Denny Hamlin Secures Pole Position at World Wide Technology Raceway
MADISON, Ill. – Denny Hamlin continues to demonstrate his dominance in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, earning the pole position this Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. This achievement represents the 46th pole position of his career and the third of the season for the Joe Gibbs Racing star, who also led the qualifying in last week’s playoff race at Darlington Raceway.Kyle Larson secured the second spot on the grid, alongside Hamlin, achieving his best qualifying result at the 1.25-mile oval east of St. Louis. Chase Briscoe will take third place, followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Austin Cindric, completing the top nine positions with playoff drivers for Sunday’s 300-mile race at Gateway. This classification contrasts with the start of the playoffs in Darlington, where only four championship-eligible drivers finished in the top ten. Among the disappointments, Larson, with his 19th position at Darlington, extended his streak to five races without a top-five finish.“We made big adjustments since practice,” Hamlin commented, who clocked a lap at 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 keep it, and we’ll be in good shape.”
Denny Hamlin
“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 LarsonAlex Bowman, who hasn’t finished higher than 13th at Gateway, qualified in 25th place, being the only playoff driver outside the top 20. Bowman is tied with Josh Berry (12th in the standings) in the last position of the points standings among the 16 playoff drivers.
