Briscoe On Cup Homestead Pole; Hamlin (2nd), Larson (4th), Bell (6th)

Chase Briscoe took the pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, who was eliminated from championship contention last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, turned a lap time of 32.396 seconds (166.687 mph) to take the pole for the season finale.

Starting alongside Briscoe on Sunday will be Denny Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate who is still barely alive in the championship fight. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota clocked in 0.017 seconds off the fast time set by Briscoe.

Heading into Sunday's race, Hamlin sits 70 points behind Kyle Larson, the championship point leader. It's going to take a massive wave of horrendous luck for Larson is Hamlin is going to want a shot to win his first Cup Series title, but at least he'll have a fighting chance to capitalize on any potential misfortune for Larson by starting from the front row.

Tyler Reddick slotted in third-fastest in his repaired No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, which was involved in an accident coming to pit road at the end of Friday's practice session. Prior to the crash, Reddick felt he had a car capable of winning. If his qualifying speed is any indication, Reddick still has a very good car underneath him.

Larson, who just has to finish 28th or better in order to secure his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title regardless of what the other championship contenders do, was able to secure the fourth starting spot for Sunday's race.

Larson, who slapped the wall a few times in Friday's practice session and wasn't pleased with the comfortability in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, will likely head into Sunday's race a little happier with a top-five starting spot.

Austin Cindric took the fifth-place starting spot, and Christopher Bell, the runner-up driver in the championship standings, will start sixth.

Bell enters Sunday's race, like Hamlin, needing help from Larson to get in true contention for the championship, as he sits 67 points behind Larson.

Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.

With Hendrick Motorsports failing to secure a pole on Saturday afternoon, this marks the first season in the team's existence (since 1984) that it failed to score a pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Brad Keselowski will start from the final starting position (40th) on the grid in his final start with RFK Racing, as he spun on the exit of Turn 4 and caught the inside wall during his qualifying run. Keselowski's No. 6 RFK Racing team is currently making repairs to his car in the garage area at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

On the exit of Turn 4, @keselowski spins and hits the inside wall. pic.twitter.com/y4vTz2xUhg
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 7, 2026

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