If there’s anything such as a home-track advantage in auto racing, Davey Hamilton figures to have it tonight in the Las Vegas 500k in his bid to overcome Tony Stewart and win the Indy Racing League season championship.

Hamilton showed that in qualifying when he held the pole at 205.300 mph before teammate Billy Boat bumped him to the outside of the front row with a run of 207.413.

Boat’s run cost Hamilton two points he needed in an effort to overcome Stewart’s 10-point lead.

Ernie Irvan took the pole for Sunday’s DieHard 500 in Talladega, Ala., in a car bearing the number and colors of the late Davey Allison.

The pole was Irvan’s second of the year, his fifth at Talladega and the 19th of his career. Spokane’s Chad Little failed to qualify.