NASCAR Cup Series qualifying from Michigan International Speedway is in the books, and it's Denny Hamlin who has claimed the pole ahead of Sunday's Firekeepers Casino 400.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star set the fastest time of Saturday evening's session with a 39.901-second effort on the very final lap, just enough to edge Carson Hocevar and deny the driver of the No. 77 a home-race pole.
It also marks Hamlin's 50th career pole in the Cup Series, with the 45-year-old joining a short list of legends to have earned both 50 wins and 50 poles in the top level of the sport.
Elsewhere at Michigan, Tyler Reddick qualified in third and will start Sunday's race on the second row, with Ty Gibbs alongside him in the No. 54. Chase Briscoe, a fourth Toyota, rounded out the top five.
Chase Elliott, meanwhile, qualified in sixth, with Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Erik Jones rounding out the top 10 in that order.
Further down the order, it was a tougher day for some big stars. Bubba Wallace was only good enough for 13th, while Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney were only 18th and 19th fastest, respectively.
Josh Berry was the only driver not to set a lap time during the session after spinning during his qualifying effort.
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NASCAR Cup Series Michigan qualifying results
Here are the full qualifying results from Michigan International Speedway.
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team (OEM) | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 36.901s |
| 2 | Carson Hocevar (77) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.018s |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick (45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +0.028s |
| 4 | Ty Gibbs (54) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +0.052s |
| 5 | Chase Briscoe (19) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +0.055s |
| 6 | Chase Elliott (9) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.057s |
| 7 | Kyle Larson (5) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.066s |
| 8 | Christopher Bell (20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +0.102s |
| 9 | William Byron (24) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.137s |
| 10 | Erik Jones (43) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +0.189s |
| 11 | Daniel Suarez (7) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.220s |
| 12 | Riley Herbst (35) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +0.226s |
| 13 | Bubba Wallace (23) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +0.232s |
| 14 | Chris Buescher (17) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +0.285s |
| 15 | Cole Custer (41) | Haas Factory Team (Chevrolet) | +0.304s |
| 16 | Zane Smith (38) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +0.312s |
| 17 | John H. Nemechek (42) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +0.339s |
| 18 | Joey Logano (22) | Team Penske (Ford) | +0.356s |
| 19 | Ryan Blaney (12) | Team Penske (Ford) | +0.357s |
| 20 | Michael McDowell (71) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.376s |
| 21 | Austin Dillon (3) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.376s |
| 22 | Noah Gragson (4) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +0.440s |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) | HYAK Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.441s |
| 24 | Ty Dillon (10) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.507s |
| 25 | AJ Allmendinger (16) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.556s |
| 26 | Brad Keselowski (6) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +0.575s |
| 27 | Ryan Preece (60) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +0.650s |
| 28 | Austin Hill (33) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.652s |
| 29 | Alex Bowman (48) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +0.660s |
| 30 | Shane van Gisbergen (97) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.661s |
| 31 | Austin Cindric (2) | Team Penske (Ford) | +0.766s |
| 32 | Ross Chastain (1) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.789s |
| 33 | Cody Ware (51) | Rick Ware Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.814s |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch (88) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +0.819s |
| 35 | Todd Gilliland (34) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +0.829s |
| 36 | JJ Yeley (44) | NY Racing Team (Chevrolet) | +1.669s |
| 37 | Josh Berry (21) | Wood Brothers Racing (Ford) | No Time |
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