Denny Hamlin's sports psychologist told him to fall in love with Dover International Speedway, which is easily Hamlin's weakest track in the Chase.

The Monster has been tough for Hamlin to like based on his past results, but Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying session was like a Cupid arrow to Hamlin's heart.

Hamlin won the pole position for Sunday's AAA 400, the third race of NASCAR's Chase and perhaps the most important one of the season for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

"It definitely was exciting to get the pole here for us," Hamlin said. "Darian (Grubb, crew chief) is working up some magic. Our qualifying is definitely better this year. Starting from the pole will obviously be a huge advantage for us on Sunday."

The pole was Hamlin's third of the season – tying his career high (2006). He also had the pole at Indianapolis and Fontana earlier this year. The driver said the pole was good for him both mentally and performance-wise, saying it was a 50/50 split.

One of the keys will be the No. 1 pit stall at Dover, which is very important in gaining positions on pit road.

"Track position is second to none here, and we're going to need that for tuning our car," Hamlin said. "We know what we've got now. Now we've just got to execute and make sure we have a flawless day on Sunday."

Behind Hamlin are two more Toyotas – Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr., who are both from Michael Waltrip Racing.

"We just messed up in (Turns) 3 and 4 a little bit," Truex Jr. said. "We should have had the pole there. That's my bad."

Heavy favorite Jimmie Johnson qualified 11th, and Brad Keselowski (second in points) was 10th. All of the Chase drivers are in the top 15 except for Tony Stewart (24th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (25th).

David Stremme, Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Cole Whitt and Kelly Bires failed to qualify for the event.

Here's the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway (Chase drivers in BOLD):

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Sam Hornish Jr.
5. Kyle Busch
6. Greg Biffle
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Ryan Newman
9. Kasey Kahne
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Jimmie Johnson
12. Matt Kenseth
13. Kevin Harvick
14. Joey Logano
15. Carl Edwards
16. Bobby Labonte
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. Regan Smith
19. Paul Menard
20. Jamie McMurray
21. Aric Almirola
22. Landon Cassill
23. Josh Wise
24. Tony Stewart
25. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
26. Mark Martin
27. Marcos Ambrose
28. Kurt Busch
29. Reed Sorenson
30. Casey Mears
31. David Ragan
32. Michael McDowell
33. Travis Kvapil
34. Scott Speed
35. Juan Pablo Montoya
36. Scott Riggs
37. Joe Nemechek
38. Danica Patrick
39. Jeff Burton
40. JJ Yeley
41. T.J. Bell
42. David Gilliland
43. Dave Blaney