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Denny Hamlin Looks To Win Three In A Row After Pole Run At Pocono Raceway

by racerx55 June 13, 2026 0 comments

Story & Photo By Patricia McCormack/TheFourthTurn.com

POCONO, Pa. – Denny Hamlin returns to Pocono Raceway the same way he started the two previous weekends. From the pole.

Over the past two weeks, Hamlin has accomplished something that not many drivers have been able to pull off. He was sent to the back and then won.

Starting from the pole position at Nashville Superspeedway, coming to the green flag, Hamlin jumped the restart and was given the penalty of going to the back of the field. Hamlin then spent the time working his way through the field winning the race and the infamous guitar trophy. 

At Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin hit the wall during practice with minor damage. He then went out for qualifying knowing that his team would need to replace the rear diffuser. This meant that no matter where Hamlin qualified, he was going to need to start from the back again. Hamlin then won the pole and had to start from the rear again. Hamlin battled all day and worked his way back to the lead, winning for the second week in a row from the last position. 

Pocono Raceway, nicknamed “The Tricky Triangle”, is a difficult track to navigate as each of its three turns are different from each other.

When asked what the challenges of racing at Pocono were, Hamlin said, “It’s typically strategy. Of course, you got to be fast. You have to qualify really well, but then it comes down to strategy, so many races have been won by teams that you get that caution or you pit right before the caution, you can flip the field, and then once you get the clean air here, you can really kind of take off.”

Hamlin has never won three consecutive races in his 22 years of NASCAR Cup Series competition.

“It would be one of our best shots,” Hamlin said. “There’s been other times where we’ve won two, and then the third racetrack is when we don’t feel as confident, but certainly here, we think we have a great opportunity. It certainly would be something special to me” stated Hamlin, who has had much success at Pocono.

For Hamlin, Pocono is one of his best tracks where he has a track-record seven career victories, the most of all other speedways, and as of Saturday, he now holds the record for most career poles at Pocono with six.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson will start alongside Hamlin on the front row. Daniel Suarez will start third, and Ty Gibbs will start fourth. Starting fifth will be Chase Briscoe, followed by Chris Buescher, Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, William Byron and Ryan Blaney.

Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 will now start at 1 p.m. on Prime. The time was moved up due to the threat of inclement weather.