After Mother Nature made a surprise visit to Nashville Superspeedway with a pop-up shower on Saturday, NASCAR has canceled the second round of qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series at the 1.33-mile facility.
Denny Hamlin – who posted the fastest time in the first round of qualifying — will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday, with his lap of 29.848 seconds (160.413mph) standing as the official pole time.
Saturday’s qualifying triumph marks the fifth pole of the NASCAR Cup Series season for Joe Gibbs Racing – three with Christopher Bell, and two with Hamlin — as well as the 35th pole of Hamlin’s career at NASCAR’s top level, tying him for 20th all-time.
Joey Logano – a two-time Cup Series winner this season — will start alongside Hamlin, with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounding out the second row.
Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing rounded out the top-five starters for Sunday’s 300-lap contest, marking the first top-five start on a non-superspeedway oval for Trackhouse Racing in the team’s history.
Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top-10 starters for the event.
Furthermore, other notables include: Aric Almirola (11th), Alex Bowman (12th), William Byron (13th), Tyler Reddick (16th), Kurt Busch (19th), Austin Cindric (24th), Brad Keselowski (27th), and Chase Briscoe (28th).
Kyle Busch, a two-time champion of the NASCAR Cup Series and a teammate to polesitter Denny Hamlin, will start the event from last place, after a spin in turn four during his qualifying lap.
Video: Kyle Busch Spins, Backs into Wall During Nashville Qualifying, Will Start Last
