DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin overcame an eventful qualifying run Saturday to win the pole for the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, while Zane Smith’s No. 38 team dominated pit road to capture the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge.

Hamlin, driving the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, posted a total qualifying time of 109.298 seconds at 98.812 mph to earn the top starting position for Sunday’s exhibition race at the Monster Mile.

It marks Hamlin’s second career All-Star Race pole — his first since 2015, when he went on to win the race from the top spot.

The run did not come easily.

Hamlin spun during his warm-up lap before beginning his timed effort, causing damage to his car and forcing a quick recovery. Despite the setback, he still produced the fastest overall performance of the session.

“It was quite eventful for sure,” Hamlin said. “I was trying to get an extra rep there on the bottom … and I just spun out. I didn’t think I was being that aggressive, but spun out. At that point, just tried to minimize the damage.”

The incident left the No. 11 car with splitter and underbody damage, along with flat-spotted tires. Hamlin said he simply committed to pushing as hard as possible once the timed run began — and it was enough.

“Hats off to the team,” he added. “They’re the ones that keep you in the game.”

Hamlin also praised the unique All-Star qualifying format, which combines timed laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop, putting both drivers and crews under pressure.

“It definitely is a team effort … that puts the spotlight on everybody that’s involved,” he said.

Brad Keselowski qualified second alongside Hamlin on the front row, followed by Erik Jones, Ross Chastain and William Byron rounding out the top five.

While Hamlin claimed the pole, the top pit crew honors belonged to Zane Smith’s No. 38 team. The crew delivered a session-best 12.612-second four-tire stop to win the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge, earning a $100,000 bonus and the first pit selection for Sunday’s race.

The performance gives Smith’s team a significant strategic advantage despite the driver qualifying 25th in the combined format.

Saturday’s session featured multiple incidents during the high-pressure format.

Daniel Suarez suffered one of the hardest crashes after his right-front wheel detached exiting pit road, sending his car into the outside wall in Turn 1. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also spun multiple times down the frontstretch after losing control exiting Turn 4, preventing his crew from completing their pit stop portion of qualifying.