NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin beat out two of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates during Saturday’s qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, capturing the pole for Sunday’s South Point 400.
Hamlin registered a hot lap of 184.849 mph, edging Chase Briscoe by 0.036 seconds and Christopher Bell by 0.042 seconds as the trio of Gibbs Racing pilots swept the top three starting spots for the Round of 8 opener.
Hamlin earned his fourth pole position of the season and 47th of his career.
The stakes are high heading into Vegas. #Championship4 pic.twitter.com/9N4bQ8Thz2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 11, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series Machines To Get More Horsepower
NASCAR’s competition committee announced Cup Series machines will be able to carry more horsepower at select events in 2026.
Competition officials on Wednesday released details that circuit crew chiefs can plan on increasing the horsepower from a baseline 670 to 750 at road courses and oval tracks less than 1.5 miles in length.
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell released the news on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, adding that he had listened to drivers’ complaints since 2022 that the Next Gen machine platform needed a power boost.
“I would say, like any other change that we are considering to the cars, we listen to the fans a lot,” said John Probst, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “We listen to the drivers. Our fans are very passionate, they provide very candid feedback, so that all is very important to us.”
NEWS: The target horsepower for Cup Series events at road courses and ovals less than 1.5 miles will increase to 750 for 2026. pic.twitter.com/UOLmrlwqWs
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 8, 2025
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 2, Chase Briscoe, No. 18 Toyota
- 3, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 4, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 5, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 6, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 7, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 8, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 9, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 10, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 11, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 12, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 13, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 14, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 15, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 16, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 17, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
- 18, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 19, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 20, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 21, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 22, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 24, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
- 25, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 26, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 27, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 28, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 29, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 30, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 31, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
- 32, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 33, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 34, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 35, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 36, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 37, JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 38, Katherine Legge, No. 78 Chevrolet
2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch breaks down what to expect when the #NASCARPlayoffs head to Vegas, Sunday starting at 5 ET on @USANetwork. pic.twitter.com/OkWZuCNiS2
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 11, 2025
