TALLADEGA, Ala. - Veteran driver Denny Hamlin earned the first Talladega Superspeedway Busch Light Pole Award of his 18-year career Saturday, besting the field for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race by a slight .032-seconds.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran a lap of 180.751 mph (52.979 seconds) around the 2.66-mile speedway to claim the top starting position – his 37th career pole. Aric Almirola will start alongside him, marking the second consecutive week he’s qualified second fastest and fourth time in 2023 he’s qualified in the top 10.
“I was well aware I’d never gotten a speedway pole,” Hamlin said with a smile.
“I don’t know that there is one (advantage), honestly” Hamlin continued. “If I had qualified 18th I’d have been just as optimistic. Although, I will say qualifying on the pole means my car is very capable and will be fast leading. I haven’t been fast in the Next Gen era while leading on superspeedways so certainly that gives me the confidence we should be able to lead the pack quickly, which will make it harder for them to pass us.”
Rookie of the Year candidate Ty Gibbs was third fastest – the best NASCAR Cup Series starting position to date for the first-year fulltime driver. He’ll start alongside Chase Briscoe.
Two-time Talladega winner Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell (who started on pole in both of last year’s Talladega races), Martin Truex, Jr., Joey Logano, last week’s Martinsville winner Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10, all advancing to the final round of qualifying. The top group included all four JGR team cars (Hamlin, Gibbs, Bell and Truex).
Defending race winner, Ross Chastain, the only driver to earn top five finishes in both 2022 Talladega races, qualified 22nd for Sunday’s race.
Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott, who is making only his second start since returning to competition after a six-week recovery for a broken leg, will roll off 29th. He is a two-time Talladega winner, hoisting the trophy in last fall’s Playoff race. He finished 10th in his return to racing last week at Martinsville.
WDUN will carry live MRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL
GEICO 500 – April 22, 2023
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 180.751 mph.
2. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 180.642 mph.
3. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 180.594 mph.
4. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 180.390 mph.
5. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 180.258 mph.
6. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 179.848 mph.
7. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 179.726 mph.
8. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 179.666 mph.
9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 179.656 mph.
10. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 179.652 mph.
11. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 179.141 mph.
12. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 179.091 mph.
13. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 179.004 mph.
14. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 179.001 mph.
15. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 178.994 mph.
16. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 178.961 mph.
17. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 178.830 mph.
18. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 178.793 mph.
19. (16) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 178.763 mph.
20. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 178.620 mph.
21. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 178.560 mph.
22. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 178.487 mph.
23. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 178.420 mph.
24. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 178.347 mph.
25. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 178.341 mph.
26. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 178.175 mph.
27. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 178.158 mph.
28. (36) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 177.831 mph.
29. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 177.748 mph.
30. (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 177.656 mph.
31. (62) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 177.422 mph.
32. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 177.225 mph.
33. (47) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 177.205 mph.
34. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 177.140 mph.
35. (38) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 177.127 mph.
36. (15) Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 176.986 mph.
37. (78) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 176.363 mph.
38. (51) J.J. Yeley(i), Ford, 175.952 mph.
