Hamlin keeps his streak going at Pocono with third consecutive NASCAR pole

Denny Hamlin keeps rolling through the NASCAR Cup Series.

Hamlin will start from the pole Sunday at Pocono Raceway as he seeks his third straight victory – a feat he has never accomplished in his career.

The winning pole lap was 173.250 mph (51.948 seconds).

“I knew for the first three quarters of it,” said Hamlin of the lap being a flier. “I actually, I guess, would say, chicken foot it through the last corner, which is Turn 2 on the actual lap. I didn’t think I got through there very well, but I did that because I knew I got through the first two well, and I was trying not to screw it up at that point.”

It is the third straight week that Hamlin will start from the pole, but aims to make it the first that he stays there. Hamlin was penalized for jumping the start at Nashville Superspeedway, and then had to drop to the rear at Michigan International Speedway because of damage repair.

“I’m definitely going to start there,” Hamlin said of Sunday afternoon. “I don’t know if we’ll be there the entire day, but certainly the plan is to take the green at the scheduled time that I’m supposed to take the green and try to keep it up front up there.”

Kyle Larson qualified second at 173.067 mph. Larson will share the front row with Hamlin.

Daniel Suarez qualified third with a lap of 172.881 mph and Ty Gibbs qualified fourth at 172.771 mph. Chase Briscoe, the defending race winner, qualified fifth at 172.639 mph.

Chris Buescher qualified sixth at 172.493 mph, Erik Jones qualified seventh at 172.450 mph, and John Hunter Nemechek qualified eighth at 172.450 mph. William Byron qualified ninth at 171.982 mph, and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10 at 171.867 mph.

A few drivers encountered trouble during their qualifying attempts.

Carson Hocevar got loose and tagged the wall with the rear of his Chevrolet. Shortly thereafter, Bubba Wallace spun and hit the inside wall with the front end of his Toyota.

Brad Keselowski, meanwhile, had an engine issue and wound up 37th on the speed chart. His team is working to diagnose the issue going into Sunday’s race.

There will be 38 drivers who take the green flag. The race has been moved up by two hours due to impending inclement weather, with a 1 p.m. ET start time.

Hamlin’s pole win also tied him on the all-time pole list with Ryan Newman, one of the best to qualify in the Cup Series.

“Yes, he was,” Hamlin said. “My algorithm feeds me Ryan Newman qualifying laps on the regular. So, one of the best to ever do it, ever get speed out of a racetrack, so it’s an honor to be with him.”

NEXT: The Great American Getaway 400 at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.