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Along with the usual drama of pole qualifying, Saturday’s speed trials at Michigan promised to bring additional intrigue.
Would Michigan produce the top qualifying speed of the season so far? Through 23 races in 2024 Cup Series season, that distinction belonged to Texas Motor Speedway, where Kyle Larson averaged just over 190 mph in his pole-winning run.
Entering this weekend, that was the only 190+ pole speed. Remember, horsepower restrictions at Daytona and Talladega keep speeds down at those mammoth tri-ovals.
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So, who won the NASCAR pole at Michigan?
Nobody. It was rained out. Denny Hamlin was rewarded with it, however.
When qualifying is rained out, NASCAR sets the starting lineup using a variety of stats — metrics, they call it, and it all adds up to a starting grid, which you’ll find below.
No pole runs, but plenty of speed in practice
The Cup cars did manage an abbreviated practice session Saturday before rains hit. Of the 36 cars in the field, 32 turned a lap at 190+.
The fastest lap belonged to Ross Chastain, whose sixth practice lap produced a speed of 192.303 mph. Martin Truex, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Bubba Wallace were next fastest, all at 191.795 or faster.
The FireKeepers Casino 400 lineup at Michigan
1st – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
3rd – Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4th – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5th – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
6th – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7th – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
8th – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
9th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th – Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
11th – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
12th – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
13th – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
14th – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
15th – Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
16th – Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
17th – Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
18th – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
19th – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20th – Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
21st – Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
22nd – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
23rd – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
24th – Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
25th – Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
26th – Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
27th – Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
28th – Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29th – Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
30th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
31st – Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
32nd – Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
33rd – John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
34th – Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
35th – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
36th – Cody Ware, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Connor Zilisch (who else?) wins ARCA race at Michigan
Of all the young, up-and-coming racers out there, no one is hotter than 18-year-old Connor Zilisch.
Friday night’s Henry Ford Health 200 at the 2-mile Michigan oval was his first start on an oval bigger than a mile. All he did was win yet again, running his 2024 ARCA record to four wins in four starts.
He’s also 2-for-3 in IMSA sports cars, co-driving the winning LMP2 entries at two sports-car classics, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Zilisch recently signed a deal to drive an Xfinity Series entry full time next year for JR Motorsports, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR lineup, FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan. Look who’s up front
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