Ranking 5 active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in pole award leaderboard ft. Denny Hamlin

2025 was a year full of surprises for NASCAR fans and ended in heartbreak for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Despite the major setback, Hamlin still emerged as the leading pole sitter driver for the pole award.

Ahead of the upcoming 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, a popular X page recently revealed the list of the top five active stock car racing drivers in the pole award leaderboard. Drivers often showcase their dominance by securing the pole positions.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been leading the leaderboard with a significant margin. Here's the list of the top five active drivers:

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#1. Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin leads the pole position award leaderboard with his remarkable performance throughout his career. He debuted in the series in 2005 with Joe Gibbs Racing and has been with the team since then. He has been driving the #11 and achieving greater heights in his career.

Hamlin has secured 48 pole positions in 721 starts, the most by any active driver in the Cup Series. He clinched his first pole position in his rookie season at Phoenix Raceway in 2005, piloting the #11 Chevy for JGR with a best time of 26.831 seconds.

However, he wrapped the race outside of the top ten drivers and finished in P13. Hamlin also dominated the 2025 season and clinched five pole positions, nearly missing his first-ever championship title.

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#2. Jimmie Johnson

Former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson ranks second on the leaderboard with 36 pole positions. Johnson debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2001 and secured seven championship titles over the years. Years later, in 2020, he retired from full-time racing and took a three-year hiatus before returning as a part-time driver for his team, Legacy Motor Club.

The 50-year-old driver clinched his first pole position at the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, in 2002, while driving for HMS. He completed the 2.5-mile track with a fastest time of 48.431 seconds. Johnson finished the race outside of the top ten drivers in P15. The HMS driver secured his career-best six pole positions during the 2008 season.

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#3. Kyle Busch

Former two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch ranks third on the list. Despite facing major setbacks in the past few years, Busch has been a dominant driver throughout his racing career. He has clinched 34 pole positions in 750 starts in 22 years. Additionally, Busch has clinched 63 victories in the series, followed by 254 top fives and 392 top tens.

Busch has also dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series with 70 pole positions in 367 starts and a championship title in 2009. Also, he has secured 23 pole positions in 180 Craftsman Truck Series starts. Along with 67 victories and 144 top ten finishes.

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#4. Joey Logano

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano, ranks fourth on the leaderboard table with 33 pole positions. Kyle Busch and Logano have a close margin between them, and in the next season, the Team Penske driver might surpass the former Cup Series champion on the list by clinching two pole positions.

Logano has completed 615 races in the series and amassed 37 victories, followed by 174 top-five finishes and 300 top-ten finishes. He did so while maintaining an average start of 11.8 and an average finish of 14.25. Additionally, he wrapped the 2025 season in seventh place with one win, seven top-fives, and 13 top tens.

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#5. Brad Keselowski

Despite not such promising results in the past two seasons, Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing driver Brad Keselowski also made it to the list. Keselowski has gathered 18 pole positions in 593 starts in 18 years. He has been driving the #6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing since 2022 and has secured only one pole position in the ride.

The former Cup Series champion dominated the track in his #2 ride with Team Penske and clinched 34 pole positions in 396 starts. Additionally, he has gathered 22 poles in the Xfinity Series in 257 starts, along with 39 wins and one championship title in 2010.

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Edited by Karan Yadav