LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin led a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top qualifying positions for Sunday’s South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota claimed the Busch Light pole position Saturday afternoon with a lap of 184.849 mph around the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks – just bettering teammates Chase Briscoe in the No. 19 Toyota and Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota Camry. All three are current NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers. It is Hamlin’s first pole at Las Vegas.
And it’s the second time this season Toyota has swept the top-three qualifying spots — the last time was in Indianapolis this summer, when the make swept the top-five. It’s the 25th time in Toyota’s history it has swept the top three starting positions on the grid.
“I felt good about it truthfully,” said Hamlin, the 2021 Las Vegas Playoff race winner and the current championship leader. “There wasn’t a whole lot left out there for it. But a great job by this team to get my car good. It was good in the short run in practice as well, got to work on it for the long run for tomorrow.
“But Saturday (qualifying) has always been our Achilles heel at this race track and that’s a great way to turn that around.”
Heavy winds affected both practice and qualifying sessions with drivers reporting substantial headwinds on the backstretch.
The eight Playoff drivers starting this three-race penultimate round of competition all had solid qualifying performances, however. Beyond the Gibbs front trio, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was fourth quickest, followed by his Hendrick Chevrolet teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson – a three-time winner at Vegas.
Reigning series champion and defending Las Vegas Playoff race winner Joey Logano was ninth-fastest in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. His teammate, 2023 series champ Ryan Blaney, will roll off from the 14th place position on the grid.
Ross Chastain was fastest in the opening practice session but his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet brushed the wall and the team spent the closing minutes of the session repairing it before qualifying. He will start 15th. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs ended up fastest overall in practice and will start 10th Sunday.
— By Holly Cain, special to Field Level Media
