25	Brian Scott	28.645
26	Aric Almirola	28.662
27	Trevor Bayne	28.705
28	Chris Buescher*	28.720
29	Austin Dillon*	28.725
30	Regan Smith	28.727
31	Casey Mears	28.749
32	Greg Biffle	28.816
33	Matt DiBenedetto	28.865
34	Landon Cassill	28.937
35	Michael Annett	28.958
36	Cole Whitt	28.962
37	Clint Bowyer	29.068
38	Reed Sorenson	29.143
39	Josh Wise	29.411
40	Jeffrey Earnhardt	29.826

Edwards has been a qualifying machine at New Hampshire, as Friday was the third pole in his last four races at this track. 

It's also his sixth pole of the year, via Xfinity Racing:

It puts him in a great position to solidify his spot in the top 12 of the Chase, which would ensure that he'd move on to the second round. He is in ninth within the Chase standings but isn't content with just the pole win, via Lee Spencer of Motorsport.com:

Just 0.05 seconds behind him was Chase leader Martin Truex Jr, who was fresh off of a win at Chicagoland in the first race of the round of 16. 

Truex has never won at New Hampshire in the Sprint Cup Series, but he would like to add a victory there as his father and brother have won it, via Courtney Cox of NESN:

"

"No other track i'd rather win at" - Truex JR talks about family ties with Loudon and not having a win here yet.

— Courtney Cox (@coxcourtney) September 23, 2016"

A pair of Chase drivers didn't help their cases for advancement on Friday as they were unable to make it out of the first round of qualifying.  

Chris Buescher, who is in 16th of 16 drivers, will start in 28th, while 13th-place Austin Dillon will start in 29th. 

Dillon, though, is only one point behind 12th-place Tony Stewart, who holds the last spot of advancing into the next round of the Chase. Buescher, on the other hand, is 12 points back, and a start from deep in the field on Sunday will only make his opportunities to gain ground in the standings more difficult. 

Buescher spoke with the media after his disappointing round, via FontRow Motorsports:

Four more Chase drivers went down in the second round when Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Stewart failed to make the top 12. 

Logano was the highest-ranked Chase driver of those four cuts as he sits in fifth place in the standings heading into Sunday. He'll start the race in 15th. 

Ryan Newman, who isn't a Chase driver, will start in third. He and Kasey Kahne are the only non-Chase drivers who placed in the top 12 for Sunday. 

Stats courtesy of NASCAR.com.