Denny Hamlin claims another pole at Pocono
It is becoming a beautiful habit for Denny Hamlin. The veteran of Joe Gibbs Racing just claimed his fourth pole position of the 2026 season at the tricky, triangular 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway. He was the final driver to take to the track, and with a blistering lap of 173.250 mph, he managed to knock Kyle Larson off the top spot by a mere 0.057 seconds. It is a stunning display of form for a driver currently hunting a third consecutive win.
Confidence is clearly sky-high for the No. 11 Toyota camp. Hamlin now faces the Great American Getaway 400 with momentum that has seen him slash Tyler Reddick's points lead down to 51. The race start has been moved forward to 1 p.m. ET to dodge the threat of bad weather, which sets the stage for a frantic battle. Behind the front row, we have Daniel Suárez leading the pack, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe.
Further back, the grid holds plenty of intrigue. Chris Buescher starts sixth as the lead Ford, while 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski are forced to start from the rear following an accident and engine trouble, respectively. As for the title leader, Tyler Reddick lines up 15th, leaving him with a mountain to climb if he wants to fend off a man who has already won at this circuit a record seven times.
