LOUDON, N.H. — With Carl Edwards leading the charge, Joe Gibbs Racing continued its recent hot streak and took four of the top eight qualifying spots for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Never a great qualifier, Edwards turned a lap of 135.164 mph Friday to win the pole, just the 14th in a career that dates to 2004. Edwards will lead the field to green for the first time since 2013 and for the first time for JGR.

“Thanks for pointing that out,” Edwards cracked when told of the drought.

Edwards also won his first pole in 22 career races at New Hampshire.

Joey Logano, who finished second last week at Kentucky Speedway, will start second. David Ragan was third, while JGR’s Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin completed the top five.

Matt Kenseth, also of JGR was eighth.

JGR took four of the top-five spots in the Cup race at Kentucky. Busch won and Hamlin-Edwards-Kenseth went 3-4-5, a signal that the organization will again field drivers that are a threat to win a championship.

“It feels to me like we’re in a sweet spot I’ve only been in a couple of times,” Edwards said. “All of us are fast and we’re all pushing one another, but we’re all sharing information.”

Edwards won at Charlotte Motor Speedway to pretty much guarantee him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. But he’s posted middling results in his first season in the No. 19 Toyota – Charlotte and Kentucky are his only top-fives. Edwards has just three top 10s, an average finish of 19.8 and is 17th in the points standings.

Edwards, who had driven for team owner Jack Roush for 12 years, joined a new fourth Toyota team for Gibbs for this season. Edwards hasn’t been a title threat since 2011 when he lost to Tony Stewart on a tie-breaker. He went winless in 2012 and missed the Chase, and although he made two trips to victory lane in 2013, he finished last in the 13-driver Chase field. He had two more wins and was ninth in the final standings last season.

Reed Sorenson was the lone driver who failed to qualify. New Hampshire has seen 11 straight races with a different winner.

Brad Keselowski and Logano made it a Team Penske sweep last season.