Hamlin and Busch start 1-2 in Fontana
 |
| Denny Hamlin |
Joe Gibbs Racing swept the front row for the Auto Club 400 as Denny Hamlin won the pole and teammate Kyle Busch will start second Sunday at Auto Club (California) Speedway.
Hamlin posted a lap of 186.403 mph around the 2-mile oval in qualifying Friday. He was the only driver to eclipse 186 mph as Busch turned a lap of 185.534 mph.
Hamlin ran the bottom line around the track while many ran a higher line.
"Everyone had a different way of doing it," Hamlin said. "Some guys were five lanes up. We were one of the few cars that ran all the way on the bottom. That's where we practiced and I didn't want to change that.
"I would have probably been less efficient running the top even though it might have been faster."
Michael Waltrip Racing's Mark Martin will start third, with series points leader Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing) and Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports) rounding out the top five.
Ryan Newman, defending race champion Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, defending series champion Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson will start sixth through 10th.
Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | 186.403 | 38.626 | Leader |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 185.533 | 38.807 | -0.181 |
| 3 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 185.533 | 38.807 | -0.181 |
| 4 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 185.510 | 38.812 | -0.186 |
| 5 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Quaker State | 185.510 | 38.812 | -0.186 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 185.328 | 38.850 | -0.224 |
| 7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches | 185.199 | 38.877 | -0.251 |
| 8 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | Dollar General | 185.195 | 38.878 | -0.252 |
| 9 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 185.185 | 38.880 | -0.254 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Jimmie Johnson Foundation | 185.123 | 38.893 | -0.267 |
| 11 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 185.052 | 38.908 | -0.282 |
| 12 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | 185.000 | 38.919 | -0.293 |
| 13 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 184.724 | 38.977 | -0.351 |
| 14 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard | 184.530 | 39.018 | -0.392 |
| 15 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 184.322 | 39.062 | -0.436 |
| 16 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate | 184.068 | 39.116 | -0.490 |
| 17 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 184.044 | 39.121 | -0.495 |
| 18 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 183.913 | 39.149 | -0.523 |
| 19 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 183.744 | 39.185 | -0.559 |
| 20 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | @TheNASCARFans | 183.397 | 39.259 | -0.633 |
| 21 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 183.379 | 39.263 | -0.637 |
| 22 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 183.052 | 39.333 | -0.707 |
| 23 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 182.681 | 39.413 | -0.787 |
| 24 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 182.560 | 39.439 | -0.813 |
| 25 | 22 | AJ Allmendinger | Dodge | Southern California AAA | 182.542 | 39.443 | -0.817 |
| 26 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Charter | 182.445 | 39.464 | -0.838 |
| 27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | CertainTeed / Menards | 182.366 | 39.481 | -0.855 |
| 28 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Medallion Financial | 182.094 | 39.540 | -0.914 |
| 29 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 182.007 | 39.559 | -0.933 |
| 30 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | Morristown Driver's Service | 181.087 | 39.760 | -1.134 |
| 31 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 180.850 | 39.812 | -1.186 |
| 32 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Curb Records | 180.610 | 39.865 | -1.239 |
| 33 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 180.542 | 39.880 | -1.254 |
| 34 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 180.433 | 39.904 | -1.278 |
| 35 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 180.356 | 39.921 | -1.295 |
| 36 | 249 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | America Israel Racing | 180.298 | 39.934 | -1.308 |
| 37 | 33 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | South Point Hotel & Casino | 179.609 | 40.087 | -1.461 |
| 38 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 179.466 | 40.119 | -1.493 |
| 39 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Humphrey Smith Racing | 179.296 | 40.157 | -1.531 |
| 40 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 178.864 | 40.254 | -1.628 |
| 41 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 1-800LoanMart | 178.602 | 40.313 | -1.687 |
| 42 | 32 | Ken Schrader+ | Ford | U.S. Chrome / 1 Less Than 2 Ltd. | 178.333 | 40.374 | -1.748 |
| 43 | 74 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | Turn One Racing | 179.131 | 40.194 | -1.568 |
| 44 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 178.470 | 40.343 | -1.717 |
| 45 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 178.443 | 40.349 | -1.723 |
| 46 | 37 | Timmy Hill* | Ford | Poynt.com | 177.936 | 40.464 | -1.838 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie