JGR BLITZ: HAMLIN LEADS A TOYOTA CHARGE IN VEGAS

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Denny Hamlin starts first for the Southpoint 400 on Sunday after winning his 47th career NASCAR Cup Series pole on a windy Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin led his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates of Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell, setting a lap of 29.213. Wind gusts upwards of 30 mph threw many teams for a loop in practice, but Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle were able to overcome the weather challenges during qualifying. 

“There's just a lot of factors that you’ve got to factor in,” Hamlin said. “We planned for Sunday, and knew we were going to have to put some patches on things to make it go on Saturday.”

Hamlin was unsure of his car’s balance in practice. Hamlin felt confident in the short run, recording the fourth fastest lap, but needed a bit more from his Toyota across multiple laps.

“We're decent in practice on the short run, struggled quite a bit in the long run,” Hamlin said after his 20-minute session. “But it's nothing new and nothing that's too alarming online.”

The pole marked a milestone for Hamlin, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Junior Johnson for 11th all-time in NASCAR competition. That said, Hamlin has only seven wins from his poles.

“I never really considered myself a qualifier,” Hamlin said. “We've kind of revamped that a little bit, but it's just my ability to continue to learn and learn from others that are significantly better than me at it.”

As a whole, JGR found a handle that this organization lacked in the Spring where all four cars finished outside of the top 10. Briscoe and Bell also posted the third and fourth-best averages across the 10 consecutive laps.

“It seemed like the Toyotas were pretty strong,” Hamlin said. “Who's going to adapt the best tomorrow, that's going to be really the one to beat.”

Hendrick Motorsports sits within lock step of their fellow Playoff competition, with William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott completing drivers fourth through sixth on the grid.

Team Penske saw mixed results. Defending champion Joey Logano notched the ninth fastest lap at 29.421 seconds, while 2023 champ Ryan Blaney will roll off from 14th. 

The green flag is set for Sunday at 5:35 p.m. ET on USA network.