Hamlin takes pole

Denny Hamlin didn’t realize how much he was feeling the pressure to perform in front of his hometown crowd until he was hurtling around the track in qualifying.

“I knew I was under pressure because my heart was beating out of my chest during my lap,” Hamlin said Friday after his fastest lap at 126.198 mph gave him his sixth career pole and second at Richmond.

He’s from Chesterfield, Va., about a 15-minute drive from Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

“When your foot is shaking on the gas pedal, the nerves are starting to get to you,” Hamlin said. “I don’t know why.”

Hamlin’s Toyota will have the Chevrolet of Mark Martin on the outside for tonight’s Sprint Cup Series race, with the Chevrolet of Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Patrick Carpentier’s Dodge in the second row.

Nationwide Series

Hamlin used a late pit stop for tires to foil the strategy of fellow NASCAR stars Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, blowing by them to win the evening race at Richmond.

Harvick and Edwards dominated, but when the final caution flew with 22 laps to go, Hamlin gave up his fourth-place position to head to pit road for tires.

When everyone behind him followed, leaving Harvick, Edwards and No. 3 Mike Bliss as the only cars still out on the track, Hamlin emerged still running fourth and with new traction.

He blew by Bliss and then Edwards on lap 241, the first after another restart, and then ducked underneath Harvick at the start-finish line on lap 242.

Edwards stays home

Carl Edwards briefly explored free agency before deciding to stay with Roush Fenway Racing for the next several years.

Edwards said he signed a multiple-year contract extension to continue driving the No. 99 Ford, a decision that takes NASCAR’s most sought-after free agent off the market.

With 10 career Cup wins, Edwards topped the list of drivers available at the end of this season.