Hamlin takes Pocono pole, Kyle Busch makes 1-2 start for JGR

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin turned the fastest lap at Pocono Raceway and will lead the field to green Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin is joined on the front row by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch.

Hamlin went 169.991 mph on the 2½-mile tri-oval track Saturday to win his second pole in the last five races and second straight overall for JGR.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson start third and fourth. Chris Buescher, whose only career Cup win was at Pocono, starts fifth.

The back end of the top 10 is as interesting as the start of the field. Ryan Blaney starts sixth, Bubba Wallace starts seventh and Martin Truex Jr. eighth in a pack of winless drivers on the bubble of the NASCAR playoff field.

There are 14 drivers already in the 16-driver field with six races left before the field is set. Blaney is 105 points above the cutline and Truex is 68 points above the line.

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