Denny Hamlin Spins his Way to All-Star Pole as No. 38 Crew Meets the Challenge

Denny Hamlin has claimed pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race (1 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX Deportes, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in a late qualifying session effort, unseating owner-driver Brad Keselowski in the final minutes of Saturday’ unique three-lap bid to set the field at Dover Motor Speedway.

The next to last driver to qualify, Hamlin spun his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the warm-up lap just as he took to the one-mile high-banked track but recovered and excelled when it mattered – taking the lead starting position by .149-second over Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford.

“Quite eventful for sure,” Hamlin conceded of his lap, insisting he’d never really been remarkably fast in this style of qualifying format.

“I just spun out. I don’t know. I didn’t think I was being that aggressive but spun out. At that point, just tried to minimize the damage. … That wasn’t ideal, but then I just committed to run the lap as hard as I could, and it was still good enough.”

“It’s risk versus reward and certainly challenges the driver…. But definitely a team effort.”

Zane Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford team won Saturday’s $100,000 Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge, establishing themselves best on the speed chart early in the session and their work ultimately proving unbeatable. Although Smith’s overall speed places him 25th on the starting grid, the Pit Stop Challenge win earned the team first pit stall selection Sunday – something that could be the difference in advancing Smith into the 200-lap finale.

The pole position was based on a three-lap run that also included the timed pit stop on the second lap. Late in the session, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson seemed to have bettered Keselowski’s early work, but Larson received penalties for being too fast on pit road and not blending properly back onto The Monster Mile’s high banks – the time penalty ultimately costing the three-time All-Star race winner a front row spot. And Hamlin topped both drivers in the end.

Spun and still got it done!

All-Star pole winner Denny Hamlin catches up with @ReganSmith. pic.twitter.com/h18flXc5XE

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 16, 2026

Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounded out the five fastest cars. Defending All-Star Race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell was sixth fastest.

Several perennial favorites struggled during the unique qualifying format with pit road miscues and/or time penalties, including rookie Connor Zilisch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez along with former series champs Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, who had slow stops.

This marks the first time the series has held its annual $1 million to-win, All-Star Race at the concrete Dover Motor Speedway. It will include two 75-lap segments and then a 200-lap finale to settle the big check.

There are 19 drivers currently in the 200-lap final segment and trophy-determining portion of the event – including NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Tyler Reddick and fellow 2026 race winners Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar. Joining them are 2025 race winners Hamlin, Shane Van Gisbergen, Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Byron, Larson, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace and Bell.

Kyle Busch, who won Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Dover, also has an automatic spot on the grid as a former All-Star race winner – as does Keselowski as a former series champion.

The first two segments of Sunday’s event are 75-laps followed by the 200-lap finale which includes the 19 drivers locked in, plus the six best performing drivers from the opening segments and the “Fan Vote” winner.