Hamlin Secures Pole at World Wide Technology Raceway for Postseason Race
Denny Hamlin continued his impressive postseason performance by securing the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, clocking a lap of 32.330 seconds at an average speed of 139.190 mph. This marks Hamlin’s 46th career pole and third of the 2025 season.
Hamlin credited his team’s adjustments for his successful qualifying run, stating, “We were able to… make some great adjustments from where we were in practice… the intensity with which I drive is a lot different in practice than qualifying.”
Kyle Larson followed closely in second with a time of 32.353 seconds (139.099 mph), and Chase Briscoe qualified third at 138.902 mph. The top five were completed by Ross Chastain in fourth (138.855 mph) and Ryan Blaney in fifth (138.752 mph).
Notably, Austin Cindric, the defending race winner, qualified ninth, while Zane Smith stood out as the only non-playoff driver in the top ten, qualifying tenth at 137.724 mph. The playoff landscape also saw Alex Bowman qualifying the lowest among playoff contenders at 25th.
As the second race of the opening round of the postseason approaches, Briscoe is assured of advancing after his win at Darlington Raceway last week. Team Penske drivers have historically performed strong at this track, winning two of the three previous Cup Series races.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 is set to take place Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
