Denny Hamlin takes pole in Sonoma Cup Series race
Road courses haven’t been his forte, but Denny Hamlin pulled out a supreme qualifying lap at Sonoma on Saturday to snag pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series race. Hamlin just pipped Tyler Reddick for the top spot in the starting order.
It is Hamlin’s second career pole position on a road course, with the first come at Watkins Glen in 2018. And it will be the 38th time in his career that Hamlin leads the pack from the start.
Hamlin and his Toyota will also be one of five in the Top 8 for Saturday’s race.
The Sonoma Cup Series race is slated for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST.
In the Xfinity Series, Kyle Larson took pole position
After qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson is the pole award winner and on track to sweep the weekend. After practice on Friday, it felt like Larson was going to run away with the pole award, and he did.
Larson was the best in Group B and carried that 1:18 speed over to the final qualifying round. Sonoma Raceway is a track that Larson has had success at before. He won the Cup Series race in 2021 at the track.
With the double-duty schedule on deck this weekend, Larson has checked off the first box on the way to the weekend sweep.
There are a number of Cup Series drivers pulling off the double this weekend. There is going to be a ton of talent in that race. However, you can put all the talent in the world on that track, they aren’t going to catch Larson if he keeps running laps like he did in qualifying.
The California native is going to try to win this DoorDash 250 from the pole. With Cup qualifying later today, Larson could be set up for a HUGE weekend.
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Hamlin explained a recent pit lane mishap this weekend
Even during a red flag, things can get pretty dangerous at a NASCAR race. Denny Hamlin’s front tire changer, AJ Rosini, learned that the hard way during last weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300.
NASCAR waved the red flag just a few laps into last Sunday’s race due to lightning strikes. You’d think everyone would be relaxed during that time, right?
Wrong.
Rosini took an air hose to the face, forcing the No. 11 team crew member to receive nearly a dozen stitches. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained what happened in the garage area during that red flag.
“I was sitting on top of the pit box, just kind of chillin’, and you just hear a loud (sound) and you instantly hear him say, ‘F***!,’” Hamlin said. “I was like, ‘Uh, oh.’ And I guess the regulator bust — they were working on it — and even when it’s turned off, you’ve still got pressure in the line. So, when it disconnected or bust or whatever happened, it flew out, hit him right in the face.