Hamlin on pole at Phoenix
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin was convinced he had to improve his performance at Phoenix Raceway, and on Saturday afternoon, he took the first step in that direction.
Hamlin, who hasn’t won at Phoenix since 2019, beat JGR teammate Ty Gibbs (132.227 mph) by 0.088 seconds for the top starting spot in the fourth NASCAR Cup Series event of the season.
“I’m really trying to get better at this place,” Hamlin said after securing his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Phoenix and the 41st of his career, 13th-most all-time.
“If we want to make a run at a championship — and you’ve got to win it through Phoenix — you’ve got to get better at Phoenix.”
The pole position was the 150th for Toyota in the Cup Series, with Hamlin accounting for 36 of those. His first five poles came in Chevrolets before Joe Gibbs Racing switched to Toyota. Included in that group of five was Hamlin’s first career pole, at Phoenix in 2005.
Unlike the rest of his final-round competitors, who made sharp cuts across the front stretch dogleg, Hamlin took a more conservative approach and benefitted from a more favorable angle into Turn 1 on his money lap.
“I was kind of 50-50 on it,” Hamlin explained. “I didn’t cut it in the first round, but we consistently saw that I was about a half-car-length behind entering Turn 1, but my angle was better.
“That was a very indecisive decision — ‘OK, I won’t go all the way, but I won’t stay where I was,’ and it netted out in a good position where I was able to cut a little bit but also keep my angle into Turn 1.”
Chase Elliott (132.144 mph), winless since the fall Talladega race in 2022, qualified third in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Toyota drivers Erik Jones and Daytona 500 winner William Byron.
Tyler Reddick was sixth fastest, ahead of Noah Gragson in the top Ford, followed by Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar.
Hamlin’s pole-winning run broke a streak of three straight poles to open the season by Ford drivers.
Starting Line Up by Row
Phoenix Raceway
Shriners Children?s 500
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 3/9/2024 @ 03:33 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Tony Stewart 11/07/99 2:38:28 118.132
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 11 Denny Hamlin Mavis Brakes Plus Toyota 27.138 132.655
2 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 27.226 132.227
Row 2: 3 9 Chase Elliott Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 27.243 132.144
4 43 Erik Jones Family Dollar Toyota 27.249 132.115
Row 3: 5 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 27.269 132.018
6 45 Tyler Reddick Mobil 1 Toyota 27.270 132.013
Row 4: 7 10 Noah Gragson SERVPRO Ford 27.332131.714
8 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 27.363 131.565
Row 5: 9 34 Michael McDowell Horizon Hobby Ford 27.440 131.195
10 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 27.497 130.923
Row 6: 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 27.205 132.329
12 1 Ross Chastain Kubota Chevrolet 27.161 132.543
Row 7: 13 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 27.206 132.324
14 17 Chris Buescher BuildSubmarines.com Ford 27.189 132.406
Row 8: 15 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 27.230 132.207
16 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 27.202 132.343
Row 9: 17 5 Kyle Larson Valvoline Chevrolet 27.243 132.144
18 6 Brad Keselowski Consumer Cellular Ford 27.203 132.338
Row 10: 19 42 John Hunter Nemechek Albertson's Toyota 27.278 131.974
20 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fry's/Coca-Cola Spiced Chevrolet 27.277 131.979
Row 11: 21 31 Daniel Hemric Poppy Bank Chevrolet 27.290 131.916
22 23 Bubba Wallace U.S. Air Force Toyota 27.303 131.854
Row 12: 23 22 Joey Logano Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 27.309 131.825
24 21 Harrison Burton Draiver Ford 27.341 131.670
Row 13: 25 48 Alex Bowman Ally Best Friends Chevrolet 27.311 131.815
26 16 Derek Kraus Western States Flooring Chevrolet 27.388 131.444
Row 14: 27 41 Ryan Preece United Rentals Ford 27.390 131.435
28 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 27.400 131.387
Row 15: 29 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Ford 27.398 131.396
30 3 Austin Dillon Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet 27.455 131.124
Row 16: 31 8 Kyle Busch zone Chevrolet 27.422 131.281
32 15 Kaz Grala # N29 Capital Partners Ford 27.582 130.520
Row 17: 33 51 Justin Haley Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford 27.479 131.009
34 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Duracell Ford 27.622 130.331
Row 18: 35 7 Corey LaJoie Group 1001 Chevrolet 27.877 129.139
36 4 Josh Berry # SunnyD Ford 38.424 93.691
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet14 0
Ford 14 0
Toyota 8 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Our Partners
.png)
