The Cup Series playoff race at Gateway will start with Denny Hamlin at the front of the pack after he won the pole in qualifying.
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Hamlin, who won the pole for last weekend's playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, completed his lap in 32.330 seconds. This marked his third time winning the pole this season and the 47th time in his career.
MORE: Denny Hamlin wins pole, full lineup
Winning the pole is a significant accomplishment for Hamlin. He spoke prior to qualifying and explained how crucial track position will be during Sunday afternoon's playoff race.
"The passing is the most difficult part at this track," Hamlin said. "The straightaways are long, the corners are pretty narrow, so the passing aspect, the clean air — which is like any other bigger race track with this car in general."
Kyle Larson qualified second with a lap of 32.351 seconds. The rest of the top 10 included Chase Briscoe (32.397), Ross Chastain (32.408), Ryan Blaney (32.432), William Byron (32.467), Tyler Reddick (32.501), Christopher Bell (32.512), Austin Cindric (32.571), and Zane Smith (32.571).
Nine of the 16 playoff drivers qualified inside the top 10. The rest of the field included Josh Berry in 12th (32.698), Joey Logano in 13th (32.719), Bubba Wallace in 14th (32.739), Austin Dillon in 15th (32.757), Shane van Gisbergen in 18th (32.765), Chase Elliott in 19th (32.799), and Alex Bowman in 25th (33.005).
Hamlin was not the only driver circling qualifying as a major part of the weekend. Several other drivers highlighted how they would not be able to easily pass competitors at the 1.25-mile track.
Those who needed stage points for the playoff standings needed to qualify well and get track position early.
"Gateway is huge for us," Dillon said on Saturday. "I think that qualifying today, again, if we can execute like we did at Darlington — this is a place that is tougher to pass than Darlington.
"Maintaining track position is a bit easier because of that, but you also have to do a really good job in strategy and different things."
The playoff race at Gateway will continue the Round of 16. It will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. USA Network will provide coverage.
