Hamlin sets new track record and wins pole at Pocono

LONG POND, PA - JUNE 06: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, left, poses with Miss Coors Light Rachel Rupert and the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 6, 2014 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JUNE 06:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, left, poses with Miss Coors Light Rachel Rupert and the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 6, 2014 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA – JUNE 06: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, left, poses with Miss Coors Light Rachel Rupert and the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 6, 2014 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

LONG POND, Pennsylvania – A four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin, continued to excel on the 2.5-mile triangular layout on Friday, setting a track record in qualifying for Sunday’s Pocono 400.

But Hamlin says Pocono is a different animal than the track at which he won his first two Cup races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006.

“It’s so different that you could almost rename the race track,” said Hamlin, whose lap at 181.415 mph edged Kurt Busch by .007 mph. “The old stats don’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have a great weekend, but this is a great sign.”

Driving on a track that was repaved for the 2012 season and retooled in Turn 2 with the addition of an apron for this year’s events, Hamlin  was only 24th-fastest during Friday’s mid-day practice session. That’s when Hamlin said his team went to work on his FedEx Toyota Camry.

“This was very similar to what we did our rookie season,” said Hamlin, who last went to victory lane at Pocono in June 2010. “We just kept making it two- to three-tenths faster ever session. We were definitely not a pole-winning car in practice or even in the first round of qualifying. A little bit (of the improvement) was repetition – me getting all I can out of the race car – and a lot was Darian Grubb (crew chief) making the right adjustments.

“Typically, when you have a car that can get the pole, that tells me you have all the parts and pieces and should be capable of winning. As tough as passing is (at Pocono), it’s better to be up front than having to battle your way through traffic.”

Pocono has always been one of Hamlin’s favorite layouts.  In addition to posting his first two Sprint Cup victories from the pole, he has posted 13 top-10 finishes in 16 career starts.  But success has been more fleeting in recent years.  Last August he crashed in Turn 3 on the 16th lap of the race and finished 43rd.

“We haven’t been that strong here since the repave,” Hamlin said. “Handling is not as big an issue at this race track since the repave. Now, it has a lot of grip. And we haven’t qualified that well. Back when I was winning in 2006, ’07, 2010, on the old track, you could make up tons of positions. That would never happen today because the cars are running so fast and they’re so equal.”

Busch, who’ll start alongside Hamlin, had previously shattered Jimmie Johnson’s track record in the second round of Friday’s knockout qualifying at 181.087 in his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

“When you don’t get the pole, it’s bittersweet,” Busch said. “The sweet side is that you know the car has speed in it. After my (final) lap, I felt I’d left a little change – a little pock change – on the lap in Turn 1. But I was really surprised we had the speed to contend for the pole today.”

Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick qualified on the second row, while Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch also broke the 180-mph mark.

Keselowski will start in the top 10 for the 11th time in 14 races and knew he was close to securing his third pole this season.

“Two-hundreths (of a second) on a 2.5-mile track – that’s pretty dang close,” Keselowski said.

Toyota driver Brian Vickers had the fastest car in Friday’s practice and was fastest – ahead of Kurt Busch and Gordon – in the first round of qualifying.

“We’ve been really strong in the first round but just can’t figure out how to keep that (speed) in the next two qualifying rounds,” Vickers said.

Not everyone was so fortunate or so fast on Friday. Jimmie Johnson, fresh off consecutive Sprint Cup victories, was 20th in qualifying. Series points leader Matt Kenseth failed to advance through the first round of knockout qualifying and will start 26th.

“The driver blew Turn 2,” Johnson said. “I just got too greedy and lost the nose in corner exit. I knew it killed the lap. Sure enough, when I came back around, it was only good enough for 20th. I feel bad for my guys, but this one is on me.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Pocono 400

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Friday, June 06, 2014

1. (11)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 181.415 mph.

2. (41)  Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 181.408 mph.

3. (2)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 181.316 mph.

4. (4)  Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 180.832 mph.

5. (24)  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 180.513 mph.

6. (18)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, 180.458 mph.

7. (22)  Joey Logano, Ford, 179.827 mph.

8. (88)  Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 179.565 mph.

9. (55)  Brian Vickers, Toyota, 179.548 mph.

10. (99)  Carl Edwards, Ford, 179.383 mph.

11. (3)  Austin Dillon #, Chevrolet, 179.326 mph.

12. (14)  Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 179.126 mph.

13. (16)  Greg Biffle, Ford, 179.258 mph.

14. (42)  Kyle Larson #, Chevrolet, 179.229 mph.

15. (31)  Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 179.072 mph.

16. (10)  Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 179.051 mph.

17. (78)  Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 178.976 mph.

18. (1)  Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 178.919 mph.

19. (15)  Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 178.777 mph.

20. (48)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 178.678 mph.

21. (47)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 178.288 mph.

22. (43)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 178.144 mph.

23. (27)  Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 178.031 mph.

24. (51)  Justin Allgaier #, Chevrolet, 177.288 mph.

25. (13)  Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 178.045 mph.

26. (20)  Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 177.968 mph.

27. (5)  Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 177.908 mph.

28. (17)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 177.830 mph.

29. (9)  Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 177.162 mph.

30. (7)  Michael Annett #, Chevrolet, 176.308 mph.

31. (40)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 176.025 mph.

32. (34)  David Ragan, Ford, 175.922 mph.

33. (32)  Travis Kvapil, Ford, 175.867 mph.

34. (23)  Alex Bowman #, Toyota, 175.675 mph.

35. (38)  David Gilliland, Ford, 175.613 mph.

36. (36)  Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 174.958 mph.

37. (98)  Josh Wise, Ford, Owner Points

38. (44)  JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, Owner Points

39. (66)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, Owner Points

40. (26)  Cole Whitt #, Toyota, Owner Points

41. (83)  Ryan Truex #, Toyota, Owner Points

42. (33)  Alex Kennedy, Chevrolet, Owner Points

43. (77)  Dave Blaney, Ford, Owner Points

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.