DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s Southern 500, the opening race of the Cup playoffs.
Playoff drivers dominated Saturday’s qualifying. The top 12 starting spots were claimed by playoff drivers.
Hamlin won his second pole of the season and 46th of his career with a lap of 171.381 mph. This is his second career Darlington pole. He has won 40 poles with Toyota, becoming the first driver to do that for the manufacturer.
Hamlin will be joined on the front row by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who won last year’s Southern 500. Briscoe qualified at 171.255 mph.
Josh Berry (170.578 mph) qualified third, followed by Tyler Reddick (170.466) and Kyle Larson (170.012).
Playoff drivers took the top 12 spots and 13 of the top 14. The only playoff drivers starting 20th or worse are: Shane van Gisbergen (20th with a lap of 168.278 mph), Chase Elliott (21st with a lap of 168.261 mph) and Alex Bowman (29th with a lap of 168.014 mph).
Justin Haley was the top non-playoff driver. He’ll start 13th after a lap of 169.222 mph.
The green flag is scheduled to wave at 6:05 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network.
