Denny Hamlin awarded Cup pole at Nashville

Denny Hamlin will start on pole position for the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, scheduled for this Sunday, May 31.

The event’s starting lineup was going to be determined through an on-track qualifying session/ It consisted of a single-car, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots would drive around Nashville Superspeedway once. The competitor who posted the single fastest lap would be awarded the pole position.

However, due to inclement weather canceling Saturday’s (May 30) qualifying session, the starting lineup was determined through a qualifying metric formula per the NASCAR rule book. This resulted in Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 Progressive/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry being awarded the pole position.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, is currently ranked in second place both in the 2026 driver’s and owner’s standings. He is also coming off a third-place result from this past Sunday’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With his latest victory occurring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-March, Hamlin will strive for both his second victory of the 2026 season and his first at Nashville.

Hamlin will share the front row with Tyler Reddick. Reddick is currently leading the driver’s and owner’s standings and finished in fourth place during the Coca-Cola 600 event. Daniel Suarez, winner of this year’s Coca-Cola 600 event, will start in third place, and he will share the second row alongside Christopher Bell, who finished behind Suarez during the Coca-Cola 600 event.

Kyle Larson will start in fifth place, followed by Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano and Shane van Gisbergen to complete the top-10 starting grid. Notably, Corey Heim, who was named a full-time Cup Series competitor for 23XI Racing for the 2027 season, will start in 24th place behind Riley Herbst, the competitor whom Heim will replace. In addition, Austin Hill will pilot the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet entry in place of the late Kyle Busch. This will be his second consecutive Cup event in the No. 33. He will start in 25th place.

With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.

Nashville – Starting Lineup:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Daniel Suarez
4. Christopher Bell
5. Kyle Larson
6. Ty Gibbs
7. Ryan Blaney
8. William Byron
9. Joey Logano
10. Shane van Gisbergen
11. Zane Smith
12. Brad Keselowski
13. Erik Jones
14. Michael McDowell
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16. AJ Allmendinger
17. Carson Hocevar
18. Bubba Wallace
19. Alex Bowman
20. Cole Custer
21. Todd Gilliland
22. Chris Buescher
23. Riley Herbst
24. Corey Heim
25. Austin Hill
26. Noah Gragson
27. John Hunter Nemechek
28. Ryan Preece
29. Chase Elliott
30. Ty Dillon
31. Chase Briscoe
32. Austin Dillon
33. Josh Berry
34. Cody Ware
35. Ross Chastain
36. Austin Cindric
37. Chad Finchum
38. Connor Zilisch

The 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 31, at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.