Denny Hamlin wins South Point 400 pole, eyes 3rd straight LVMS win

Denny Hamlin captured the pole for Sunday’s South Point 400 with a qualifying lap of 28.91 seconds (186.78 mph). He will start first when the green flag drops at 2:30 p.m. at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking the fifth race of the NASCAR Chase. Hamlin said, “I was a small much tense going into this qualifying league due to the fact that I knew my occupation arsenic a operator was going to beryllium much important due to the fact that erstwhile the way is cool, you tin tally wide open,” noting that aerial temperatures reached 97 degrees, which made the track slick and tougher to drive. He added, “This is much astir executing your shifts and things similar that, and past hitting the lines. Here, successful (Turns) 3 and 4, the cars were a handful, and we saw a fewer lavation up the racetrack. My squad nailed the equilibrium close erstwhile we needed to, and we executed arsenic bully arsenic we could connected the racetrack.” Toyota drivers filled the top five starting spots. Hamlin will lead Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs (28.927 seconds, 186.67 mph) and Christopher Bell (28.998 seconds, 186.22 mph). Toyota swept the top five starting positions at LVMS, the second time the manufacturer has achieved that feat in its 20th Cup Series season. It is also the third consecutive LVMS event in which Toyota cars have claimed at least the top three qualifying spots. Hamlin remarked, “It’s important. The races that we’ve truly succeeded good astatine here, we started up front,” during his post‑qualifying press conference. He continued, “Today was executed by the squad perfectly with however we approached the week. The adjustments we made to the car for somesthesia seemed to beryllium truly bully changes. I couldn’t inquire for contiguous to spell immoderate better.” A third straight Vegas victory would bolster Hamlin’s bid for the Cup Series championship. The 45‑year‑old sits second in points, 26 marks behind leader Kyle Larson, and is seeking his first Cup Series title in his 21st full‑time season. His March win at LVMS was one of four victories for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during the regular season. Hamlin entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed with a 25‑point advantage over then‑second‑place Ryan Blaney. Larson has trimmed Hamlin’s lead, winning two of the first four Chase races and averaging a 2.25 finish. Hamlin opened the Chase 13th at Darlington but has recorded top‑10 results in the subsequent three events, including a third‑place showing at Kansas on a 1½‑mile layout similar to LVMS. Toyota drivers view the stretch of 1½‑mile tracks—continuing at Charlotte and returning to Las Vegas—as an opportunity to amass points and climb the standings. After Kansas, Larson appears to have narrowed the gap to Toyota teams on intermediate circuits. Hamlin observed, “The tract has gotten person due to the fact that there’s not been immoderate existent large rules changes erstwhile it comes to large aerodynamics, oregon there’s been nary horsepower changes connected the large tracks,” speaking at an earlier media session Saturday. He added, “We’re years and years into this (the NextGen Car and rules packages) and if you springiness teams much than 2 oregon 3 shots astatine 1 racetrack, the thigh times are going to get tighter and past it becomes the way presumption racing that we’ve seen.” He concluded, “That doesn’t mean you can’t flooded it. Fast cars tin inactive marque their mode done the field, but you truly got to physique a spread connected the tract successful bid to bash that, it’s precise hard.” Bell stands third in points, 50 behind Larson, while Joey Logano—who qualified 23rd—trails by 67 points in fourth. The top four drivers remain the only contenders within a maximum race’s worth of points of the lead. Larson, the highest‑qualifying non‑Toyota driver in sixth, said, “I judge that the Toyotas and Denny volition beryllium the champion (on Sunday), but hopefully we’ve narrowed that spread adjacent much here.” **Up next** *What:* South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Race *When:* 2:30 p.m. Sunday *Where:* Las Vegas Motor Speedway *TV:* USA Network *Betting favorite:* Kyle Larson (+375) **LVMS Sunday schedule** 8 a.m. – Parking Lots open 9 a.m. – Fan Zone opens 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – RV Check‑In open 10 a.m. – Neon Garage, VIP Suites & Ticket Gates A‑B‑C‑D open 10:30 a.m. – Speedway Children's Charities live auction (Draft Bar, summons required) 12:15 p.m. – Pre‑race track walk access open (frontstretch, walk required) 1 p.m. – Pre‑race Concert: Jade Eagleson 1:25 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series drivers meeting (Neon Garage, walk required) 1:40 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series red‑carpet procession (infield/frontstretch) 1:50 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series Driver Introductions and Kyle Busch Day Recognition 2:30 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 Chase Race (267 laps)