Denny Hamlin Dominates Qualifying at Gateway and Secures Pole Position
MADISON, Ill. – Denny Hamlin demonstrated his supremacy in qualifying during the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, securing the pole position this Saturday at the World Wide Technology Raceway. This is the 46th pole of his career and the third of the season for the Joe Gibbs Racing star, who also led the standings in last week’s playoff race at Darlington Raceway.Kyle Larson qualified in second place, alongside Hamlin, achieving his first top-ten result at the 1.25-mile track east of St. Louis.“We made big adjustments from where we were in practice,” Hamlin commented, who completed a lap at 139.190 mph with his No. 11 Toyota. “That’s what they did so well last week for qualifying. Now we have an excellent track position and we just have to maintain it, and we’ll be in good shape.”
Denny Hamlin
- Chase Briscoe qualified third.
- Ross Chastain.
- Ryan Blaney.
- William Byron.
- Tyler Reddick.
- Christopher Bell.
- Austin Cindric
This marks a notable difference from the start of the playoffs in Darlington, where only four championship-eligible drivers finished in the top ten in the Southern 500, a historic low for an inaugural playoff race.
Among the disappointments, Larson, whose 19th-place finish at Darlington extended his streak to five races without a top-five result.Alex Bowman, who hasn’t finished above 13th place 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 in 12th place) 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
