Denny Hamlin secured pole position for the NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville, his sixth pole of the season. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs will join him on the front row, with championship leader Kyle Larson third. Hamlin trails Larson by 73 points with two races remaining in the season.
Denny Hamlin took pole position for the NASCAR Cup stock-car race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, his sixth pole of the season. Championship leader Kyle Larson qualified third.[1], [2]
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs finished second and will start alongside Hamlin on the front row. Two races remain in the season, with Hamlin trailing Larson by 73 points in the championship standings.[1]
Hamlin drove the number 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and beat Gibbs by 0.049 seconds. Austin Cindric qualified fourth and Joey Logano fifth. Ryan Preece was sixth, ahead of Alex Bowman, William Byron and Chase Elliott, with Josh Berry completing the top ten. Hamlin’s career pole total reached 54, while his six poles this season established a personal single-season high.[1]
This was also Hamlin’s sixth pole at Martinsville, where he has six race victories, the most among active drivers. His latest win there came in spring 2025. Practice had been led by Preece, followed by Berry and Todd Gilliland, while Larson was 29th. Chase Briscoe qualified eleventh and Christopher Bell fourteenth; they trail Larson by 79 and 74 points respectively.[1]
