NASCAR Cup Series: Denny Hamlin takes pole for 2018 Bojangles’ Southern 500
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin took his second pole position of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the season’s 25th race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin entered the 22nd race weekend of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season at Watkins Glen International having not secured any pole positions so far this year.
Hamlin has now secured two pole positions in the last four races, as he took the pole position for that race and has now taken the pole position for the season’s 25th race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500, at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin took the pole position for the 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina by recording a top lap time of 28.332 seconds (173.571 miles per hour) in the third and final qualifying session in his #11 Toyota.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson is the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver for the race. He qualified in second place in his #42 Chevrolet and is set to start alongside Hamlin on the front row.
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Like the first row, the second and third rows on the starting grid for the race are set to feature a Toyota driver ahead of a Chevrolet driver.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. qualified on the inside of the second row in third place in his #78 Toyota and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman qualified on the outside of the second row in fourth in his #88 Chevrolet.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch qualified on the inside of the third row in fifth place in his #18 Toyota. Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman qualified on the outside of the third row in sixth in his #31 Chevrolet.
The highest qualifying Ford driver of the race is Team Penske’s Joey Logano. He qualified in eighth place in his #22 Ford and is set to start on the outside of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones, who qualified in seventh in his #20 Toyota, on the fourth row.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session and are set to start the race on the fifth row in ninth and 10th place in their #41 Ford and #24 Chevrolet, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
| Qualifying Results |
| 1st – Denny Hamlin |
| 2nd – Kyle Larson |
| 3rd – Martin Truex Jr. |
| 4th – Alex Bowman |
| 5th – Kyle Busch |
| 6th – Ryan Newman |
| 7th – Erik Jones |
| 8th – Joey Logano |
| 9th – Kurt Busch |
| 10th – William Byron |
| 11th – Chase Elliott |
| 12th – Aric Almirola |
| 13th – Brad Keselowski |
| 14th – Paul Menard |
| 15th – Matt Kenseth |
| 16th – Daniel Suarez |
| 17th – Clint Bowyer |
| 18th – Austin Dillon |
| 19th – Chris Buescher |
| 20th – Jimmie Johnson |
| 21st – Ryan Blaney |
| 22nd – Kevin Harvick |
| 23rd – David Ragan |
| 24th – A.J. Allmendinger |
| 25th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 26th – Michael McDowell |
| 27th – Darrell Wallace Jr. |
| 28th – Ty Dillon |
| 29th – Kasey Kahne |
| 30th – Matt DiBenedetto |
| 31st – Jamie McMurray |
| 32nd – J.J. Yeley |
| 33rd – Ross Chastain |
| 34th – Corey Lajoie |
| 35th – Landon Cassill |
| 36th – Timmy Hill |
| 37th – B.J. McLeod |
| 38th – Derrike Cope |
| 39th – Joey Gase |
| 40th – Jeffrey Earnhardt |
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Be sure to tune in to the live broadcast of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. The 25th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to begin tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.