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Denny Hamlin is the oldest to win pole at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson qualifies third

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The Associated Press. (2026, October 31). Denny Hamlin is the oldest to win pole at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson qualifies third. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/auto-racing/denny-hamlin-is-the-oldest-to-win-pole-at-martinsville-speedway-kyle-larson-qualifies-third/article_30528dab-0988-5cc3-b45a-e7eacffc16a7.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-31 · by The Associated Press

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No political leaning scored for article 120369 · logged 2026-11-01

Story

📰 Denny Hamlin Wins Pole At Martinsville
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
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Publisher

Toronto Star · 10860 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

The Associated Press
1677 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Hamlin, who will turn 46 on Nov. 18, became the oldest pole sitter in 156 Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, turning a 98.492-mph lap on the 0.526-mile oval to beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (98.241). “That’s awesome,” said Hamlin, who is 5 months older than Morgan Shepherd was when he won the April 1987 pole.
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Also by The Associated Press
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Topics

Chase Hamlin MARTINSVILLE NASCAR Va.

Subjects

Hamlin PERSON · 6× Larson PERSON · 4× Chase ORG · 3× Denny PERSON · 2× MARTINSVILLE GPE · 2× Cup Series ORG · 1× Denny Hamlin PERSON · 1× Kyle Larson’s PERSON · 1× NASCAR ORG · 1× Va. GPE · 1×

Narrative

Hamlin, who will turn 46 on Nov. 18, became the oldest pole sitter in 156 Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, turning a 98.492-mph lap on the 0.526-mile oval to beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (98.241). “That’s awesome,” said Hamlin, who is 5 months older than Morgan Shepherd was when he won the April 1987 pole.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-01
🔮 Hamlin, who will turn 46 on Nov. 18, became the oldest pole sitter in 156 Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, turning a 98.492-mph lap on the 0.526-mile oval to beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (98.241). “That’s awesome,” said Hamlin, who is 5 months older than Morgan Shepherd was when he won the April 1987 pole.

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

With his career-best sixth pole position this season, Denny Hamlin made NASCAR history while trying to put the brakes on Kyle Larson’s potentially historic run in the Chase. asserted
Hamlin → make → Chase
Hamlin, who will turn 46 on Nov. 18, became the oldest pole sitter in 156 Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, turning a 98.492-mph lap on the 0.526-mile oval to beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (98.241). “That’s awesome,” said Hamlin, who is 5 months older than Morgan Shepherd was when he won the April 1987 pole. asserted
he → turn → pole
“There’s times I feel like Father Time’s catching up. asserted
Time → ’ → ?
If that’s true, then you wouldn’t have been able to sit on six poles. asserted
you → ’ → poles
It’s what drives me that I’ve got a shot and still am decent enough. asserted
I → ’ → shot
So I’d love to keep setting those old man records.” asserted
I → love → records
Larson qualified third at 98.114 mph and reiterated that he isn’t expecting to become the first Chase driver to clinch the championship ahead of the season finale. asserted
he → qualify → finale
He has a 73-point lead on Hamlin with Martinsville and the Nov. 8 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway remaining. asserted
Martinsville → have → Speedway
“I think everybody else is convinced that we’re going to lock it up here this weekend,” said Larson, who noted that Hamlin would have gained a maximum 76 points at Martinsville if he had finished one spot better in the March 29 race that was won by Chase Elliott. asserted
that → think → Elliott
“Denny’s really good here. asserted
Denny → ’ → ?
I’m more just kind of looking at it like how to keep it up front to leave myself a buffer for next week. asserted
I → look → week
We’ll see how the race plays out, but that’s kind of my mindset. asserted
that → see → ?
Denny’s definitely a much better short track racer than me.” asserted
Denny → ’ → me
“Our job is to stay out in front of (Larson) and then just make them think and just maybe this trickles down to a reasonable number,” he said. asserted
he → stay → number
“You need to gain 25, 30 points probably to even have a remote feeling of optimism, and even that is probably a stretch.” asserted
that → need → optimism
Teammates Christopher Bell (qualified 14th) and Chase Briscoe (11th) will start behind Larson as the next two drivers after Hamlin in the Chase standings. asserted
Bell → qualify → standings
Austin Cindric qualified fourth ahead of Penske teammate Joey Logano, who is seeking to become the first driver since Rusty Wallace in 1993 to win three consecutive Cup races on short tracks. asserted
who → qualify → tracks
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