Denny Hamlin Dominates Qualifying at Pocono and Secures Pole Position
Experienced driver Denny Hamlin, known for his outstanding career at Pocono Raceway, achieved the best time in Saturday’s qualifying session, securing the pole position for the exciting The Great American Getaway 400 race. Hamlin, behind the wheel of his No. 11 Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing, will lead the starting grid in this NASCAR Cup Series competition. With seven victories at Pocono, Hamlin holds the historical record for wins on this circuit. His fastest lap, at a speed of 172.599 mph, put him ahead of Chris Buescher, from the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team.- Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing)
- Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)
- John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club)
- Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team)
Hamlin commented that the team knows well what it needs from the car and that, despite the changes in vehicles and tires over time, the key to speed on this track remains the same. “I was able to perform well in qualifying and that’s a good start for us,” he added. On the other hand, William Byron, current leader of the NASCAR Cup Series championship, suffered an accident in the qualifying session, which forced his team to use a spare car. Byron will start the race from the back of the grid. Hamlin’s JGR teammates, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs, finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Tyler Reddick, from the 23XI Racing team owned by Hamlin, was eighth. Christopher Bell, from JRG, will start ninth and Daniel Suarez, from Trackhouse Racing, tenth. A total of six of the top ten cars were Toyotas. The winner of the previous race, Ryan Blaney, qualified in 20th place with his Ford from Team Penske. Four drivers were unable to complete qualifying laps, including Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s teammate at 23XI Racing.We can usually improve from practice. We had good adjustments, so we didn’t really panic.
Denny Hamlin
