Denny Hamlin claimed the NASCAR Cup Series Pole for the Go Bowling at The Glen race at Watkins Glen International with a 125.298 mph lap in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It is his fourth pole this season and his second at the 2.45-mile track.
After qualifying, he spoke about his approach to racing at Watkins Glen and how it differs from other road courses.
“I think it’s probably the least technical of all the road courses,” Hamlin explained. “Obviously, they call it the superspeedway of road courses. I think, like Tyler Reddick, his skill set on road courses doesn’t really play a huge benefit – the way he attacks them doesn’t really pay a huge dividend at this race track. I think you see more unconventional guys run up front here because it’s not quite as technical as the others. I just think that it’s pretty straightforward. I’ve got so many laps here that I certainly feel comfortable. And obviously, my car today has got speed.”
William Byron will join Hamlin on the front road after setting the second-fastest qualifying lap time in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Michael McDowell will start third in the Front Row Motorsports Ford followed by Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota. Kyle Larson will round out the top-5 in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet.
AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing), Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing), Tyler Reddick (23I), Kyle Busch (RCR) and Corey LaJoie (Spire Motorsports) rounded out the top-10, earning LaJoie his second top-10 Cup Series career start.
Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, will start 15th and was obviously disappointed with his qualifying effort.
“Daytona, to show up there [next week] and it be a must-win situation is like going to Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot,” Elliott said. “That’s just silly. To me, this is the opportunity we have the most control over and didn’t have a very good start to the weekend, so it puts you in a tough spot.”
With only two races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, the pressure is on. You can tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Starting Lineup:
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- Michael McDowell
- Ty Gibbs
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Christopher Bell
- Tyler Reddick
- Kyle Busch
- Corey LaJoie
- Joey Logano
- Bubba Wallace
- Chris Buescher
- Daniel Suarez
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Dillon
- Austin Cindric
- Alex Bowman
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Justin Haley
- Mike Rockenfeller
- Ross Chastain
- Ryan Blaney
- Brad Keselowski
- Todd Gilliland
- Chase Briscoe
- Aric Almirola
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Andy Lally
- Ryan Preece
- Erik Jones
- Harrison Burton
- Kevin Harvick
- Cole Custer
- Josh Bilicki
- Ty Dillon
