Denny Hamlin seizes Charlotte pole with record lap

CONCORD, NC - MAY 23: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota, poses in Victory Lane after qualifying for the pole position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

 

CONCORD, NC - MAY 23:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota, poses in Victory Lane after qualifying for the pole position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina.  (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NC – MAY 23: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota, poses in Victory Lane after qualifying for the pole position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

CONCORD, N.C.–For Denny Hamlin, Thursday night’s qualifying session at Charlotte Motor Speedway felt like a victory–and it came from pushing his car to the absolute limit.

Hamlin, who missed four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season because of a compression fraction to his first lumbar vertebra, took advantage of a lightning-fast car and a late draw to win the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 in record time.

One of eight drivers to beat the previous track record, Hamlin covered the 1.5-mile distance in 27.604 seconds (195.624 mph) to knock Kurt Busch (195.221 mph) off the provisional pole. Matt Kenseth (195.094 mph) qualified third, followed by Mark Martin (194.595 mph) and Clint Bowyer (194.503 mph), as Toyota drivers claimed four of the top five spots.

The Coors Light pole award was Hamlin’s first at Charlotte, his second of the season and the 14th of his career. Hamlin converted three of his previous 13 poles into victories, and a win is what Hamlin feels he needs to show he’s back in top form after the injury.

“Getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you’re truly back,” Hamlin said. “For me, it’s going to take wins and a lot of really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in a position to have a chance at a championship.

“That’s what we’re here for. Even these small victories, though, give me that confidence that I’m still capable–able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me, it’s always a plus on Sunday.”

Kasey Kahne qualified sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 11th and series leader Jimmie Johnson 12th.

Kurt Busch knew he missed his marks slightly in Turns 3 and 4–and ultimately paid the price.

“I just didn’t quite hit my mark exactly right in 3 and 4, and I knew that we might get beat by somebody,” he said. “I was just hoping I’d get a gift, but Denny Hamlin laid it down, and it was incredible to watch. His car hugged the line in 3 and 4, exactly like you’d watch cars back in the day, like when Jeff Gordon in the ‘90s would hunt that white line.

“It was awesome. You knew that was going to be a fast lap. I didn’t do my job, but my (Furniture Row) team is doing an incredible job–fast cars week in and week out.”

Kyle Busch was first to break the record qualifying run of 193.708 mph that Biffle posted last October. He toured the 1.5-mile track in 27.842 seconds (193.952 mph) to land his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the provisional pole.

But Kyle didn’t have to be a prophet to know that drivers who followed him in cooler conditions would surpass him–and the first to do so was his brother. Biffle supplanted Kyle from the second spot, and Martin followed shortly thereafter, knocking him back to fourth.

That order held until Hamlin, the 40th driver to make a run, became the sixth driver to beat the previous record.

Reminded that his pole earlier this season came at Fontana, Calif., Hamlin quipped, “How’d that turn out?”

Fontana, after all, was the place where Hamlin suffered his compression fracture in a last-lap crash with Joey Logano.

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.