Denny Hamlin will start first Sunday night. (Getty)

Denny Hamlin knocked Kurt Busch off the provisional pole and will lead the field to green in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It was looking like it'd be Busch's third straight pole after he won the pole at Darlington and for the All-Star Race on Saturday, but Hamlin bested Busch and broke Busch's then-new track record with a lap of 195.624 MPH.

The 600 will be Hamlin's second points race since returning from a back injury that sidelined him for five races.

Hamlin's teammate Matt Kenseth starts third, Mark Martin is fourth and Clint Bowyer starts fifth, meaning that Toyotas have four of the top five spots. Kyle Busch, the driver of the other Joe Gibbs Racing car, was no slacker himself, qualifying eighth. .

Jimmie Johnson, winner of the All-Star Race, starts 12th. Mike Bliss was the only driver to fail to qualify.

It's the greatest spectacle in racing and we're live-chatting it. Join us at 11:45 AM ET on Sunday for the 97th Indianapolis 500. There may even be a special appearance by one Jay Busbee, who is rumored to be in Indianapolis for the race. We'll see you then!

A From the Marbles first! We're attempting the chat triple this year, and first up is the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco Sunday at 7:45 AM ET. Grab your coffee and join us as we gaze in envy at the people sunbathing on the multi-million dollar yachts while watching the race.

The Indy 500. (Getty Images)

It's almost time for the greatest day in racing, three races that run from dawn to well after dusk. The centerpiece of the day is the Indy 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing and one of the most famous sporting events in the world. Here, we answer a few of your pressing Indy 500 questions. See you Sunday from the track!

The "500" in racing is a sacred number, as immutable as the 100 yards in football. In olden days, it was a test of drivers' nerve and cars' engineering; the odds were good that either man or machine couldn't go the distance. Now, though, both drivers and cars can sustain a 500-mile race. But how did we get to 500 miles in the first place?

The number dates back to 1911, when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway head Carl Fisher decided to have one major race, not a series of smaller ones. The idea was to have a race that would last the entire day. (Back in 1911, people hadn't had their attention spans demolished by their smartphones and video games, you know.) The race was

These guys are heading to the Hall of Fame. (Getty)

Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely.

Just days after his dominating win in the final segment of the Sprint All-Star Race, the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel made a statement about Johnson's NASCAR prowess during Wednesday's Hall of Fame voting.

The panel, led by a prominent NASCAR figure who shall remain nameless because of the secret nature of the vote, petitioned NASCAR officials to hold a vote on Johnson's election today. The panel argued that there is no better time to acknowledge Johnson's dominance  than while he was currently driving.

Also, the election of Johnson now saves the panel time down the road after Johnson's retirement. While Johnson has no plans of retiring anytime soon, any future Hall vote would be a formality, so this was simply a move to go through the

Another new Chrome Horn! And it's the All-Star edition. Join myself and Geoffrey Miller as we talk all things, well, all things.

Got any questions for us to use in the mailbag or the podcast? Hit us at HappyHourMailbag@Yahoo.com.

Click here to download the podcast or here to listen to in your browser. And we're now on iTunes! Find us in the Podcast section right here and subscribe. Listen!

Maurice Petty (L) and Dale Jarrett (R) were elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Wednesday. (Getty)

The 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class was announced on Wednesday, and it's a very diverse list.

The class of five consists of Tim Flock, Jack Ingram, Dale Jarrett, Maurice Petty and Fireball Roberts. That means that current owners Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick, as well as Speedway Motorsports Inc.'s Bruton Smith must wait another year.

Jarrett is likely the most familiar face to NASCAR fans, as the 1999 Cup champion is an analyst on ESPN's Sprint Cup Series coverage. Jarrett won three Daytona 500s and two Brickyard 400s. His father, Ned Jarrett, who was also a broadcaster after his career was over, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Maurice Petty was the engine builder for Petty Enterprises and is the fourth member of the Petty Enterprises crew to make the Hall of Fame after cousin Dale Inman and younger brother Richard and father Lee.

Tim Flock won 39 races in 187 starts and his first championship was in 1952 driving the Hudson Hornet. And at Hickory Motor Speedway on May

That'd be a nice backdrop for the All-Star Race, don't you think?

It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. But this week, it's different! The All-Star Race wasn't for points, so there's no point (pun!) in ranking the Sprint Cup field again. Besides we'd just put Jimmie Johnson back at the top.

Instead, let's stick with the All-Star theme. There's been some fantastic fodder for Happy Hour in the email inbox this week; people are incredibly passionate about the All-Star Race. So what if the All-Star Race was going to go to another track? Where would it go? Let's answer that question.

P.S. -- We're inverting the field this week. Why? Because we can. And we're dreaming big, too.

12. Rockingham: Let's start off with a fan favorite. Rockingham has produced some great racing since the Truck Series has returned to it, and given the multiple grooves through the corners and the tire wear, there would be no shortage of side-by-side racing. Of course, the size