Denny Hamlin Earns Pole at Las Vegas as JGR Sweeps Front Row for South Point 400

LAS VEGAS—Round of 8 playoff driver Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green in Sunday’s South Point 400 after earning the Busch Light Pole Award with a lap of 29.213 seconds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin celebrates his Busch Light Pole Award after posting a 29.213-second lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — earning his 48th career pole and leading a Joe Gibbs Racing front-row sweep for Sunday’s South Point 400. (Photo: Ralph Garcia)

Hamlin’s pole marks the 48th of his NASCAR Cup Series career in 718 starts and his first in 28 attempts at Las Vegas. His effort also headlined a dominant qualifying session for Joe Gibbs Racing, which locked out the top three starting positions for Sunday’s playoff race.

“I never really consider myself a qualifier. And here, over the last few years, I feel like we’ve kind of revamped that a little bit… 47 is a lot,” Hamlin said.

Denny Hamlin drives the No. 11 ampm Toyota Camry during qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Ralph Garcia)

“I think this is one of the more finicky race tracks where… no matter when your practice is — either early in the morning or even in the afternoon — it’s just a different race track on Sunday.”

Lining up alongside Hamlin on the front row is teammate Chase Briscoe, who earned his 20th top-10 start of the 2025 season and third in 10 races at LVMS. In Row 2, Christopher Bell secured his seventh top-10 start at the track and 16th overall this year.

Chase Briscoe pilots the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota during qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, securing a front-row start for Sunday’s South Point 400. (Photo: Ralph Garcia)

A total of six playoff drivers qualified inside the top 10, including last year’s South Point 400 winner Joey Logano, who will roll off ninth. The lone Round of 8 driver starting outside the top 10, Ryan Blaney will begin 14th on Sunday.