Denny Hamlin blitzes Gateway for 2nd straight NASCAR Cup playoff pole
Denny Hamlin blitzes Gateway for second straight Playoff pole
By Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service
MADISON, Ill.—Denny Hamlin is perfect for the 2025 Playoffs—at least when it comes to qualifying.
With a lap at 139.190 mph (32.330 seconds) on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Hamlin claimed the pole position for the second time in two Playoff races and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was 0.021 seconds faster than the No. 5 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson (139.099 mph), the only Playoff driver to participate in a Goodyear tire test at the 1.25-mile track in June.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Hamlin’s first at Gateway—and the first for Toyota—his third of the season and the 46th of his career, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson for 11th all-time.
Coincidentally, Hamlin is also 11th on the career victory list with 58 but has converted only six of his pole-position starts into wins.
Hamlin enters the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs second in the standings behind Darlington winner Chase Briscoe, who qualified third on Saturday at 138.902 mph. After a seventh-place finish from the pole at the Lady in Black, Hamlin is 43 points above the current elimination line for the Round of 12.
“We were able to, very similarly to last week, make some great adjustments from where we were in practice,” Hamlin said. “And again, there is so much that is different from practice to qualifying when you’re going for one lap.
“Air pressures at a track like this are dramatically different, certainly, the intensity from which I drive is a lot different in practice than qualifying. They gave me all of the adjustments that I needed to have a really good handling car there, and we were able to capitalize on it.”
Ross Chastain (138.855 mph) was fourth in time trials in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney, who won at Iowa on the same tire combination in use this weekend at Gateway, qualified fifth at 138.752 mph in the fastest Ford.
With Playoff drivers accounting for the top nine starting positions, William Byron qualified sixth, followed by Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric. Tenth-place Zane Smith was the fastest non-Playoff driver in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
Josh Berry, 19 points below the cut line after finishing last at Darlington, will start 12th, followed by 2022 Gateway winner Joey Logano, who comes to the second Playoff race three points below the elimination line.
Other Playoff drivers qualified as follows: Bubba Wallace 14th, Austin Dillon 15th, Shane van Gisbergen 18th, Chase Elliott 19th and Alex Bowman 25th.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com