Denny Hamlin took the pole for this weekends NASCAR Championship Race with a lap of 133.759 mph around the 1-mile Phoenix oval – a slight .042-second faster than Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
This is Denny’s fifth pole of 2025 but leading the field will be important as Hamlin tries to win his first NASCAR Championship.
“Certainly, it’s always an advantage to qualify on the pole; there’s never a disadvantage to starting first and having the number one pit stall,” Hamlin said. “So, I don’t know if it directly correlates, but it’s always an advantage.
“Just try to do everything you can to execute,” Hamlin added. “I just truly believe that tomorrow that the best cars, whoever it is and it could be somebody who qualified 20th, could make their way to the front with the tire and track surface we have right now.
“I think it’s going to be a battle amongst us four, with a few others sprinkled in there. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
Track: Phoenix Raceway
Location: Avondale, Ariz.
Track length: 1 mile
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App
Race purse: $12,394,135
Race distance: 312 laps | 312 miles
Stages: 60 | 185 | 312
Photos by Ralph Garcia
