Denny Hamlin rockets to NASCAR Cup pole for Phoenix title race

Denny Hamlin ‘s 20-year quest to become a NASCAR Cup Series champion just got one step closer after securing pole position for the title-decider in Phoenix on Saturday.

Hamlin flew to pole position with a confident-looking 28.914s lap, collecting his 48th career pole and his fifth of the 2025 season.

“We’re trying,” smiled Hamlin after securing the top spot on the grid. “We’re doing everything we can. I’m really proud of this whole Toyota team. We worked hard at it. We’ve really been working hard. Hopefully we get the payoff tomorrow.”

On the outlook for tomorrow, Hamlin added: “We’re obviously going to be in a great starting spot there. Then we just have to make sure we do all the right things and execute the entire day. Largely, that’s going to rest on my shoulders, so I’ll do the best that I can.”

Watch: Denny Hamlin captures crucial Busch Light Pole Award at Phoenix

The driver he beat to pole position was title rival William Byron, who fell 0.042s adrift of the top spot.

“It’s always chaotic,” said Byron of his qualifying run. “You’re coming to the green with a lot of speed, and then when we cut the dogleg, it was just a little rougher than I thought it would be through there. On my lap, I thought I hit Turn 1. Just couldn’t quite commit to throttle off both corners. I felt like I was right on the edge of grip, and didn’t want to have a slip and lose pace. Happy with it. I feel like we’re right there in the mix. Right where we need to be.”

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and fellow Championship 4 challenger Kyle Larson right a further 0.023s behind, slotting in third.

Then came Team Penske with Austin Cindric fourth and Ryan Blaney fifth. Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano filled out the remainder of the top ten.

But where is Chase Briscoe? The other final four driver has more poles than anyone this year, and yet, he qualified 12th on Saturday, over two tenths adrift of his pole-sitting teammate. Before this race, he had five consecutive qualifying efforts inside the top ten.