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Denny Hamlin wins pole award for Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race

JHby:Jonathan Howard•07/01/23•

Jondean25

Denny Hamlin Chicago
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

How about Denny Hamlin?! He came into the Chicago Street Race Course and was able to win the pole award ahead of the Grant Park 220. Hamlin had to full send it to get that pole award. It is a historic moment as he gets the first-ever Cup Series pole award on a NASCAR street course.

Not only does Denny Hamlin get to lead the field, but Toyota will also lead the field to start with their pace car. NASCAR has a planned rotation for the pace cars and Hamlin’s pole win gives Toyota the first go on the track.

Hamlin had to battle Shane van Gisbergen for the pole award. The Kiwi from Supercars almost took the pole in his first-ever NASCAR start. Things are starting to look up for this Chicago Street Race.

Hamlin leads off while Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suárez round out the top-5. Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Jenson Button, Joey Logano, and AJ Allmendinger are the rest of the top-10.

This one came down to the wire. Denny Hamlin had to lay down a blazing fast lap to not just beat van Gisbergen but also hold off his own driver, Tyler Reddick. While he’s an owner-driver in the Cup Series, when he’s on the track, Hamlin is just a driver.

When you think about the Crown Jewel wins that Hamlin has. When you think about the big moments he’s won, this goes right up there with one of the best efforts. At least in terms of qualifying. The first-ever Cup Series pole award for a street course race, and it’s going home with Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin figured things out quickly in Chicago

You know, Denny Hamlin hasn’t been the most excited about the street course. While he has supported it as an event and as a thing NASCAR is doing to reach new audiences, he wasn’t jazzed about racing it.

Even this week on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin complained about the course. Well, he didn’t complain as much as he admitted that he struggled in the simulations. For whatever reason, it all seemed to click for the No. 11 when he was out on the track. While others struggled mightily.

According to Dale Jr. on the NBC broadcast, the track has more grip than expected. That might play into Hamlin’s favor versus some other drivers who might have hoped for a slicker surface. We saw some really fast qualifying times in this race and I’ll go ahead and say it, these cars look great on a street course.

When the Cup Series goes green tomorrow at 5:30 PM EST on NBC, Denny Hamlin will be out front. Tyler Reddick will be on his side. Toyota with a strong showing early in Chicago.