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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
John Silver

Denny Hamlin wins pole for Grant Park 220

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Yahoo! Toyota, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on July 1, 2023 in Chicago,. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin won the pole Saturday for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.

Hamlin, in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 89.557 mph was the fastest time and qualified him in the lead position in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for the Grant Park 220 on Sunday.

Hamlin credits his team for setting him up for success in qualifying. Nobody has a veteran’s advantage on this brand-new 12-turn, 2.2 mile course.

“It was just a great day — probably just my best day in all my career,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin told reporters in a press conference after qualifying that he’d been skeptical about the course after practicing on a simulator, nervous about the bumpy surface and narrow course.

But he said the track was smoother than he expected, and he thinks there will be enough room for cars to pass each other in Sunday’s race.

“I think there is an opportunity, if you have a fast race car, to move forward,” Hamlin said.

Following Hamlin will be the second-fastest Tyler Reddick (89.513 mph), who will join him in the first row.

Rounding up the top 5 was Shane van Gisbergen’s (89.403 mph), Christopher Bel (88.765 mph) and Daniel Suárez (88.668 mph).

Here’s the full lineup:

NASCAR Grant Park 220 starting lineup – by row
Pos Vehicle Driver Team Time Speed
1 11 Denny Hamlin Yahoo! Toyota 88.435 89.557
2 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 88.479 89.513
3 91 Shane Van Gisbergen Enhance Health Chevrolet 88.588 89.403
4 20 Christopher Bell CRAFTSMAN Racing For A Miracle Toyota 89.224 88.765
5 99 Daniel Suarez Worldwide Express Chevrolet 89.322 88.668
6 34 Michael McDowell Chicago Pneumatic Compressors Ford 89.328 88.662
7 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 89.512 88.48
8 15 Jenson Button Mobil 1 Ford 89.571 88.421
9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 90.219 87.786
10 16 AJ Allmendinger Bath Plant by BCI Acrylics Chevrolet 90.283 87.724
11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 89.404 88.587
12 54 Ty Gibbs # Interstate Batteries Toyota 89.613 88.38
13 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 89.617 88.376
14 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 89.667 88.327
15 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 89.687 88.307
16 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 89.687 88.307
17 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 89.756 88.239
18 8 Kyle Busch 3CHI Chevrolet 89.805 88.191
19 7 Corey LaJoie Celsius Chevrolet 89.859 88.138
20 6 Brad Keselowski Elk Grove Village Ford 89.878 88.119
21 43 Erik Jones DRAIVER Chevrolet 90.046 87.955
22 24 William Byron Valvoline Chevrolet 90.169 87.835
23 42 Noah Gragson # Wendy's Chevrolet 90.225 87.781
24 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 90.232 87.774
25 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Skills Ford 90.235 87.771
26 9 Chase Elliott Hooters Chevrolet 90.283 87.724
27 78 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 90.331 87.678
28 41 Ryan Preece Operating Engineers Ford 90.408 87.603
29 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 90.521 87.494
30 51 Andy Lally Camping World Ford 90.575 87.441
31 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 90.718 87.304
32 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 90.759 87.264
33 77 Ty Dillon Chicago White Sox Chevrolet 90.799 87.226
34 1 Ross Chastain AdventHealth Chevrolet 90.856 87.171
35 4 Kevin Harvick GEARWRENCH Ford 90.98 87.052
36 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Mariano's/SunnyD Chevrolet 0 0
37 31 Justin Haley Benesch Law Chevrolet 0 0
NASCAR qualifiying

Contributing: Ellery Jones

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