NASCAR Sonoma 2016 qualifying results: Carl Edwards fastest, AJ Allmendinger starts 2nd

Carl Edwards will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 after posting the fastest speeds in qualifying Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

Edwards’ average lap speed of 95.777 mph around the 11-turn track gave him his third pole of the season over AJ Allmendinger (95.676 mph), last year’s pole-sitter. Martin Truex Jr. qualified third, with Kurt Busch fourth and Kyle Larson fifth.

“There’s no other track that you get to drive like this,” Edwards said. “No lap is perfect here. You’re bouncing off of curbs, you’re sliding around, you’re spinning the tires, you’re locking up brakes and this is what driving a race car is about.”

Despite his status as one NASCAR’s top road course racers, Allmendinger’s Sonoma record is spotty. His best finish is seventh in seven career starts on the Northern California track located in Napa Valley’s wine country. Allmendinger’s lone Sprint Cup victory occurred in 2014 at Watkins Glen, the series’ other road course venue.

“When I saw Carl’s first lap, I kind of said, ‘I don’t care what kind of lap I run, if he runs that again, I’m not going to get close,’” Allmendinger said. “No pressure on me. He’s won here before in 2014, my best is seventh. We’ve had chances but we’ve just got to go out and have a solid day.”

Denny Hamlin posted the sixth-fastest time, followed by Joey Logano seventh, Kyle Busch eighth, Paul Menard ninth and Tony Stewart 10th. Danica Patrick will start a season-best 11th, with Brad Keselowski 12th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who some thought would have a shot at the pole after being fast in both practice sessions on Friday, failed to advance to the second and final qualifying round. He starts 13th.

“I still feel like this is the best car I’ve had at this race track,” Earnhardt said. “I made a couple of mistakes that cost me enough time to get into the next round. But, I make a mistake every lap I run here and that’s just the way it’s going to be.

“The guys have done a good job of giving me a good race car to cover me every once in a while and I’m pretty excited about tomorrow.”

Cody Ware was the only driver failing to qualify.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 starting lineup