Hamlin leads JGR 1-2-3 in Vegas Cup qualifying

Denny Hamlin led a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the Round of 8 began.

Hamlin won the pole at 184.849mph (29.213s). It's his first pole at Las Vegas in 28 starts and the 47th of his Cup Series career. He won the 2021 playoff race at the track.

“I felt good about it, truthfully,” Hamlin said of his lap. “There wasn’t a whole lot left out there for it. Great job by this team to get my car good. It was good in the short run in practice as well. Got to work on it in the long run for tomorrow, but Saturday has really been our Achilles heel at this racetrack, and that’s a great way to turn that around.”

Chase Briscoe qualified second at 184.622mph and Christopher Bell third at 184.584mph. Bell won the last two poles at Las Vegas for the fall race.

Hendrick Motorsports claimed the next three spots on the starting grid, with Chase Elliott fourth at 184.559mph, William Byron fifth at 184.275mph and Kyle Larson sixth at 184.124mph.

Bubba Wallace qualified seventh (183.667mph), Tyler Reddick eighth (183.592mph), Joey Logano ninth (183.542mph) and Ty Gibbs, fastest in practice, rounded out the top 10 (183.337mph).

Logano is the defending winner of the South Point 400.

Ryan Blaney was the only playoff driver to qualify outside the top 10 in 14th.

Josh Berry, who won at Las Vegas in the spring, qualified 29th.

There are 38 teams that will take the green flag on Sunday afternoon.

NEXT: The South Point 400 at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday.

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