Kyle Larson claims pole at Fontana, edging Denny Hamlin

Kyle Larson. (Terry Renna/AP)

FONTANA, Calif. — Kyle Larson turned a lap in 38.493 seconds Friday to claim the pole for the NASCAR race at Fontana.

Denny Hamlin clocked in at 38.507 seconds to earn the fifth front-row start of his career at Auto Club Speedway. Brad Keselowski was third, and Martin Truex Jr. was fourth.

Larson has finished second in three consecutive races, and he kept up his early-season surge with an impressive performance in his home state. He finished second at Fontana in 2014 in just his ninth career Cup race.

Jimmie Johnson will start 37th after deciding not to participate in qualifying. The defending Fontana champion didn’t have time to prepare his backup car after crashing in practice.

Joey Logan and Trevor Bayne also didn’t make it out for qualifying.

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