Hamlin Powers To NASCAR Cup Pole At Pocono Raceway

Denny Hamlin was quickest in Saturday’s qualifying session to score the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. Photo: Pocono Raceway/Twitter

Denny Hamlin earned the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway by turning in a blazing fast lap of 169.498 mph around the iconic 2.5-mile oval.

Hamlin easily out-qualifying the field by .15-seconds to earn his third pole position of the season.

It will be an all-Joe Gibbs Racing front row with Hamlin starting his No. 11 Toyota alongside teammate Kyle Busch, who was second fastest in the No. 18 Toyota.

The last time Hamlin qualified on the pole, at Charlotte in May, he went on to win the race. And he already boasts a stellar resume at Pocono. His six wins at the track are tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for the NASCAR Cup Series-most at six each.

“As long as it keeps driving like that, it’s all good,” Hamlin said with a smile. “Just made some big strides from practice. The biggest thing is that the team just did a phenomenal job getting this car ready for qualifying. I made some adjustments and it’s good.”

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were third and fourth fastest in qualifying and will make up the second row on the grid, followed by 2016 Pocono race winner Chris Buescher, who will start fifth.

Ryan Blaney, who earned his first career win at Pocono in 2017 will start sixth, followed by the Toyotas of Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex, Jr. Daniel Suarez, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10 starting positions.

Kurt Busch, will be starting from the rear of the grid, however, after spinning into the wall just as he was approaching the green flag for his final qualifying attempt.

NASCAR Cup Series
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA
M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400 – July 23, 2022

Saturday’s Qualifying Results

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 52.944 169.991
2. 18 Kyle Busch M&Ms Toyota 53.098 169.498
3. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 53.140 169.364
4. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 53.250 169.014
5. 17 Chris Buescher Wyndham Resorts Ford 53.279 168.922
6. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Duracell Ford 53.457 168.360
7. 23 Bubba Wallace DoorDash Toyota 53.472 168.312
8. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. DeWalt Toyota 53.579 167.976
9. 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 53.590 167.942
10. 45 Kurt Busch McDonald’s Toyota 0.000 0.000
11. 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 53.550 168.067
12. 10 Aric Almirola Haas Automation Ford 53.620 167.848
13. 14 Chase Briscoe HighPoint.com Ford 53.655 167.738
14. 22 Joey Logano Verizon Frontline Ford 53.669 167.695
15. 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 53.678 167.666
16. 8 Tyler Reddick Sheetz Chevrolet 53.708 167.573
17. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 53.834 167.181
18. 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 53.835 167.177
19. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/SweetLeaf Chevrolet 53.878 167.044
20. 2 Austin Cindric # Keystone Light Ford 53.921 166.911
21. 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 53.984 166.716
22. 16 Noah Gragson(i) Gold Fish Casino Slots Chevrolet 54.000 166.667
23. 7 Corey LaJoie WWE SummerSlam on Peacock Chevrolet 54.009 166.639
24. 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Apple #BuschTrickyTrivia Ford 54.020 166.605
25. 34 Michael McDowell Fr8Auctions.com Ford 54.049 166.516
26. 6 Brad Keselowski Kohler Generators Ford 54.061 166.479
27. 42 Ty Dillon Big Dog Energy Chevrolet 54.140 166.236
28. 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 54.197 166.061
29. 38 Todd Gilliland # A&W Root Beer Float Ford 54.221 165.987
30. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 54.440 165.320
31. 77 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto/Rich Mar Florist Chevrolet 54.639 164.718
32. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 54.763 164.345
33. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Ford 54.769 164.327
34. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 54.816 164.186
35. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) Surface Sunscreen Ford 55.625 161.798
36. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 56.166 160.239