NASCAR at Darlington 2018 Qualifying Results: Denny Hamlin Wins Pole Position

Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's Bojangles' Southern 500 by posting the fastest qualifying time at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.

Along with Hamlin, Kyle Larson will start up front this week after qualifying second. Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Below is a look at the starting lineup for Sunday's race.

2018 Bojangles' Southern 500 Starting Lineup

1. Denny Hamlin (28.332)

2. Kyle Larson (28.358)

3. Martin Truex Jr. (28.392)

4. Alex Bowman (28.400)

5. Kyle Busch (28.415)

6. Ryan Newman (28.453)

7. Erik Jones (28.506)

8. Joey Logano (28.507)

9. Kurt Busch (28.535)

10. William Byron (28.550)

*Full qualifying results available on NASCAR's official website.

Recap 

Hamlin finished last year's Bojangles' Southern 500 in first, so it's only fitting that he will start this year's running in the same spot.

After qualifying ninth a year ago, the No. 11 car has prime starting position after capturing his 29th career pole on Saturday:

Hamlin talked about his latest feat afterward:

Starting up front gives Hamlin a golden opportunity to try to bounce back from a 14th-place finish at Bristol two weeks ago. While he has four top-10 finishes in the last 11 races, he is in somewhat of a rut, having not finished in the top five since a third-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 at the end of May.

The 37-year-old had six top-five results in his first 13 races of the season and an additional pair of top-seven finishes. He has not finished higher than seventh since the calendar flipped to June.

Hamlin sits 10th in the NASCAR points standings.

Meanwhile, the overall points leader, Kyle Busch, will start near the front of the field in fifth. The No. 18 car has five top-four finishes in his past six races, including a victory at Pocono on July 29. He has finished outside of the top five twice in the last 12 races and has three trips to Victory Lane during that span.

Also of note, Kevin Harvick—who is 43 points behind Busch in the points standings—will start in 22nd place. Truex, who is third in the standings, posted the third-best qualifying time.

The 2018 Bojangles' Southern 500 will get underway at 6:15 p.m. ET on Sunday.