Denny Hamlin added another milestone to his résumé Saturday, earning the 49th Busch Light Pole Award of his career and the top starting spot for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, a track where he’s long been dominant.
Driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin posted a lap of 98.241 mph on the half-mile oval, edging William Byron by just .056 seconds. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, will start alongside Hamlin on the front row.
Hamlin, now a five-time Martinsville pole winner, said he felt confident after practice but wasn’t necessarily aiming for the top spot.
“I knew it was possible from how the car felt in practice,” Hamlin said. “If you’ve got speed here, qualifying doesn’t change things much. I was really just trying to get into the top eight — but I’ll take the pole.”
The achievement ties Hamlin with Bobby Isaac for 10th on the all-time Cup Series pole list. When told he’s closing in on Ryan Newman (51 poles), Hamlin responded with a competitive edge.
“I don’t usually come into a weekend thinking about the pole,” he said. “But it’s pretty awesome. As you get older, raw speed is usually the first thing to go — so the fact we’re still getting poles means a lot.”
Josh Berry qualified third for Wood Brothers Racing and will share the second row with Hamlin’s teammate Ty Gibbs. Shane van Gisbergen impressed with a fifth-place run for Trackhouse Racing.
Rounding out the top 10 are Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, points leader Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott.
Earlier in the day, Bubba Wallace led the way in practice, turning the fastest lap at 96.195 mph. Gibbs and Hamlin followed closely behind, while Elliott and Todd Gilliland completed the top five.
Elliott posted the best 10-lap average in the session, ahead of Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Berry.
Reddick, however, struggled to find speed. He ranked 21st in single-lap pace and 31st in 10-lap averages – a disappointing showing for the current championship leader heading into Sunday’s race.
Martinsville Speedway Cook Out 400 Starting Lineup
Qualifying: March 28, 2026; Race: March 29, 2026
|
POSITION
|
BEST SPEED
|
BEST TIME
|
BEHIND
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
D. Hamlin #11
|
98.241
|
19.275
|
Winner
|
|
2 |
W. Byron #24
|
97.957
|
19.331
|
0.056
|
|
3 |
J. Berry #21
|
97.941
|
19.334
|
0.059
|
|
4 |
T. Gibbs #54
|
97.921
|
19.338
|
0.063
|
|
5 |
S. Van Gisbergen #97
|
97.916
|
19.339
|
0.064
|
|
6 |
A. Cindric #2
|
97.855
|
19.351
|
0.076
|
|
7 |
C. Hocevar #77
|
97.795
|
19.363
|
0.088
|
|
8 |
T. Reddick #45
|
97.729
|
19.376
|
0.101
|
|
9 |
J. Logano #22
|
97.664
|
19.389
|
0.114
|
|
10 |
C. Elliott #9
|
97.649
|
19.392
|
0.117
|
|
11 |
C. Bell #20
|
97.618
|
19.398
|
0.123
|
|
12 |
R. Blaney #12
|
97.463
|
19.429
|
0.154
|
|
13 |
K. Larson #5
|
97.448
|
19.432
|
0.157
|
|
14 |
Z. Smith #38
|
97.387
|
19.444
|
0.169
|
|
15 |
B. Wallace #23
|
97.382
|
19.445
|
0.170
|
|
16 |
C. Buescher #17
|
97.377
|
19.446
|
0.171
|
|
17 |
R. Preece #60
|
97.342
|
19.453
|
0.178
|
|
18 |
R. Chastain #1
|
97.322
|
19.457
|
0.182
|
|
19 |
E. Jones #43
|
97.177
|
19.486
|
0.211
|
|
20 |
M. McDowell #71
|
97.133
|
19.495
|
0.220
|
|
21 |
J. Allgaier #48
|
97.093
|
19.503
|
0.228
|
|
22 |
D. Suárez #7
|
97.068
|
19.508
|
0.233
|
|
23 |
B. Keselowski #6
|
97.018
|
19.518
|
0.243
|
|
24 |
C. Custer #41
|
96.959
|
19.530
|
0.255
|
|
25 |
C. Zilisch #88
|
96.929
|
19.536
|
0.261
|
|
26 |
R. Herbst #35
|
96.805
|
19.561
|
0.286
|
|
27 |
C. Briscoe #19
|
96.800
|
19.562
|
0.287
|
|
28 |
A. Allmendinger #16
|
96.721
|
19.578
|
0.303
|
|
29 |
T. Gilliland #34
|
96.671
|
19.588
|
0.313
|
|
30 |
A. Dillon #3
|
96.489
|
19.625
|
0.350
|
|
31 |
N. Gragson #4
|
96.366
|
19.650
|
0.375
|
|
32 |
J. Nemechek #42
|
96.298
|
19.664
|
0.389
|
|
33 |
R. Stenhouse Jr #47
|
96.239
|
19.676
|
0.401
|
|
34 |
K. Busch #8
|
96.097
|
19.705
|
0.430
|
|
35 |
C. Ware #51
|
96.029
|
19.719
|
0.444
|
|
36 |
T. Dillon #10
|
95.830
|
19.760
|
0.485
|
|
37 |
A. Hill #33
|
95.055
|
19.921
|
0.646
|
