Denny Hamlin will start his three-peat bid from the pole at Pocono Raceway

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin will start his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole after qualifying in the top spot at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.

Hamlin, who is trying to win his third consecutive race, covered the “Tricky Triangle” in 51.948 seconds during qualifying and averaged 173.250 mph around the 2 1/2-mile track.

It’s Hamlin’s third pole of the season and the sixth of his career at Pocono, where he’s enjoyed more success than any Cup track.

Hamlin also started from the pole the last two weeks — and won both races. He won the pole at Michigan International Speedway and landed the top starting spot the previous week at Nashville Speedway after rain washed out qualifying.

Hamlin is trying to become the 31st driver to win three races in a row during NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present).

The 51st pole of Hamlin’s career tied him with Ryan Newman, who was nicknamed “The Rocket” for his qualifying prowess.

Hamlin has 63 career Cup wins and 51 career Cup poles, and he quipped that he’s now targeting the 60-60 club.

“It’s interesting,” Hamlin said. “My algorithm feeds me Newman qualifying laps all the time on X. So I see it all the time. I’m a sucker; I’ll sit around for those 15 or 30 seconds, whatever it is, and watch it because I love the nostalgia of it. … He was the guy. They call him ‘Rocket’ for a reason.

“It was amazing. It was amazing to see. It wasn’t always sustainable in the race, but the guy knew how to get some speed out of a car.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing