NASCAR Cup Qualifying: Denny Hamlin Wins Pole at Phoenix as Toyota Ends Ford’s Streak

Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Denny Hamlin has bagged the first pole position for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin’s pole marks the first Toyota Camry XSE entry in the front row since the start of the season. Thus breaking the Ford Mustang’s dominant streak in qualifying.

The No. 11 was a class apart from the pack during the first round of qualifying in Group B. Denny Hamlin even managed to clock the fastest lap ever at the venue in the Next Gen car. In the final round of qualifying, the veteran driver clocked the fastest lap (27.138). Following him was teammate Ty Gibbs, who, with the second-fastest lap, will join him in the front row for tomorrow’s race.

Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are leading the charge for Toyota’s comeback

Going into the fourth race of the 2024 Cup Series season, it was the Ford Mustang Dark Horse that was the quickest of them till now. However, like Ford, Toyota too had rolled out their brand new Camry XSE, but the initial 3 races, were all Ford-dominant, and Toyotas were far from hitting their mark. It looks like after early bumps, the Toyotas have now roared back in form, sweeping the front row for the Shriner’s Children 500 race in Phoenix.

Moving onto the second row, we have Chase Elliott grabbing the third spot, while Erik Jones and William Byron round off the top five positions, placing fourth and fifth on the grid. And to everyone’s surprise, out of the five quickest cars in the final round of qualifying, three of them were Toyota.

This time, the only Ford Mustang that managed to stay in the top-ten starting position was Michael McDowell’s #34 car. The veteran driver managed to finish in the 8th spot. Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson, Carson Hocevar, Martin Truex Jr, and Ross Chastain rounded off the top ten starting positions for the race. This pole award for Denny Hamlin was not just a feather in his cap but also a monumental achievement for Toyota Racing in NASCAR.

Hamlin brings up the 150th pole award for Toyota in the Cup Series

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The Japanese automotive giant had to bid time to draw level with the competition in NASCAR ever since their entry in 2007. The manufacturer started to stamp its authority in the Cup Series with three championships, that too with Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2019, whereas Martin Truex Jr won in the 2017 season.

Read More: Veteran Denny Hamlin Stands Apart From Fellow Drivers as He Backs NASCAR’s Phoenix Trials

Adding more to Toyota’s historic run, Denny Hamlin’s splendid display of speed at Phoenix Raceway saw the organization bag its 150th pole award. The JGR team seemed to have worked its magic on the car after the practice run yesterday and delivered the goods for the season’s first short package race. With most of the drivers not too impressed by the new short-track package put in place by NASCAR, Denny Hamlin, and his team were the only ones speaking positively about the changes it had on their car.

However, the last three races have shown that pole position does not guarantee a win, but needless to say, JGR drivers will be setting the tone for tomorrow’s race. Stay tuned for more updates from the Phoenix Race.