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Hamlin on pole for NASCAR's Chicagoland return

ESPN Saturday 04 July 2026, 22:10 UTC 1 min read
Key Points

JOLIET, Ill. -- Denny Hamlin has the pole position for a NASCAR Cup Series race. Hamlin had a lap time of 30.296 seconds and a best speed of 178.241 mph on Saturday in qualifying for the first Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in seven years. It was just enough to edge Kyle Larson in second at 30.297 seconds and 178.235 mph in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

JOLIET, Ill. -- Denny Hamlin has the pole position for a NASCAR Cup Series race. Again. Hamlin had a lap time of 30.296 seconds and a best speed of 178.241 mph on Saturday in qualifying for the first Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in seven years. It was just enough to edge Kyle Larson in second at 30.297 seconds and 178.235 mph in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It was Hamlin's third straight pole on an oval track. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has four poles this season in his No. 11 Toyota and 52 for his career, snapping a tie with Ryan Newman for ninth on the NASCAR list. Larson was followed by RFK Racing drivers Chris Buescher (178.153 mph) and Brad Keselowski (178.089 mph). Ty Gibbs (178.083 mph) rounded out the top five for Sunday's race.
Hamlin (PERSON) NASCAR (ORG) Chicagoland (LOCATION) JOLIET (LOCATION) Ill. (LOCATION) Denny Hamlin (PERSON) Cup (EVENT) Chicagoland Speedway (ORG) Kyle Larson (PERSON) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (ORG) Toyota (ORG) Ryan Newman (PERSON) Larson (PERSON) RFK Racing (ORG) Chris Buescher (PERSON)
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