Denny Hamlin Secures Pole at Pocono
The winningest driver in Pocono Raceway history, Denny Hamlin, prevailed in Saturday’s qualifying and secured the pole position for Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400. Hamlin, behind the wheel of his No. 11 Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing, will lead the starting grid in the NASCAR Cup Series race. With seven victories at Pocono, Hamlin holds the historical record for wins at this circuit. Furthermore, he has finished in first or second place in five of the last eight races on this 2.5-mile, three-turn track. Hamlin recorded a lap of 172.599 mph, beating Chris Buescher of the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team by 0.083 seconds, who drove the No. 17 Ford.- Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet) from Spire Motorsports.
- John Hunter Nemechek (Toyota) from Legacy Motor Club.
- Cole Custer (Ford) from Haas Factory Team.
Despite not being among the ten fastest drivers in the afternoon practice session, Hamlin made effective adjustments. I was able to show a little more speed,” he added, referring to his absence from last week’s race. Hamlin also commented that he trusts his team and their ability to win every week.Generally, we can improve from practice,” Hamlin said.
Denny Hamlin
The current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, William Byron, of Hendrick Motorsports, suffered an accident with his No. 24 Chevrolet at the end of the qualifying session. The team had to use a backup car for Sunday’s race, so Byron will start from the back of the grid. Hamlin’s JGR teammates, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs, will start from sixth and seventh positions, respectively. Tyler Reddick, who drives the Toyota for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Hamlin, was the eighth fastest. Christopher Bell, from JRG, will line up ninth on the grid, and Daniel Suarez, from Trackhouse Racing, will start tenth. Six of the top ten cars were Toyotas. The winner of the previous race, Ryan Blaney, was the twentieth fastest with the No. 12 Ford from Team Penske. Four drivers did not complete qualifying laps, including Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s teammate at 23XI Racing, whose team pulled his car off the starting line just before his attempt. Josh Berry of Wood Brothers, Cody Ware of Rick Ware Racing, and Brennan Poole of NY Racing also did not complete qualifying laps.This team knows what I need from the car. Cars and tires have changed over time, but speed is still made on this track in the same way. I was able to run in qualifying and that’s a good start for us,” he stated.
Denny Hamlin
