MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — With his sixth pole position this season, Denny Hamlin made NASCAR history as he tries to take down Kyle Larson’s historic power chase in the Chase.
Hamlin, who turned 46 on Nov. 18 turn, he became the fastest driver in 156 Cup Series races at Martinsville Underwater, turning a 98.492-mph lap on the 0.526-mile oval to beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (98.241).
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“Terrible,” said Hamlin, who was 5 months older than Shepherd Morgan when he won the pole in April 1987. “I often feel like Father Time is catching up. If it’s true, then you couldn’t sit in six bars. That’s what drives me to shoot and I’m quite honest. So I like to put those old records.”
Larson qualified third at 98.114 mph and reiterated that he does not expect to be the first Chase driver to tie the knot for the final time before the championship season. 73 point lead over Hamlin with Martinsville and Nov.
“I think the other thing that convinced everyone is that we close it out here this weekend,” said Larson, who noted that Hamlin would have had a maximum of 76 points at Martinsville if he had finished one place better in the March 29 race that was won by Chase Elliott. “Danny’s really good here. I just like to watch him look better than to leave him in the front to leave me a buffer next week. We’ll see how the race plays out, but that’s kind of my mindset. Denny’s definitely a much better shorter runner than me.”
Hamlin’s five-game streak was six wins from the pole position at Martinsville.
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“Our job is to stay ahead of (Larson) and then think and act like maybe this trickles down to a reasonable number,” he said. “You have to ask for 25, 30 points to probably even have a remote feeling of hope, and maybe not even that stretch.”
Teammates Christopher Bell (qualified 14th) and Chase Briscoe (11th) will start behind Larson, the next two drivers behind Hamlin in the Chase.
Austin Cindric qualified fourth ahead of Penske teammate Joey Logano, who is seeking to become the first driver since Rusty Wallace in 1993 to win three consecutive races on the short track.
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