In four of the last five Championship Races for the NASCAR Cup Series, all at Phoenix Raceway, the best starter of the Championship 4 drivers has gone on to clinch the title. Perhaps a good omen for Denny Hamlin?
It’s just qualifying, but Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing have solidified the first major victory of this year’s Championship Weekend, winning the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix.
The 44-year-old, who has been trying to hunt down a series championship for the last two decades, blasted to the top of the speed charts late in Saturday’s single-vehicle qualifying session, laying down a lap of 26.914 seconds (133.759mph) to collect his fifth pole of the year.
“We’re trying. We’re doing everything we can, but I’m really proud of this whole Progressive Toyota team,” Hamlin said after qualifying. We’ve worked hard at it, we’ve really been working hard, hopefully we get the payoff tomorrow.”
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix
It’s the fourth time in Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup Series career that he has started from the pole at Phoenix Raceway, and the first time since last Spring. The Chesterfield, Virginia-native is a two-time winner at the racetrack and will look to make it through on the way to a championship on Sunday.
“We’re obviously going to be in a great starting spot here at this point, and then we’ve got to just make sure we do all of the right things, that’s execute the entire day, and largely that’s going to rest on my shoulders, so I’ll do the best I can.”
Hamlin’s championship rivals, however, will not be that far behind.
William Byron will start from the outside of the front row for Sunday’s 312-lapper from Phoenix Raceway, and came up just short of collecting his 17th pole in the NASCAR Cup Series. In two of his three Championship 4 appearances, Byron has started from the front row.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will roll from third, after putting down a lap time of 26.979 seconds, just over a half-tenth of a second slower than polesitter Hamlin. In winning his title, four years ago, Larson was able to start from the pole.
It’s the first time in the 11-year history of this NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs format that the Championship 4 have occupied the top-three starting spots for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.
Team Penske, which has traditionally performed well at this racetrack but has no championship-eligible drivers to show for it this season, will roll from fourth and fifth with Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney.
Carson Hocevar put together a solid sixth-place qualifying effort, with Josh Berry and Wood Brothers Racing tagging along on the Team Penske train in seventh. Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano, the three-time and defending champion of the Cup Series, will complete the top-10 starters.
Chase Briscoe was the sole driver out of the Championship 4 that failed to qualify inside the top-10 for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, and will roll from 12th-place in his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway will take place on Sunday, November 2 at 3:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock, with radio coverage on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
