NASCAR at Nashville qualifying results, starting lineup: Denny Hamlin wins his second pole for Ally 400

Hamlin wins the pole at Nashville Superspeedway for the second time in four years

By Steven Taranto

Jun 29, 2024 at 5:59 pm ET • 2 min read

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LEBANON, Tenn. -- Denny Hamlin won the pole for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, posting a lap of 29.859 (160.354 MPH) in the final round to earn his second pole of the 2024 season and the second of his career at Nashville. Hamlin previously won the pole at Nashville two years ago in 2022.

Hamlin beat out local favorite and leading Cup rookie Josh Berry, as the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native narrowly missed out on his first Cup pole at a 29.972 (159.749 MPH). Berry tied his career-best starting spot from Bristol earlier this year, and he enters this race off the strength of a seventh at Iowa and a third at New Hampshire, both races where he contended for the win.

After changes on the competition side of the company earlier this week, with Andy Petree stepping down as competition director and being replaced by Keith Rodden, Richard Childress Racing's results in qualifying were very uneven. Austin Dillon narrowly missed out on the final round and will start 11th on Sunday, but Kyle Busch's performance woes showed little signs of improvement, as he qualified 27th and will start deep in the field as he looks to reverse a trend that has seen him fail to finish three out of the last four races.

Justin Haley's team was penalized following pre-qualifying inspection, as the team was found to have made an unapproved adjustment after they cleared tech. Car chief J.R. Norris was ejected from the race weekend, the No. 51 team has lost pit stall selection, and Haley will have to serve a drive-through pit road penalty after taking the green flag on Sunday.