Denny Hamlin earns Pocono pole as William Byron wrecks in wild qualifying session

Denny Hamlin missed the race in Mexico City, but it didn’t seem to impact him as the NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Pocono. With a record seven wins at the 2.5-mile track, it was obvious that the No. 11 Toyota would be fast again, and in qualifying, no one could match his pace. He went to the top of the charts in his fifth pole position at Pocono but his first of the 2025 season.
“Obviously, because I was a little more rested than the field right there, I was able to get a little more speed,” joked Hamlin.
“I mean, I love all of them,” added Hamlin when asked about Pocono being one of his favorite tracks. “Every week, we have a great shot to win and this team just knows what I need out of the car. And with all the cars and tires and everything that has changed over time, you still make speed at this track the same way. I was able to execute it there in qualifying and that’s a good start for us.”

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

Joining Hamlin on the front row will be RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who ended the session 0.083s behind Hamlin’s fast lap. Buescher’s first career Cup win came at Pocono back in 2016. Carson Hocevar qualified third, John-Hunter Nemechek fourth, and Cole Custer fifth in some really impressive runs for both the Legacy Motor Club and Haas Factory Team.
Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Daniel Suarez filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Qualifying trouble

Watch: William Byron hits inside wall hard during qualifying at Pocono

Four drivers didn’t even set a qualifying time. As a result of inspection issues, Brennan Poole’s team was not allowed to take part while Cody Ware crashed in practice and was unable to do so. Josh Berry’s Wood Brothers No. 21 suffered a broken rear diffuser in the practice, which the team was busy repairing. 
And then there was Bubba Wallace, whose No. 23 Toyota would not start when it was his time to go. 23XI Racing tried to push start it but to no avail, and he was visibly frustrated inside the car. A.J. Allmendinger and Todd Gilliland were the two slowest drivers on track, partly because they abandoned their laps after sketchy moments.
But the biggest moment came near the end of qualifying. William Byron wasn’t going to challenge for pole, but he was likely going to be inside the top 10 when he lost control through the Tunnel Turn, spinning out and slamming the inside wall. After posting the fastest time in practice, he will now be forced to go to a backup car for the race.
Byron’s HMS teammate Chase Elliott was on track at the same time and the incident ruined his lap. Luckily, NASCAR allowed him to put on a fresh set of tires and Elliott was allowed to go back out, but that was only good enough for 18th. Shockingly, he was the highest-qualifying Hendrick Motorsports driver. Kyle Larson qualified 24th and Alex Bowman was 25th.
As for Mexico City winner Shane van Gisbergen, he ended up 23rd, matching his best qualifying effort of the season on an oval.
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In this article

Nick DeGroot

NASCAR Cup

Denny Hamlin

William Byron

Joe Gibbs Racing

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