NASCAR: Hamlin wins Nashville Cup pole

Denny Hamlin won the Busch Light Pole Award in Saturday’s qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway.

A surprise rain shower put a halt to the final round of qualifying and Hamlin was the fastest of everyone in the two group sessions for Sunday’s Ally 400.

With a lap at 160.413 mph, it’s the 35th Cup pole in Hamlin’s career and second in four races.

“It was a great run for us,” Hamlin said in a press conference. “We didn’t start off practice that stellar but with every run we made, we just kept getting better and better. Obviously today, it was even better. I thought I under-drove a little bit but still it was good enough.”

This is the fourth consecutive race the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start inside the top 10 but Hamlin has finished outside the top 30 in his last two starts — 34th at World Wide Technology Raceway and 31st at Sonoma Raceway.

Manufacturer parity headlined Saturday’s qualifying session as three Toyotas, three Fords and four Chevrolets made the final round of 10 that was rained out.

Joey Logano joins Hamlin on the front row after dropping a 160.107 mph run while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson (159.963 mph) and Chase Elliott (159.931 mph) locked out Row 2.

It’s no surprise that Larson starts inside the top five as he led 264 of the 300 laps to win last year’s inaugural Cup race on the 1.33-mile oval.

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Pedigree Toyota, spins after an on-track incident during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, 2022 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Daniel Suárez, entering off his first career Cup Series win at Sonoma, rounded out the top five with a 159.877 mph qualifying lap.

Ryan Blaney (159.867 mph), Ross Chastain (159.722 mph), Kevin Harvick (159.659 mph), Christopher Bell (159.228) and Martin Truex Jr. (159.207 mph) made up the rest of the top 10.

The Fords improved their speed from Friday’s practice as Blue Ovals nabbed five of the top 15 starting spots.

Aric Almirola will start 11th while Chris Buescher starts 15th.

The Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Harvick and Almirola are separated by just seven points on the playoff cutline.

Bubba Wallace, who was fastest in practice, had a loose car in his qualifying run and landed a lap of 156.022 mph to put him 30th on Sunday’s grid. 23XI Racing’s qualifying woes continued as Kurt Busch’s 158.843 mph lap was only good enough for 19th.

Qualifying Results

Pos No. Driver Team Time Speed
1 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 29.848 160.413
2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 29.905 160.107
3 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 29.932 159.963
4 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 29.938 160.107
5 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 29.948 159.877
6 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 29.95 159.867
7 1 Ross Chastain Jockey Chevrolet 29.977 159.722
8 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Apple Ford 29.989 159.659
9 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt Toyota 30.07 159.228
10 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 30.074 159.207
11 10 Aric Almirola Haas Automation Ford 29.999 159.605
12 48 Alex Bowman Ally Music City Chevrolet 30.015 159.520
13 24 William Byron Valvoline Chevrolet 30.021 159.488
14 16 AJ Allmendinger(i) Gold Fish Casino Slots Chevrolet 30.108 159.028
15 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 30.12 158.964
16 8 Tyler Reddick 3CHI Chevrolet 30.136 158.880
17 41 Cole Custer Dixie Vodka Ford 30.14 158.859
18 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 30.142 158.848
19 45 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Toyota 30.143 158.843
20 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet 30.152 158.795
21 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 30.253 158.265
22 7 Corey LaJoie Schluter Systems Chevrolet 30.288 158.082
23 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 30.326 157.884
24 2 Austin Cindric # Menards/Duracell Ford 30.36 157.708
25 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger/Entenmann’s Chevrolet 30.407 157.464
26 21 Harrison Burton # DEX Imaging Ford 30.471 157.133
27 6 Brad Keselowski King’s Hawaiian Ford 30.472 157.128
28 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 30.475 157.112
29 42 Ty Dillon Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet 30.641 156.261
30 23 Bubba Wallace Root Insurance Toyota 30.688 156.022
31 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 30.863 155.137
32 15 JJ Yeley(i) Ford 30.876 155.072
33 38 Todd Gilliland # Boot Barn Ford 30.952 154.691
34 77 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 31.091 154.000
35 78 BJ McLeod(i) Motorsport Games XBOX Ford 31.985 149.695
36 18 Kyle Busch Pedigree Toyota Spin Spin

 

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