Denny Hamlin Charges NASCAR Cup Pole At Sonoma

Denny Hamlin drives during qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images

Denny Hamlin made the most of a second lap in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying to edge Tyler Reddick for the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

Running the fastest lap of the day, Hamlin toured the 1.99-mile road course in 77.719 seconds (92.178 mph) to earn his second Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Sonoma and the 38th of his career.

Reddick had covered the distance in 77.812 seconds (92.068 mph) before Hamlin knocked him off the provisional pole late in the session.

Michael McDowell, who posted the fastest lap in Round 1, qualified third at 92.060 mph, followed by Christopher Bell (91.308 mph) and road course ace A.J. Allmendinger (91.873 mph). Sunoco rookie Ty Gibbs was sixth fastest, and Chris Buescher, the 2022 Sonoma runner-up, was seventh.

Interestingly, crew chief Chris Gabehart suggested to Hamlin that he settle for his first lap in the final round. At the time, Hamlin was second fastest.

“Chris was trying to get me to unbuckle after our first lap in the final round,” Hamlin said. “He was like, ‘That’s a great day, that’s a good starting spot,’ and I just asked like ‘You don’t want me to try again — I feel like maybe I could do it.’

“And so I’m glad that we did try again.’”

Seeking his first career Cup Series pole, McDowell was frustrated with his third-place result, which matched his finishing position in last year’s race.

“I think we had the car to beat today, so that’s what stinks about qualifying third,” McDowell said. “I feel good about our race trim. The cars I outqualified there I felt like we were way better in race trim. The only one I felt that was better than us was maybe the 5 (Kyle Larson), so we’ve got a good car for (Sunday) and we’ll get after it.

“It’s good to be disappointed with third. I haven’t had a career pole here in the Cup Series, so I was hoping today would be it. I gave it all I had and just a little bit too much and over-stepped it.”

The surprise of the session was Larson, who failed to advance to the second round after topping the speed chart in final NASCAR Cup Series practice by .558 seconds over Martin Truex, Jr., who claimed the eighth starting position for Sunday’s race, the 16th of the season.

Larson had started from the pole for the last five Sonoma races, winning once, in 2021.

Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott, returning from a one-race suspension for wrecking Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, made one attempt during Saturday’s final round but slid sideways in turn 4 before regaining control.

The bobble cost Elliott precious time and dropped him to 10th on the grid next to defending race winner Daniel Suarez, who qualified ninth.

NASCAR Cup Series
Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, CA
Toyota / Save Mart 350 – June 10, 2023

Saturday’s Qualifying Results

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 77.719 92.178
2. 45 Tyler Reddick The Beast Unleashed Toyota 77.812 92.068
3. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 77.819 92.060
4. 20 Christopher Bell Rheem/Resideo Toyota 77.974 91.877
5. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Gabriel Glas Chevrolet 77.977 91.873
6. 54 Ty Gibbs # Monster Energy Toyota 78.023 91.819
7. 17 Chris Buescher Fifth Third Bank Ford 78.030 91.811
8. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 78.094 91.736
9. 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 78.339 91.449
10. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 78.460 91.308
11. 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 78.056 91.780
12. 8 Kyle Busch McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet 78.122 91.703
13. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet 78.359 91.425
14. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Pride Chevrolet 78.398 91.380
15. 1 Ross Chastain Kubota Chevrolet 78.426 91.347
16. 5 Kyle Larson Valvoline Chevrolet 78.431 91.341
17. 22 Joey Logano Autotrader Ford 78.476 91.289
18. 23 Bubba Wallace DoorDash Toyota 78.506 91.254
19. 7 Corey LaJoie Schluter Systems Chevrolet 78.616 91.126
20. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 78.650 91.087
21. 4 Kevin Harvick Mobil 1 Ford 78.680 91.052
22. 41 Ryan Preece Autodesk Ford 78.680 91.052
23. 31 Justin Haley Cirkul Chevrolet 78.730 90.995
24. 14 Chase Briscoe Ford Performance Racing School Ford 78.762 90.958
25. 6 Brad Keselowski King’s Hawaiian Ford 78.980 90.707
26. 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 79.100 90.569
27. 77 Ty Dillon NationsGuard Chevrolet 79.138 90.525
28. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 79.326 90.311
29. 78 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 79.370 90.261
30. 38 Zane Smith(i) Wellcare Ford 79.498 90.115
31. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Moen Ford 79.599 90.001
32. 51 Todd Gilliland Serial 1 E-Bikes Ford 79.722 89.862
33. 15 Andy Lally Camping World Ford 79.787 89.789
34. 2 Austin Cindric America’s Tire Ford 79.850 89.718
35. 42 Grant Enfinger(i) Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet 80.223 89.301
36. 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 80.361 89.148