Denny Hamlin‘s grip on road course qualifying in 2023 continued at Watkins Glen, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver topped the charts for his fourth NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season.
The 2016 Watkins Glen winner bested the field with a speed of 125.298 mph. In addition to a pole at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season, Hamlin won the pole at both Sonoma Raceway and the Chicago street course.
Joining Hamlin on the front row will be William Byron, who laid down a speed of 124.961.
Fresh off his win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Michael McDowell turned in the third-fastest lap. Rookie Ty Gibbs and 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Former Watkins Glen winner AJ Allmendinger will start sixth, with Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie shaped the remainder of the top 10.
A few playoff bubble drivers just missed out on making the final round. Bubba Wallace qualified 12th, while Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott will start 14th and 15th, respectively.
NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen Starting Lineup
The penultimate race of the regular season kicks off on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 3 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR's dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.