Hamlin Snags Pole As Larson Looks To Wrap Up Cup Title

Denny Hamlin with the Busch Light Pole Award at Martinsville Speedway. (Christian Wilson/SWN photo)

By Thomas Hughes, SWN Staff Writer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 31, 2026) — Whether a driver is first or 16th in the NASCAR Chase for the Cup standings entering Martinsville Speedway, the prize remains the same: the vaunted grandfather clock lying in wait for the winner of the Xfinity 500.

For Denny Hamlin, the second-place driver in the title hunt, it’ll carry even greater significance.

The Virginian triumphed during Busch Light Pole Qualifying Saturday with a 19.226-second (98.492 mph) lap to seize his sixth pole of the 2026 season.

Hamlin became the oldest-ever polesitter at the .526-mile short track, and six poles marks a single-season career-high for the 45-year-old. Overall it’s his 54th career Cup Series pole, putting him one behind Bill Elliott for No. 8 all-time.

Of note, Hamlin has won 10 times in his Cup career after qualifying on pole position.

Hamlin overcame a 129-point deficit to 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick midway through the season and entered the Chase for the Cup as the top overall seed. His advantage evaporated in the Chase, though, as he’s posted only two top five finishes in his last eight races.

The wheelman of the No. 11 Toyota will need to avoid being outscored by three or more points by Larson on Sunday if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive in the season finale.

The late-season struggles have taken a toll on Hamlin, who acknowledged that the past several weeks have tested his resolve. Still, moments of optimism have provided the veteran driver with reasons to keep pushing forward.

He has previously said his intentions are to retire from full-time competition after the 2027 season, and held firm to that after qualifying on Saturday.

“I really feel as though that it's a good timeline,” Hamlin said. “There's been many weeks, certainly the last five or six, where I've just been done. But then you have weeks like this that kind of bring me back up just for a day, and then tomorrow, like go ahead and crush it back again.”

Hamlin edged teammate Ty Gibbs (19.275 seconds) by .049 seconds for the pole. More importantly, Hamlin’s pole came by 0.074 seconds over championship rival Kyle Larson (19.300/98.114).

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and Joey Logano rounded out the top five starters, followed by Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Josh Berry. 

At Martinsville, track position is paramount. The tight corners of the half-mile paper clip make passing difficult, while heavy traffic can quickly derail a driver's afternoon. With limited room to maneuver, Hamlin’s strong qualifying effort could prove crucial in Sunday's 500-lap contest.

How’s the title battle heating up?

Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson holds a 73-point lead over Hamlin entering the penultimate race of the season. Two of Hamlin’s teammates, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, are 74 and 79 points behind Larson, respectively.

If Larson scores 59 points at Martinsville, he is the 2026 champion, regardless of how his title rivals finish. Larson clinching the title a race early would be the first time the Cup Series hasn’t decided its champion at the final race since 2003.

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 driver entered the Chase as the seventh seed following an extended slump that stretched from May 2025 through 2026’s first 26 races. Larson finished outside the top 30 nine times in the regular season.

After falling as low as 10th in the standings in August, Larson rebounded, climbing three spots to seventh entering the postseason.

The defending champion turned up the wick once September arrived, finishing sixth or better in the first six Chase races while earning victories at World Wide Technology Raceway and Kansas Speedway and snapping a 51-race winless drought.

Larson's lone Chase setback came at Phoenix, where an ill-handling car and a tire failure relegated him to a 34th-place finish. However, he bounced back immediately with a victory at Talladega to set up a potential title-clinching situation at Martinsville.

Larson held a slim five-point advantage over Bell entering Talladega, but after snapping his 0-for-58 superspeedway drought, Larson’s lead ballooned to 74 points as Bell finished 35th.

The title is essentially a four-horse race, with Larson several steps ahead of Hamlin, Bell and Briscoe.

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Reddick are mathematically eligible for the title but need to outscore Larson by 25, 32 and 51 points, respectively, to take their championship hopes to Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

Fast Laps

— 23XI Racing’s Reddick is essentially out of the title hunt after a 37th-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Oct. 25. Despite his series-high six wins, he’s fallen to seventh in the standings and has won just once since April 19.

What represents success for him over the final two weeks?

“At least one more win,” Reddick said Saturday before qualifying.

— Asked whether he considers 2026 his best season, Reddick was less certain.

“From a number of ways, yeah?” he said. “I guess? I don’t know. I could say it’s pretty in line with some other seasons. I’m just looking at yes, we won more races, but OK, ‘How often do we show up with potential and how often do we capitalize on that and get the most out of the weekend?’ We’ve kind of been the same from year to year.”

— William Byron, who finished second at Talladega, can’t contend for the Cup title this year due to being too far back in points, but the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 wheelman still has a tangible goal in mind for the end of the season: win and try to get a top-10 finish in points.

Doing so would be his sixth top-10 points finish at the Cup level.

“[Winning] one of these next two would be a good success for us,” Byron said.

— Carson Hocevar is getting his first taste of the NASCAR Chase, and so far, it's been “pretty good.”

“We're riding really well,” Hocevar said. “Our finishes are pretty good. Yeah, I've been pretty happy with it.”

With Spire Motorsports making its first Chase appearance, Hocevar said the postseason has served as a learning experience for the organization as it looks to close the gap to NASCAR's top teams. He noted that competitors often save setup adjustments for the Chase or develop improvements early in the postseason, making the ability to implement changes quickly all the more important.

“Every race matters,” Hocevar said. “You can't just wait two, three weeks to implement it.”

How can I tune in?

The Xfinity 500 is set for Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.