WATKINS GLEN — Denny Hamlin will lead the Cup field to the green flag at Watkins Glen International on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
Hamlin won the pole Saturday with a lap of 125.298 mph after delivering the cleanest run through the bus stop and the carousel. This is his 40th career Cup Series pole and his fourth of the season.
William Byron was the top Chevrolet driver as he qualified second with a lap of 124.961 mph.
MORE: Watkins Glen starting lineup
Indianapolis winner Michael McDowell was the top Ford driver as he qualified third with a lap of 124.949 mph.
Following McDowell were Ty Gibbs (124.89 mph), Kyle Larson (124.874 mph), AJ Allmendinger (124.645 mph), Christopher Bell (124.395 mph), Tyler Reddick (124.187 mph) and Kyle Busch (124.089 mph)
Corey LaJoie reached the final round of qualifying for the first time in his Cup career. He will line up 10th with a lap of 123.835 mph. His previous best starting position was seventh at the Daytona Road Course in 2021. There was no qualifying for this race.
The middle of the field will feature prominent bubble drivers battling for points. Bubba Wallace will line up 12th (124.32 mph), Daniel Suarez (124.259 mph) will line up 14th, Chase Elliott will line up 15th (124.239 mph) and Alex Bowman will line up 18th (123.958 mph).
The green flag for Sunday’s race is scheduled to wave at 3:20 p.m. ET on USA (pre-race coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA). Countdown to Green begins at 2:30 p.m. on USA.
