Denny Hamlin edged teammate Kyle Busch to claim the pole for Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway.
With a top speed of 169.991 mph Hamlin claimed his third NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season and the fourth of his career at Pocono.
“As long as it just keeps driving like that it’s good,” Hamlin told NBC Sports. “So just made some big strides from practice. Honestly, that was the biggest thing is the team just did a phenomenal job of getting this thing ready for qualifying and I made some adjustments and it’s all better.”
Busch, in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, starts on the front row of the race named after his long-time sponsor.
The top five was completed by Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher.
Click here for the starting lineup of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono.
For Buescher, whose only NASCAR Cup win came in 2016 at Pocono, it is easily his best career start at the 2.5-mile track. His previous best was 17th twice (2019, 2021).
Kurt Busch was one of the final 10 drivers to make the second round. But the 23XI Racing driver spun exiting Turn 3 on his run and backed fairly hard into the outside wall. That will result in the No. 45 team going to a backup car for Sunday’s race.
Kurt Busch crashes HARD in qualifying at @PoconoRaceway!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2022
The @23XIRacing driver made it into the final round, but this crash likely puts them in a backup and at the rear of the field. #NASCAR
📺 : @USA_Network pic.twitter.com/aTS8vM8YSp
Kurt Busch’s teammate, Bubba Wallace, had been on the track behind him getting ready to make his run when the accident occurred.
Wallace, after resetting on pit road, was the last car to make a run. He wound up seventh for his second consecutive top-10 qualifying effort.
The remaining top 10 is Ryan Blaney, Wallace, Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez.
Practice
Two separate 20-minute practice sessions were held at Pocono before qualifying.
Ross Chastain, who was in Group B, posted the overall top speed at 167.720 mph. He was followed by New Hampshire winner Christopher Bell (167.635 mph).Â
The top five was completed by Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.
Click here for the practice report.
There were two incidents during practice.
Both William Byron and Chastain spun exiting Turn 4 in their respective sessions. Chastain had posted the fastest lap in Group B before he spun. The No. 1 team had to make minor repairs to his front spoiler before qualifying.
Byron’s No. 24 team had to make repairs to the diffuser after his spin. Byron will start from the rear Sunday. Chastain also will start from the rear after further repairs.
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