Joe Gibbs Racing delivered during Saturday's qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as three drivers took the top three spots in the Cup Series starting lineup.
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Denny Hamlin won the pole with a lap of 29.213 seconds. This marked his fourth pole win of the season and the first since the playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway in early September. Hamlin won the last race he started from the pole.
Chase Briscoe qualified second with a lap of 29.249 seconds. This is Briscoe's first front-row start since Kansas two weeks ago when he won the pole.
MORE: Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting lineup
The rest of the top 10 included Christopher Bell (29.255), Chase Elliott (29.259), William Byron (29.304), Kyle Larson (29.328), Bubba Wallace (29.401), Tyler Reddick (29.413), Joey Logano (29.421), and Ty Gibbs (29.454).
Ryan Blaney is the only playoff driver who did not qualify inside of the top 10. He will line up 14th for Sunday's Round of 8 opener after posting a lap of 29.592 seconds.
According to NBC Sports, this race marks the first time since the 2020 season that Joe Gibbs Racing has locked out the top three spots in a Cup Series qualifying session.
Winning the pole is significant for Hamlin, who continues his pursuit of his first Championship 4 appearance of the Gen 7 era. This will put him in position early to stockpile points.
He will also have the best pit stall selection as he tries to secure an extremely important win, one that would send him automatically to the Championship 4.
"I think it certainly is an advantage," Hamlin said about winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "It's absolutely an advantage. Is it a substantial one? I don't know. I'd have to see the numbers, but it seems like those that have locked in early to the final four and has run really well or won the championship.
"So, yeah, I think that I think that's why this one is so big for all the teams. I mean, Martinsville is big. Don't get us wrong, because none of us know until we get to that point, but it's, yeah, this one is certainly one that either want to have a massive points today or you need to go out there and win it."
