Denny Hamlin’s latest qualifying masterclass came down to one-thousandth of a second.
Hamlin continued one of the hottest qualifying stretches of his career Saturday, edging Kyle Larson by just 0.001 seconds to claim the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
The margin was the closest pole-winning lap of the 2026 season and gave Hamlin his fourth Busch Light Pole Award of the year, his third consecutive pole on an oval after also starting first at Michigan and Pocono.
Hamlin’s lap of 30.296 seconds (178.241 mph) barely held off Larson’s 30.297-second (178.235 mph) effort after the Hendrick Motorsports driver made his run later in the session.
The result also marked Hamlin’s 52nd career Cup Series pole, breaking a tie with Ryan Newman for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time pole list.
Hamlin extends his qualifying dominance
Hamlin has become the driver everyone is chasing on Saturdays.
He entered qualifying after leading the NASCAR Cup Series standings and once again delivered when it mattered most. Although the final margin was razor-thin, Hamlin admitted afterward that fortune played a role as changing track conditions favored the early qualifiers.
“I don’t want to continue to underplay it, but we got very fortunate,” Hamlin said. “The last 12 cars had full sun, 100% sun. The last few had 90%, but I think that was the deciding factor.
“We saw that, right after I went, the track definitely got hotter, and it seemed like the corner speeds of those guys started to slow down. I think if there was one more car behind Ty Gibbs (the final qualifier), they definitely would have beaten us, because it went full shade. We got fortunate there, but they (Hamlin’s No. 11 team) did a real good job overnight with my car.”
Hamlin also joked about his success at Chicagoland.
“I’m the Chicago master. What can I say?”
While Hamlin credited favorable conditions, his speed has become a consistent storyline. He has now won poles at Michigan, Pocono and Chicagoland, establishing himself as the benchmark on intermediate ovals entering the second half of the season.
Larson, RFK Racing and Gibbs headline the contenders
Larson came agonizingly close to stealing the pole but will still roll off from the outside of Row 1 after missing the top spot by the slimmest possible margin.
RFK Racing continued its impressive season with Chris Buescher qualifying third and Brad Keselowski fourth. Keselowski, a two-time Chicagoland winner, enters Sunday’s race as the only active driver in the field with multiple Cup victories at the 1.5-mile oval.
Joe Gibbs Racing placed four Toyotas inside the top seven:
- Denny Hamlin (1st)
- Ty Gibbs (5th)
- Christopher Bell (6th)
- Chase Briscoe (7th)
Rounding out the top 10 were Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and William Byron.
Top 10 Qualifying Results
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson
- Chris Buescher
- Brad Keselowski
- Ty Gibbs
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Briscoe
- Bubba Wallace
- Chase Elliott
- William Byron
Sunday’s 267-lap eero 400 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, HBO Max, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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