Denny Hamlin on the pole for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Denny Hamlin claimed the pole for Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway with a 171.381 mph lap. It’s his second Cup Series pole at Darlington, his second this season, and the 45th of his career.

He was pleased with the progress the team made on his No. 11 Toyota after adjustments following practice.

“We struggled with balance all through race practice, but we made some good adjustments to run one lap.”

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, the defending race winner, will start beside Hamlin on the front row.

“That one stings,” Briscoe said. “My 1 and 2 were really good, and I didn’t want to go into (Turn) 3 and hit the wall or something, so I under-drove it.”Playoff drivers Josh Berry, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric completed the top-12 fastest drivers of the qualifying session.

The remaining four playoff drivers qualified outside the top 12. Joey Logano will start 14th, followed by Shane van Gisbergen (20th), Chase Elliott (21st) and Alex Bowman (29th).

Starting Lineup
Darlington Raceway
Cook Out Southern 500