That’s the first major shot fired of the weekend for Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing, as far as the Championship 4 drivers are concerned. Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE will start from the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
With a blazing lap time of 26.914 seconds (133.759mph), Hamlin will lead the field to green for Sunday’s 312-lap contest, with two of his three championship contenders, Kyle Larson and William Byron, sitting in second and third when the green flag drops.
Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney, teammates from Team Penske, continued to demonstrate the organization’s typical speed on the flatter short track, and will roll from the fourth and fifth positions.
Carson Hocevar will start sixth, with Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano rounding out the top-10.
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the only driver out of the Championship 4 to qualify outside of the top-five, or even the top-10, and will roll from 12th-place on Sunday.
STARTING LINEUP:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Diff | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Progressive Insurance Toyota | 26.914 | 0.000 | 133.759 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Axalta Chevrolet | 26.956 | 0.042 | 133.551 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 26.979 | 0.065 | 133.437 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Discount Tire Ford | 27.017 | 0.103 | 133.249 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards / Dutch Boy Ford | 27.029 | 0.115 | 133.190 |
| 6 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | 27.039 | 0.125 | 133.141 |
| 7 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford | 27.093 | 0.179 | 132.876 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Financial Chevrolet | 27.094 | 0.180 | 132.871 |
| 9 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Body Guard Ford | 27.111 | 0.197 | 132.787 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | 27.119 | 0.205 | 132.748 |
| 11 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 27.129 | 0.215 | 132.699 |
| 12 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 27.133 | 0.219 | 132.680 |
| 13 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Busch Light Chevrolet | 27.137 | 0.223 | 132.660 |
| 14 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Trackhouse / Freeway Chevrolet | 27.143 | 0.229 | 132.631 |
| 15 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 27.154 | 0.240 | 132.577 |
| 16 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | HYAK Motorsports Real American Beer Chevrolet | 27.172 | 0.258 | 132.489 |
| 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 27.176 | 0.262 | 132.470 |
| 18 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports Long John Silver's Ford | 27.184 | 0.270 | 132.431 |
| 19 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Castrol Ford | 27.189 | 0.275 | 132.406 |
| 20 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries Toyota | 27.196 | 0.282 | 132.372 |
| 21 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing Fry's / CELSIUS Ford | 27.197 | 0.283 | 132.368 |
| 22 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports Aaron's Rent to Own Ford | 27.218 | 0.304 | 132.265 |
| 23 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing McDonald's Toyota | 27.219 | 0.305 | 132.261 |
| 24 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing The Beast Toyota | 27.220 | 0.306 | 132.256 |
| 25 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 27.238 | 0.324 | 132.168 |
| 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops / Winchester Chevrolet | 27.243 | 0.329 | 132.144 |
| 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team Haas / Bonanza Ford | 27.244 | 0.330 | 132.139 |
| 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Mobil 1 Toyota | 27.251 | 0.337 | 132.105 |
| 29 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports Gainbridge Chevrolet | 27.300 | 0.386 | 131.868 |
| 30 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Love's Travel Stops Ford | 27.306 | 0.392 | 131.839 |
| 31 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing WeatherTech Chevrolet | 27.316 | 0.402 | 131.791 |
| 32 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 27.359 | 0.445 | 131.584 |
| 33 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Mighty Fire Breaker Ford | 27.445 | 0.531 | 131.171 |
| 34 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Alpine Partners Chevrolet | 27.522 | 0.608 | 130.804 |
| 35 | 44 | J.J. Yeley | NY Racing Fanatics Sportsbook Chevrolet | 27.720 | 0.806 | 129.870 |
| 36 | 66 | Casey Mears | Garage 66 S.I. Yachts Ford | 27.765 | 0.851 | 129.660 |
| 37 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports Tide Chevrolet | 27.959 | 1.045 | 128.760 |
| 38 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing CELSIUS Chevrolet | -- | -- | -- |
