Denny Hamlin clinches 49th Busch Light Pole Award at Martinville Speedway
Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin claimed the 49th Busch Light Pole Position of his career Saturday afternoon, claiming the number one starting spot for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville Speedway – a track where he has long established himself as one of the best.
Hamlin’s JGR No. 11 Toyota turned a lap of 98.241 mph around the half-mile Martinsville oval – .056-second faster than another one of the track’s recent best performers, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. They will lead the field to green on Sunday. Hamlin is racing for his second victory of the season and Byron hoping to put a Chevrolet in victory lane for the first time in 2026.
“I knew it was possible simply from where my car was in practice,’’ said Hamlin who now has five career Martinsville pole awards. “Any time you’ve got fast lap speed in practice here that’s in the top-12, you’re close enough there that qualifying trim doesn’t change your car that much.”
“You’ve got enough speed to where you nail it and do a good enough job as a driver you’ve got a chance at the pole, so I knew it was very possible but truthfully I approached the lap to get in the top eight. I think I’d go faster if I went and did it again right now, but I think I’ll go on and stand on my time,’’ he added with a smile.
Hamlin now ties Bobby Issac for the 10th most pole awards in the series history, a mark that genuinely seemed to surprise Hamlin who answered questions about it with an immediate and competitive response, “who has the next most on the list?’’ he was told Ryan Newman has 51.
“I never really go into any weekend thinking about qualifying on pole, it’s really kind of a sidebar to how my Saturday goes,’’ Hamlin said. “It’s pretty awesome, and really, with age, the hardest part is actually still having a fast time. It’s one thing to be able to manage races and use your experience to your advantage. But usually, the first thing to go is your raw speed and we’re still knocking off poles, which is really good.’’
Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry was third quickest in the No. 21 Ford and will share the second row with Hamlin’s JGR teammate Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota.
Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen turned an impressive oval qualifying effort with a fifth place showing in the No. 97 Chevrolet.
Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, championship leader Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott round out the top-10 in the starting grid.
Starting Line Up by Row
Martinsville Speedway
Cook Out 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 3/28/2026 @ 03:07 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 09/22/96 3:11:54 82.223
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 11 Denny Hamlin Bob's Discount Furniture Toyota 19.275 98.241
2 24 William Byron Cincinnati Chevrolet 19.331 97.957
Row 2: 3 21 Josh Berry DEX Ford 19.334 97.941
4 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 19.338 97.921
Row 3: 5 97 Shane Van Gisbergen SuperFile Chevrolet 19.339 97.916
6 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 19.351 97.855
Row 4: 7 77 Carson Hocevar Chili's Ride The 'Dente Chevrolet 19.363 97.795
8 45 Tyler Reddick SiriusXM Toyota 19.376 97.729
Row 5: 9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 19.389 97.664
10 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Chevrolet 19.392 97.649
Row 6: 11 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Toyota 19.398 97.618
12 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 19.429 97.463
Row 7: 13 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 19.432 97.448
14 38 Zane Smith Long John Silver's Ford 19.444 97.387
Row 8: 15 23 Bubba Wallace Hardee's Toyota 19.445 97.382
16 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Thomas' High Protein Ford 19.446 97.377
Row 9: 17 60 Ryan Preece Body Guard Ford 19.453 97.342
18 1 Ross Chastain Safety Culture Chevrolet 19.457 97.322
Row 10: 19 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 19.486 97.177
20 71 Michael McDowell Delaware Life Chevrolet 19.495 97.133
Row 11: 21 48 Justin Allgaier(i) Ally Chevrolet 19.503 97.093
22 7 Daniel Suarez Group 1001 Chevrolet 19.508 97.068
Row 12: 23 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 19.518 97.018
24 41 Cole Custer Haas Tooling.com Chevrolet 19.530 96.959
Row 13: 25 88 Connor Zilisch # Choice Privileges Chevrolet 19.536 96.929
26 35 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota 19.561 96.805
Row 14: 27 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 19.562 96.800
28 16 AJ Allmendinger Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 19.578 96.721
Row 15: 29 34 Todd Gilliland Dairi-O/Cheney Bros Inc. Ford 19.588 96.671
30 3 Austin Dillon Dow Coatings Chevrolet 19.625 96.489
Row 16: 31 4 Noah Gragson FUEL by Franzia Ford 19.650 96.366
32 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 19.664 96.298
Row 17: 33 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jack Links Non-Vegan Chevrolet 19.676 96.239
34 8 Kyle Busch FICO Chevrolet 19.705 96.097
Row 18: 35 51 Cody Ware Super.com Chevrolet 19.719 96.029
36 10 Ty Dillon Black's Tire Chevrolet 19.760 95.830
Row 19: 37 33 Austin Hill(i) United Rentals Chevrolet 19.921 95.055
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 18 0 Ford 10 0
Toyota 9 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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