Hamlin grabs pole at Pocono after welcoming son

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway's all-time winningest driver, Denny Hamlin, was fastest in the field on Saturday to earn pole position for Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400.

Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing No 11 Toyota will take the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series race and historically-speaking, no one has led the field to more checkered flags; his seven wins at Pocono are most in history.

And he's finished first or second in five of the last eight races on the 2.5-mile unique three-turn track.

Hamlin's lap of 172.599 mph was .083-second faster than Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing's Chris Buescher in the No 17 Ford.

Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet), Legacy Motor Club's John Hunter Nemechek (Toyota) and Haas Factory Team's Cole Custer (Ford) rounded out the top-five in qualifying.

It marks a big return for the season's three-time race winner Hamlin who is back on the grid after receiving a waiver from NASCAR, missing last weekend's inaugural race in Mexico City to be home for the birth of his son.

"We typically can step up from practice," said Hamlin, who was not even among the top-10 fastest drivers in the afternoon's practice session. "We had good adjustments so never really panicked too much

"And obviously because I was a little more rested than the rest of the field right there, I was able to show a little more speed," he added with a smile and nod to missing last week's race.

"Every week we have a good shot to win and this team just knows what I need out of the car. The cars and tires have changed over time, but you still make speed at this track the same way. I was able to execute there in qualifying and that's a good start for us."

Of note, the current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron crashed his No 24 Chevrolet late in the qualifying session.

The team had to roll out a back-up car for Sunday's race so Byron will start from the rear of the field.

Hamlin's JGR teammates, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs will start sixth and seventh and Tyler Reddick, who drives the 23XI Racing Toyota co-owned by Hamlin was eighth fastest.

JRG's Christopher Bell will line up ninth on the grid and Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez will roll off 10th. Six of the top-10 cars were Toyotas.

Defending race winner, Ryan Blaney was 20th quickest in the No 12 Team Penske Ford.

Four drivers did not make qualifying runs, including Reddick's 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, whose team rolled his car off the line just before his run. Wood Brothers' Josh Berry, Rick Ware Racing's Cody Ware and NY Racing's Brennan Poole also did not make qualifying laps.

NASCAR CUP SERIES QUALIFYING

Pocono Raceway (Long Pond, Pennsylvania)

Saturday, 21 June 21

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 172.599 mph.

2. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 172.325 mph.

3. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 171.825 mph.

4. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 171.789 mph.

5. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 171.638 mph.

6. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 171.612 mph.

7. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 171.546 mph.

8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 171.429 mph.

9. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 171.347 mph.