TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Denny Hamlin earned his first career superspeedway pole and will lead the Cup field to the green flag Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Hamlin won the pole with a lap of 180.751 mph. He’ll be joined on the front row by Aric Almirola (180.642 mph).
MORE: Talladega Cup starting lineup
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Ty Gibbs, qualified third after a lap of 180.594 mph. Chase Briscoe (180.390) will start fourth. Ryan Blaney (180.258) completes the top five.
Kyle Larson, coming off his Martinsville win last weekend, will start ninth after a lap of 179.656 mph. Chase Elliott, who won Talladega’s playoff race last fall, qualified 29th after a lap of 177.748 mph. Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (177.205) qualified 33rd.