LONG POND, Pa. — NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin will start in pole position for the third consecutive race after qualifying in the top spot Saturday at Pocono Raceway.
Hamlin, who is coming off back-to-back wins in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota and will try to extend the streak Sunday, covered the “Tricky Triangle” in 51.948 seconds during qualifying and averaged 173.250 mph around the 2.5-mile track.
It’s Hamlin’s third pole of the season and the sixth of his career at Pocono Raceway, where he has enjoyed more Cup Series success than at any other track.
The start time for Sunday’s race, which will be shown on Amazon Prime Video, has been moved up two hours because of inclement weather in the forecast. The green flag will now drop shortly after 1 p.m.
Hamlin won last Sunday at Michigan International Speedway after qualifying on the pole. The weekend before that, Hamlin took the checkered flag at Nashville Superspeedway, where he landed the top starting spot after rain washed out qualifying.