{"id":61322,"date":"2026-10-03T19:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T00:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=61322"},"modified":"2026-10-03T19:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T00:30:09","slug":"hamlin-hits-the-jackpot-with-las-vegas-pole-leads-toyota-sweep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/03\/hamlin-hits-the-jackpot-with-las-vegas-pole-leads-toyota-sweep\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamlin hits the jackpot with Las Vegas pole, leads Toyota sweep"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 National Debt Relief Toyota, enters his car during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 03, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS \u2013 Defending race winner Denny Hamlin capped a dominant Toyota performance in Saturday\u2019s Busch Light Pole Qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway claiming his fifth pole position of the season and leading a Toyota top-five sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series starting grid for Sunday\u2019s South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Hamlin\u2019s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota turned a fast lap of 186.787 mph around the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks \u2013 edging his JGR teammate, Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota by a slight. 017-second. JGR\u2019s Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe and 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick rounded out that top-five.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 National Debt Relief Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 03, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It marks only the second time Toyota has swept the top-five qualifying positions. The first time came at Indianapolis last season. It marks the JGR team\u2019s first ever top-four sweep. It\u2019s Hamlin\u2019s 53rd career pole position and is his 19th top-10 start through the opening 30 races.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important and the races we\u2019ve really succeeded well here, we\u2019ve started up front,” the 45-year-old Virginian Hamlin said, conceding he was more nervous going into this session because of the extreme heat. After weeks of poor weather and cancelled qualifying sessions, Saturday\u2019s edition took place under sunny Nevada skies and temperatures in the mid-90s.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday was executed by the team perfectly with how we approached the week and the adjustments we made to the car for temperatures seemed to be really good changes. I couldn\u2019t have asked for today to go a whole lot better than it did.”<\/p>\n

Championship-eligible drivers filled the first 14 positions on the speed chart. Reigning series champion and current championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson was sixth fastest in the No. 5 Chevrolet, with Team Penske Ford driver Austin Cindric, Hendrick\u2019s William Byron, 23XI Racing\u2019s Bubba Wallace and Spire Motorsports\u2019 Carson Hocevar rounding out the top-10 on the grid.<\/p>\n

Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney (20th) and Joey Logano (23rd) were the only outliers. They come into the race ranked fourth and fifth in championship, but will have to make their way forward. Logano\u2019s four Las Vegas wins ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time.<\/p>\n

Hamlin is a three-time Las Vegas winner and has hoisted a trophy in Victory Lane the last two races at the track. A third straight win this weekend would match an all-time mark also held by Johnson. He\u2019s won five times in 2023, but not since earning a three-race string of trophies at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono, Pa. from May 31-June 14.<\/p>\n

Hamlin trails Larson by only 26 points after four races of the 10-race Chase schedule. Bell is third, 50 points back and Logano is fourth, 67 points off the pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sport is week by week, and we’re all guilty of over-reacting on Mondays about what we just saw over the weekend,” Hamlin said of predicting the race vibe on Sunday. \u201cBut, you know, the 5-car (Larson) could easily just drive right up through there and pass us and win the race again. You never know, or we could do the same thing he did last week [in a dominating win at Kansas Speedway].<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just don’t know,” Hamlin said offering a slight smile at the Vegas venue. \u201cIf we all knew, then you guys should go place your bets and go make a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – South Point 400<\/b><\/p>\n

Las Vegas Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Las Vegas, Nevada<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, October 3, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (11) Denny Hamlin (C) @, Toyota, 186.787 mph.<\/p>\n

                2. (54) Ty Gibbs (C) @, Toyota, 186.677 mph.<\/p>\n

                3. (20) Christopher Bell (C) @, Toyota, 186.220 mph.<\/p>\n

                4. (19) Chase Briscoe (C) @, Toyota, 186.136 mph.<\/p>\n

                5. (45) Tyler Reddick (C) @, Toyota, 186.111 mph.<\/p>\n

                6. (5) Kyle Larson (C) @, Chevrolet, 185.861 mph.<\/p>\n

                7. (2) Austin Cindric (C) @, Ford, 185.287 mph.<\/p>\n

                8. (24) William Byron (C) @, Chevrolet, 185.230 mph.<\/p>\n

                9. (23) Bubba Wallace (C) @, Toyota, 185.077 mph.<\/p>\n

                10. (77) Carson Hocevar (C) @, Chevrolet, 185.027 mph.<\/p>\n

                11. (7) Daniel Suarez (C) @, Chevrolet, 184.862 mph.<\/p>\n

                12. (60) Ryan Preece (C) @, Ford, 184.433 mph.<\/p>\n

                13. (9) Chase Elliott (C) @, Chevrolet, 184.426 mph.<\/p>\n

                14. (17) Chris Buescher (C) @, Ford, 184.049 mph.<\/p>\n

                15. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 183.924 mph.<\/p>\n

                16. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 183.755 mph.<\/p>\n

                17. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 183.755 mph.<\/p>\n

                18. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 183.755 mph.<\/p>\n

                19. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 183.511 mph.<\/p>\n

                20. (12) Ryan Blaney (C) @, Ford, 183.480 mph.<\/p>\n

                21. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 183.187 mph.<\/p>\n

                22. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 183.125 mph.<\/p>\n

                23. (22) Joey Logano (C) @, Ford, 183.113 mph.<\/p>\n

                24. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 182.599 mph.<\/p>\n

                25. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 182.519 mph.<\/p>\n

                26. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 181.971 mph.<\/p>\n

                27. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 181.849 mph.<\/p>\n

                28. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 181.720 mph.<\/p>\n

                29. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 181.372 mph.<\/p>\n

                30. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 181.281 mph.<\/p>\n

                31. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 180.632 mph.<\/p>\n

                32. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 180.349 mph.<\/p>\n

                33. (33) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 179.671 mph.<\/p>\n

                34. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 178.459 mph.<\/p>\n

                35. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/p>\n

                36. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS \u2013 Defending race winner Denny Hamlin capped a dominant Toyota performance in Saturday\u2019s Busch Light Pole Qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway claiming his fifth pole position of the season and leading a Toyota top-five sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series starting grid for Sunday\u2019s South<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":61325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[41,67,16],"class_list":["post-61322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-denny-hamlin","tag-las-vegas-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fX4","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2298433431-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61322"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61327,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61322\/revisions\/61327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}