Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, posting a fast lap of 183.68 mph in the second round of qualifying on Saturday (May 28).
Hamlin claimed his second Coca-Cola 600 pole, 34th of his career and first of the season.
”Just the reps, I run down there [turns 3 and 4] quite a bit in practice and then in my first run in the first round,” Hamlin told FOX Sports. “I had reps down there, so I kind of knew what I needed for my car. And I just thought, forward thinking, that this track was gonna get a little better and certainly we would want to cut the most distance we could off if the track continued to grip up.”
Toyotas swept the first two rows, as Kansas Speedway winner Kurt Busch placed second. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch make up the second row, and William Byron rounds out the top five.
Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell complete the top 10 in the starting lineup.
Cup Starting Lineup for Coca-Cola 600
Several drivers had issues in both practice and qualifying, including Brad Keselowski, who slid around in his qualifying run but didn’t hit anything.
In practice, Kyle Larson and Corey LaJoie both hit the wall and suffered some damage. Larson’s team worked on the car and won’t go to a backup, but LaJoie’s team will go to a backup car.
Ryan Preece also spun, but no harm was done. Additionally, Kaz Grala’s hood flew up on his car.
Coverage for the Coca-Cola 600 starts on Sunday, May 29, at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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My drivers starting 7th and 9th respectively, should be a great 600 miles of racing. Thank you to all the troops! This 600 miles of rememberance is 4 all y’all!
How much money and points for winning poles lol & what lap will nascar bring out the checkered flag for bubba.
It has to be after half distance….MAYBE!
Ford showing in qualifying is pitiful. Cindric starts sixth and McDowell starts tenth; that’s it for the top ten. Still, it’s 600 miles and anything can happen.