Toyota drivers swept the front row in Friday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but, for once, the occupants of the top two spots on the grid aren’t named Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Denny Hamlin, Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, posted the fastest lap in the final round to win the pole for Sunday’s Bank of America 500 (NBC at 2:00 PM ET), the first race in the Round of 12 in the series Playoff. Hamlin covered the 1.5-mile distance in 28.184 seconds (191.598 mph) to edge another teammate, Matt Kenseth (191.489 mph), for the top starting spot by .016 seconds.[More]
