Denny Hamlin Dominates Qualifying at Gateway, Secures Pole
MADISON, Ill. – Denny Hamlin continues his perfect streak in NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs qualifying, securing the pole position on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. This is Hamlin’s 46th pole in his career and the third of the season for the star driver of Joe Gibbs Racing, who also led the qualifying in last week’s playoff race at Darlington Raceway.Kyle Larson placed second alongside Hamlin, earning his first top-10 finish in the standings at the 1.25-mile oval east of St. Louis. Chase Briscoe qualified third, followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Austin Cindric, thus completing the top nine starting positions for Sunday’s 300-mile race at the circuit known as Gateway. This contrasts with the start of the playoffs in Darlington, where only four championship-eligible drivers finished in the top 10 in the Southern 500, a historic low for a playoff opener. One of the disappointments was Larson, whose 19th place at Darlington extended a five-race drought without a top-five finish.“We made some excellent adjustments from where we were in practice,” said Hamlin, who turned a lap of 139.190 mph in his No. 11 Toyota. “That’s what they did so well last week for qualifying. Now we have a great track position and we just have to maintain it, and we’ll be in good shape.”
Denny Hamlin
Alex Bowman, who hasn’t finished above 13th at Gateway, qualified in 25th place, being the only playoff driver to start outside the top 20. Bowman is tied with Josh Berry (who qualified 12th) in the last position of the standings among the 16 playoff drivers.“I think our team needs it more than anything,” said the 2021 Cup champion. “We haven’t been able to celebrate much, so we’ll definitely celebrate a front-row spot at Gateway. It’s been a tough and inconsistent couple of months, so even qualifying well feels really good.”
Kyle Larson
