Denny Hamlin responded to Kyle Larson’s challenge in the fierce competition for the NASCAR Cup Series title by securing the pole position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin clocked a lap time of 28.910 seconds on the 1.5-mile track, narrowly edging out Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs by just 0.017 seconds. Having already won the last two Cup races at Las Vegas, Hamlin aims to clinch a third consecutive victory on Sunday, which would help him close the 26-point gap behind Larson.
“It felt good,” Hamlin remarked. “The car had many of the strong qualities I’ve experienced here before, and I think we made slight improvements this time. We still have a long way to go, but it’s a promising start.”
Following Hamlin and Gibbs were two more Joe Gibbs Racing drivers: Christopher Bell in third and Chase Briscoe in fourth. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing completed the top five starters.
Championship leader Kyle Larson starts sixth, leading the Chevrolet contingent, while Austin Cindric represents Ford in seventh. William Byron, Bubba Wallace, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top ten.
Among the Chase drivers, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano had the lowest starting positions, qualifying 20th and 23rd, respectively. Qualifying ran smoothly without incident, though two cars—No. 4 driven by Noah Gragson and No. 21 driven by Josh Berry—did not participate due to crashes during practice.
Fan Take:
This pole position sets the stage for an electrifying showdown at Las Vegas, highlighting Hamlin’s determination to close the gap on Larson. With multiple strong contenders from Joe Gibbs Racing showing their pace, fans can expect high-stakes racing that could significantly influence the championship battle and energize NASCAR’s playoff excitement.
Source: www.motorsport.com
