In his quest for his first NASCAR Cup Series drivers’ championship, Denny Hamlin is starting with an edge.
Hamlin on Saturday captured the pole position for the playoff-opening Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Hamlin’s hot qualifying lap was clocked at 29.694 seconds (171.381 mph). He edged runner-up Chase Briscoe (28.715 seconds), who sought to become the first pilot to win the pole at the four crown jewel events in the same season.
The No. 19 driver previously started on the inside of the front row at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400.
“That one stings,” Briscoe said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “My 1 and 2 was really good, and I didn’t want to go into (Turn) 3 and hit the wall or something, so I under-drove it.”
A five-time race winner at the track dubbed “Too Tough to Tame,” Hamlin continued his domination at the iconic 1.366-mile track. Hamlin, who earned two poles this season, became the first Toyota driver to capture 40 career poles.
Michael McDowell topped the practice field with a 169.531 mph rotation.
A look at where our playoff drivers will start in one of NASCAR's toughest races. #Southern500 | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/rmoWqed7Y8
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2025
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 2, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
- 3, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 4, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 7, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 8, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 9, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 10, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
- 11, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 14, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 15, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 16, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 17, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
- 18, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 19, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 20, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 21, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 22, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 23, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 24, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 25, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 26, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 27, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 28, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 29, Alex Bowman, No. Chevrolet
- 30, John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- 31, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 32, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 33, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 34, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 35, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
- 36, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 37, Derek Kraus, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 38, Timmy Hill, No. 66 Ford
One season ends, a new one begins.
The #NASCARPlayoffs kick off this Sunday at @TooToughToTame. pic.twitter.com/IbkaulxjNP
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 27, 2025
