Qualifying Washout Puts Hamlin On Michigan Pole

Denny Hamlin in action at Michigan Int'l Speedway Saturday. (Lesley Ann Miller/LAT for Toyota Racing photo)

BROOKLYN, Mich. – A cell of severe precipitation that reached Michigan Int’l Speedway around 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday washed out NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and put Denny Hamlin on the pole for the FireKeepers Casino 400.

By virtue of NASCAR’s metric performance system, which accounts for driver and car owner points, driver performance from the previous race, and the fastest lap from the previous race, Hamlin’s No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE earned the top spot on the grid with a metric average of 2.55.

He’ll be joined on the front row by one of the cars he co-owns, with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick flanking Hamlin in the No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE and starting second Sunday afternoon.

Though Reddick has never won at Michigan, Hamlin won back-to-back June races at the two-mile oval in 2010 and 2011.

Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson share the second row of Sunday’s grid, with Bubba Wallace making it four Toyotas starting inside the top five.

Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Richmond winner Austin Dillon – whose victory last weekend had its playoff eligibility stripped by NASCAR on Wednesday – filled the balance of the top-10 starters.

Chastain posted the top speed in an abbreviated Cup Series practice session, which lasted roughly 15 minutes and was interrupted once by sprinkles before the heavier rain moved into the area.

His lap of 37.441 seconds (192.303 mph) in the No. 1 Busch Light Peach Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 gave the 31-year-old Alva, Fla., native confidence that he’ll be able to win his way into the Cup Series playoff field.

“It feels fast,” said Chastain of the Michigan pavement. “Gosh, this place … it is awesome when you have grip and can throttle down like we could in those practice laps. “Our Busch Light Peach Chevy hit a lot of the targets, I think, for travel and balance pretty good there.

“It’s been a good morning; it doesn’t hurt my feelings, at all, that the rain kept everyone else from getting back out there and now we’ll go and see what we have for 400 miles,” he added. “Points and speed will be our keys [over the next three races]. I think we’ve got the first half of that equation already … and we’ll just work on it a little bit more from here. There’s plenty more to bite off this peach yet.”

Notables mired deeper in the starting field include past Cup Series champions Kyle Busch (13th), Joey Logano (14th), Brad Keselowski (15th), and Martin Truex Jr. (24th), as well as Harrison Burton (34th), whose Wood Brothers Racing team owns a series-best six Cup Series victories in the Irish Hills.

Defending race winner Chris Buescher, who is still in the mix to make this year’s 16-driver playoff field, will start 18th for Sunday’s 400-miler in the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Broadcast coverage of Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.