Denny Hamlin Earns Second NASCAR Cup Series Pole of 2024 at Nashville

For the second time this season, Denny Hamlin will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag, winning the pole for Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Hamlin, piloting the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, laid down the quickest time in the second and final round of time trials from the 1.33-mile concrete racetrack, posting a time of 29.859 seconds (160.354mph).

It’s the 42nd career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hamlin, and his second at Nashville Superspeedway. For Joe Gibbs Racing, it’s the organization’s 152nd pole at NASCAR’s top level and its fourth of the season — coming from three different drivers.

Josh Berry was the fastest of the five drivers that advanced to Round 2 via their lap time in Group A, meaning the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will start on the front row alongside Hamlin. It’s the third top-five start for Berry in 2024 and ties a career-best from Bristol.

Despite posting the second-fastest lap in the final round of qualifying, Christopher Bell will start the race in third place, with Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski completing the top five.

Tyler Reddick will start Sunday’s race from sixth, while William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, and Austin Cindric all posted times in the final round of qualifying, and will complete the first five rows for Sunday’s 18th event of 2024.

Notables starting outside the top-10 for Sunday’s Ally 400 include Alex Bowman (12th), Chase Elliott (13th), Martin Truex, Jr. (17th), Ryan Blaney (18th), Ross Chastain (20th), Bubba Wallace (24th), Joey Logano (26th), and Kyle Busch (27th).

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Corey Heim, piloting a third entry for 23XI Racing, will start Sunday’s event from 29th place, despite clocking in third place of the drivers in Group B during the series’ 20-minute practice session.

Despite an earlier report from NASCAR that Justin Haley and Rick Ware Racing would be barred from posting a qualifying time on Saturday, the No. 51 Ford Mustang went on the racetrack and will be credited with a 33rd-place starting spot, despite having to drop to the rear.

Chad Finchum, joining MBM Motorsports for his first NASCAR Cup Series start since 2021, was slowest of the 38 drivers entered in Sunday’s 400-mile contest, clocking in at 32.706 seconds, more than two seconds slower than 37th-place qualifier, Daniel Hemric.

The Ally 400 will take place on Sunday, June 30 at 3:30 PM ET, with broadcast coverage on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Photo Credit: Tyson Gifford, TobyChristie.com