Hamlin claims first Cup pole of the year at CMS

Denny Hamlin saved his best for the last round of qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway, ripping off a lap of 191.598 mph.

It was fast enough to earn Hamlin the pole for the Bank of America 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBC), which will be the second time Hamlin has started from the top spot at Charlotte. It is the 25th pole of his career and his first this season.

"The day started off really well. The first time we hit the track we were [fastest] and just kind of ran about the same lap time throughout the whole first practice and then we ran about the same lap time again in qualifying and it was enough," Hamlin said.

"The good part about it with our car is it seemed like we got a tiny bit faster each and every round when a lot of guys started backing up and that was the key for us to get the pole."

Related Stories

Hamlin will start alongside his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth. Kenseth's fastest lap was 191.489 mph. Kevin Harvick qualified third at 191.394 mph. Kyle Busch was fourth fastest at 190.941 mph and Clint Bowyer was fifth fastest at 190.584 mph.

Harvick and Bowyer were the fastest drivers in both round one and round two. The Nos. 4 and 14 led the charge for Stewart-Haas Racing, as all four cars advanced to the final round of qualifying. Kurt Busch will start eighth following a lap of 190.362 mph and Danica Patrick clocked in 12th fastest at 189.215 mph.

Playoff point leader Martin Truex Jr. failed to advance out of the second round and will start 17th. Defending Charlotte winner Jimmie Johnson was the slowest of the playoff drivers, knocked out of a transfer spot for the second round by teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the clock expired. Johnson will start 25th.

There were no incidents in qualifying. However, three cars failed to take time.

Furniture Row Racing rookie Erik Jones did not make it on track as his No. 77 Toyota did not clear technical inspection. The two BK Racing cars of Corey LaJoie and Brett Moffitt also did not attempt a lap.

UP NEXT: Second practice at 11 a.m. ET Saturday.