Denny Hamlin Secures Pole Position for Nashville Cup Series Race

In a thrilling start to the NASCAR Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin has clinched the pole position for the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400. Hamlin's performance this weekend puts him at the front of the grid, alongside Tyler Reddick, who will occupy the second spot for the race set to take place on Sunday night.

Due to inclement weather, the qualifying session was canceled, leading to the starting lineup being determined by a metric system and reverse order of previous qualifying results. Following Hamlin and Reddick on the second row will be Daniel Suarez and Christopher Bell, both of whom are looking to make their mark in the race.

Several notable drivers, including Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, and Chase Elliott, will start from 20th place or lower, indicating a challenging race ahead for them. The unique starting lineup reflects the unpredictable nature of NASCAR events, especially when weather conditions come into play.

The complete starting lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville is as follows:

No. 11 Denny Hamlin
No. 45 Tyler Reddick
No. 7 Daniel Suarez
No. 20 Christopher Bell
No. 5 Kyle Larson
No. 54 Ty Gibbs
No. 12 Ryan Blaney
No. 24 William Byron
No. 22 Joey Logano
No. 97 Shane van Gisbergen
No. 38 Zane Smith
No. 6 Brad Keselowski
No. 43 Erik Jones
No. 71 Michael McDowell
No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 16 AJ Allmendinger
No. 77 Carson Hocevar
No. 23 Bubba Wallace
No. 48 Alex Bowman
No. 41 Cole Custer
No. 34 Todd Gilliland
No. 17 Chris Buescher
No. 35 Riley Herbst
No. 67 Corey Heim
No. 33 Austin Hill
No. 4 Noah Gragson
No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 60 Ryan Preece
No. 9 Chase Elliott
No. 10 Ty Dillon
No. 19 Chase Briscoe
No. 3 Austin Dillon
No. 21 Josh Berry
No. 51 Cody Ware
No. 1 Ross Chastain
No. 2 Austin Cindric
No. 66 Chad Finchum
No. 88 Connor Zilisch

This event promises to showcase some intense racing action, with the top competitors vying for victory on the famed Nashville track.