Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s (July 5) eero 400 Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway by only one one-thousandth of a second over Kyle Larson. Hamlin posted a lap of 30.296 seconds (178.241 mph) to claim the top spot on the grid.
It’s Hamlin’s fourth pole of the 2026 season and his first at Chicagoland. He won the 2015 race at the track and comes into the weekend holding a one-point lead in the Cup Series standings over Tyler Reddick.
Larson will share the front row with Hamlin, and the RFK Racing duo of Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski will start third and fourth, respectively. Ty Gibbs qualified fifth.
Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and William Byron will start in the sixth to 10th positions.
Cody Ware slapped the wall during his qualifying run, and he did not complete his lap.
Michael McDowell failed inspection before qualifying so he did not get to post a lap.
Cup Chicagoland Qualifying Results
The eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, the 19th race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, will take place on Sunday, July 5 at 6 p.m. ET, with TV coverage provided by TNT.
Michael Bellifemini joined Frontstretch in February 2026 as a contributor. Bellifemini was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Seton Hall University. He called Seton Hall men's and women's basketball games for their college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, and continues to broadcast in the area. Outside of covering NASCAR, Bellifemini is also an avid baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fan and enjoys watching different sports leagues on a daily basis.
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