NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Qualifying Results: Denny Hamlin beaten to pole as Kyle Larson suffers Nashville nightmare

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson Sunday 1 June 2025 01:02 Updated: 04:54

Photo: © IMAGO

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin has been denied pole position after an exciting qualifying session at Nashville, whilst 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson suffered a nightmare session.

Hamlin was beaten to pole position for Sunday's Cracker Barrel 400 by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, with the No. 19 car edging the No. 11 by just 0.049 seconds around Nashville Superspeedway.

It is Briscoe's second consecutive pole position after also topping Coca-Cola 600 qualifying at Charlotte last weekend, although the 30-year-old will be hoping he can convert it into a win this time around.

Hamlin, meanwhile, will have to make do with second, if he takes part in the race, that is. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is on standby as he awaits the birth of his baby son and has said he will skip the race to be there for his family.

Elsewhere in Nashville, it was a poor session for Hendrick Motorsports star Larson, failing to bounce back in the way we are used to after the disappointment of two wrecks last Sunday as he attempted 'the double'.

The No. 5 car was only 28th quickest in qualifying this evening, with plenty of work for Larson and his team to do on race day if they want to secure a strong result.

NASCAR Cup Series: Who is on pole at Nashville?

After qualifying on Saturday afternoon, here is the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, with times included.

Position	Driver	Car No.	Team	Lap Time/Gap
1	Chase Briscoe	19	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	29.125 sec
2	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.049
3	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.182
4	Tyler Reddick	45	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.183
5	Ross Chastain	1	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.185
6	Brad Keselowski	6	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford	+0.252
7	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.262
8	Michael McDowell	71	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.272
9	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske Ford	+0.309
10	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford	+0.318
11	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.352
12	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.401
13	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.463
14	Erik Jones	43	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	+0.464
15	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske Ford	+0.476
16	Austin Cindric	2	Team Penske Ford	+0.481
17	AJ Allmendinger	16	Kaulig Racing Chevrolet	+0.494
18	Justin Haley	7	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.498
19	Ryan Preece	60	RFK Racing Ford	+0.510
20	Josh Berry	21	Wood Brothers Racing Ford	+0.526
21	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet	+0.532
22	Ty Gibbs	54	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.533
23	Shane van Gisbergen	88	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.534
24	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.545
25	Kyle Busch	8	Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet	+0.607
26	Carson Hocevar	77	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.629
27	Zane Smith	38	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.641
28	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.653
29	Cole Custer	41	Haas Factory Team Ford	+0.682
30	Noah Gragson	4	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.695
31	Ty Dillon	10	Kaulig Racing Chevrolet	+0.699
32	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.759
33	Corey Heim	67	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.771
34	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing Ford	+0.826
35	Todd Gilliland	34	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.871
36	John Hunter Nemechek	42	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	+0.898
37	Riley Herbst	35	23XI Racing Toyota	+1.035
38	JJ Yeley	44	NY Racing Team Chevrolet	+1.318
39	Chad Finchum	66	Garage 66 Ford	+2.604

Denny Hamlin Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Joe Gibbs Racing Chase Briscoe Nashville Superspeedway

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