MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin will start Sunday’s Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway from the pole.
Hamlin turned a lap of 98.492 mph aboard his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to take the top spot by .049 seconds over teammate Ty Gibbs.
It was Hamlin’s career-best sixth pole of the season.
“It always makes strategy easier when you’ve qualified up front,” said Hamlin. “I felt very good about it. I knew coming off Turn four it was enough, and it’s a really good feeling.”
Point leader Kyle Larson will start third in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He leads the Cup Series standings by 73 points over Hamlin.
Penske Ford teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano completed the top five qualifiers.
RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece was sixth, ahead of Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Josh Berry.
