Denny Hamlin took his third pole position of the season at Richmond on Saturday as NASCAR came back from its Olympic break.
The veteran driver barely made it through to the final round of qualifying – being the slowest of the qualifiers, right on the brink of getting knocked out – before storming back in his final run.
READ MORE: NASCAR Race Today at Richmond: Cook Out 400 start times and how to watch
Hamlin set a time of 22.850 seconds (118.162mph) on the 3/4 mile track, getting the jump on some of the best performers so far this season ahead of Sunday's race.
Chase Elliott, second in the standings, set the fourth fastest time while third-placed Tyler Reddick could only qualify 10th and standings leader Kyle Larson didn't even make it to the final round, qualifying 15th.
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Just barely made it to the second round of #BuschLightPole qualifying? Not a problem for @dennyhamlin. 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/G0ljIaMjt2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 10, 2024
2024 Cook Out 400 starting grid
1. Denny Hamlin, #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2. Martin Truex Jr., #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3. Josh Berry, #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
4. Chase Elliott, #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5. Christopher Bell, #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6. Austin Dillon, #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
7. Chris Buescher, #17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
8. Bubba Wallace, #23 23XI Racing Toyota
9. Joey Logano, #22 Team Penske Ford
10. Tyler Reddick, #45 23XI Racing Toyota
11. Ryan Blaney, #12 Team Penske Ford
12. Kyle Busch, #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
13. William Byron, #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14. Ty Gibbs, #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
15. Kyle Larson, #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
16. Noah Gragson, #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
17. Alex Bowman, #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18. Austin Cindric, #2 Team Penske Ford
19. Carson Hocevar, #77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
20. Zane Smith, #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
21. Daniel Suarez, #99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
22. Ross Chastain, #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
23. Todd Gilliland, #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
24. Corey Lajoie, #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
25. Chase Briscoe, #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
26. Ryan Preece, #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
27. Erik Jones, #43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
28. Michael McDowell, #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
29. Brad Keselowski, #6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
30. Ty Dillon, #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
31. Harrison Burton, #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
32. Daniel Hemric, #31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
34. Riley Herbst, #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
35. John Hunter Nemechek, #42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
36. Justin Haley, #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
37. Parker Retzlaff, #66 Power Source Ford
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