Denny Hamlin won the pole position for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race in Bristol, Tennessee, on Friday thanks to a qualifying time of 14.848.
Kyle Larson finished second at 14.874 on the Bristol Speedway track, while Martin Truex Jr. took third.
Kyle Busch, who has won three times at Bristol since 2017, will start 31st.
Here's a look at the entire race order, final times and reaction with the Cup Championship Playoffs only one month away.
Race Order and Final Times
1. Denny Hamlin: 14.848
2. Kyle Larson: 18.474
3. Martin Truex Jr.: 14.875
4. Kurt Busch: 14.896
5. Aric Almirola: 14.901
6. Chase Elliott: 14.923
7. Matt DiBenedetto: 14.937
8. Kevin Harvick: 14.940
9. Erik Jones: 14.945
10. Alex Bowman: 14.963
11. Joey Logano: 14.976
12. Ryan Blaney: 14.981
13. Brad Keselowski: 14.997
14. Ryan Newman: 15.002
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 15.028
16. David Ragan: 15.053
17. Daniel Hemric: 15.084
18. Daniel Suarez: 15.088
19. Austin Dillon: 15.116
20. Clint Bowyer: 15.129
21. William Byron: 15.166
22. Bubba Wallace: 15.188
23. Ryan Preece: 15.192
24. Ty Dillon: 15.225
25. Paul Menard: 15.243
26. Corey LaJoie: 15.273
27. Matt Tifft: 15.275
28. Michael McDowell: 15.311
29. Chris Buescher: 15.314
30. Jimmie Johnson: 15.331
31. Kyle Busch: 15.340
32. Landon Cassill: 15.366
33. BJ McLeod: 15.468
34. Quin Houff: 15.579
35. Josh Bilicki: 15.631
36. JJ Yeley: 15.732
37. Reed Sorenson: 15.733
38. Kyle Weatherman: 15.786
39. Ross Chastain: 15.840
Results via NASCAR.com.
Reaction
Hamlin has been on fire of late, finishing no worse than fifth in each of his last five races and winning at Pocono Raceway.
That streak may roll to six after Hamlin won the pole.
He referenced his momentum in post-qualifying remarks, per Performance Racing Network:
The 34-time Monster Energy Cup Series winner also had a funny remark regarding the runner-up Larson:
The 38-year-old has won three times this year, also taking down the Daytona 500 and the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. He is fourth in the Monster Energy Cup Series standings.
Elsewhere, a prominent story going into this race will be whether the Busch brothers can take down another race at Bristol.
The two have historically dominated the two Monster Energy Cup races held at Bristol every year. Kyle Busch won the Food City 400 five times from 2007-2019, including the last two races. Older brother Kurt has won that event four times, including three straight in 2002-2004.
Kyle also has the one-win edge at the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, taking it down four times compared to his older brother's three. However, Kurt won the last edition there in 2018.
Kurt is well-positioned for another victory thanks to finishing fourth in qualifying, although Kyle will start 31st.
Coming from behind to win hasn't been an insurmountable task for Busch at Bristol, as he started 18th in the 2017 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race before winning. Going from 31st to first is a far tougher task, but it's hard to bet against the Busches at Bristol.
The 266.5-mile race will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN will carry the television broadcast.
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