HOMESTEAD—
Sprint Cup points leader Carl Edwards will start from the pole in Sunday's season-ending Ford 400, a race he's won two of the last three years.
Tony Stewart, who trails Edwards by three points, qualified 15th Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The brazen and ever-confident Stewart saw no reason to temper his rhetoric.
"Don't start etching his name on the trophy yet," said Stewart, a two-time Cup Series champion. "I'm not normally known for being much of a qualifier, so 15th I'm pretty content with right now. … First two races we won in the Chase we started 26th and 20th."
As Stewart pointed out, he's won 43 career races in spite of clinching just 13 poles. Even Edwards conceded the pole at this venue is less of an advantage than at other tracks because fast cars here can pass with greater ease.
Bill Elliott in 2001 and Kurt Busch in 2002 are the only drivers to win this race from the pole. Both victories came before the track was reconfigured for variable banking.
"I'm not counting anything yet," Edwards said. "If anything, this is good for our morale, for everybody to sleep easy [Saturday], know we're going to have a good day on pit road and hopefully will be able to run out front and not get caught up in anything, but truly I understand we still have to go run this race and anything can happen."
Added Stewart: "The biggest advantage is the pit stall. Obviously having that first pit box is a huge advantage in this sport. They did a good job qualifying, but that pit selection doesn't guarantee anything. It's definitely an advantage, but it doesn't mean it's going to work out for you."
Junior's blessing
Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon will graduate to the Nationwide Series in 2012. He'll be tough to miss. Dillon with team owner and grandfather Richard Childress earlier this month unveiled the No. 3 car he'll pilot.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave Richard Childress Racing his blessing to use the number his late father made famous. Saturday, Earnhardt said he would approve of Dillon someday taking the No. 3 to Cup.
"I don't look at the numbers tied to drivers as much as just the history of the number," he said. "The number is more of a bank that you just deposit history into and it doesn't really belong to any individual. Austin's run that number and you can't really deny him the opportunity to continue to run it. It wouldn't be fair. … It's got to get back on the racetrack one of these days. It can't be gone forever."
No drama
At the start of Saturday's Ford 300, Elliott Sadler faced long odds of catching Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the Nationwide Series championship. After 28 of 200 laps, his chances were extinguished.
That's how long it took for six cars to exit the race, guaranteeing the top 37 finish Stenhouse needed for the title.
Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski in the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge nipped Stenhouse's No. 6 Black Angus Beef Ford for the race win, and Edwards finished third to clinch the owners championship for Roush Fenway Racing.
Keselowski's fifth 2011 Nationwide win was the 17th of his career and first at Homestead-Miami.
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