Hamlin wins Busch Light Pole at Martinsville, to lead Cook Out 400

Denny Hamlin won the Busch Light Pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, posting a 19.275-second (98.241 mph) lap in the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was the 49th Busch Light Pole of Hamlin’s Cup Series career, his fifth at Martinsville, and it moves him to 10th on the all-time poles list, tying him with Bobby Isaac; he beat William Byron by 0.056 seconds after Byron turned a 19.331-second lap in the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports to take the front row.

Josh Berry qualified third, Ty Gibbs fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth — van Gisbergen’s best oval qualifying result in the Cup Series. The rest of the top 10 included Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, championship leader Tyler Reddick (eighth), Joey Logano and Chase Elliott. The result continued a strong run for Toyota and marked Hamlin’s first pole of the season.

Hamlin said the car was good in practice and that strong practice speed made the pole "very possible," adding he initially aimed for a top-eight lap and treats qualifying as secondary to race preparation while crediting his team’s setup adjustments for the quick run. The Cook Out 400 Race is scheduled to go green Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with stage breaks at laps 80, 180 and 400; Hamlin will lead the field to green from the pole.