Nashville Cup qualifying results: Denny Hamlin earns pole

LEBANON, Tenn. — Denny Hamlin will start on the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway after second round qualifying was rained out Saturday.

Hamlin had the fastest lap in the first round at 160.413 mph.

It is his 35th pole of his career and second of the season. He started on the pole in last month’s Coca-Cola 600.

MORE: Nashville qualifying results

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Joey Logano will join Hamlin on the front row, qualifying second after a lap of 160.107 mph. Kyle Larson, who won this race a year ago, qualified third at 159.963 mph. Larson will have Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott next to him in the second after Elliott qualified at 159.931 mph. Daniel Suarez, who scored his first career Cup win two weeks ago at Sonoma Raceway, qualified fifth at 159.877 mph.

Kevin Harvick, who trails Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola by seven points for the final playoff spot, qualified eighth. It marks his first top-10 start in the last nine races. Crew chief Rodney Childers told NBC Sports this week that the team needed to be better in qualifying.

Martin Truex Jr., who announced Saturday night that he’ll return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023, qualified 10th after a lap of 159.207 mph.

Kyle Busch spun during his qualifying lap and backed into the wall. The car suffered minor damage. He’ll start 36th.

Sunday’s Cup race is scheduled for 5 p.,m. ET on NBC.

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Nashville Cup qualifying results: Denny Hamlin earns pole originally appeared on NBCSports.com