Denny Hamlin is putting the pressure on right when it matters. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver powered his way to the Busch Light Pole Award for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, clocking a best speed of 98.492 mph in the No. 11 machine. It is a brilliant opening salvo for Hamlin as he attempts to claw back ground on Kyle Larson's 73-point advantage in the championship standings with only two races left on the schedule.
Yet the real story might be just how hard Larson had to fight to stay within touching distance. After a dismal practice session where he languished down in 29th fastest with a best lap of 94.822 mph and failed to show any pace on consecutive lap averages, Larson completely turned it around when it counted. He laid down a 98.114 mph lap around the Virginia short track, securing the third starting spot right on Hamlin's heels.
Sharing the front row with the pole-sitter will be Ty Gibbs, who steered his machine to a 98.241 mph lap to join his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate near the front. Right behind them, Team Penske's Austin Cindric and Joey Logano rounded out the top five in qualifying with speeds of 97.987 mph and 97.962 mph respectively. The rest of the top 10 starting grid filled out with Ryan Preece at 97.896 mph, Alex Bowman at 97.840 mph, William Byron at 97.770 mph, Chase Elliott at 97.714 mph, and Josh Berry closing out the top 10 at 97.709 mph.
Earlier in the day, the 50-minute practice session told a very different story. Ryan Preece set the early pace for RFK Racing by topping the charts with a 96.612 mph lap in the No. 60 Ford. Ford completely locked out the top three spots in practice, with Josh Berry going second fastest at 96.224 mph and Todd Gilliland third at 95.927 mph. Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain completed the top five of that opening session, while the rest of the top 10 in practice featured Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, and Christopher Bell.
When the long runs came into focus during practice, certain machines clearly favored the distance. Ross Chastain showed the strongest pace over the 10- and 15-consecutive lap average charts, while Carson Hocevar took charge at the very top of the board in the 20- and 25-consecutive lap averages. But qualifying is where the grid gets written, and come Sunday, the battle at the front is set to be absolute fireworks.
Nascar Cup Series
