Denny Hamlin wins the pole for Michigan NASCAR Cup race
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
BROOKLYN, Mich.—The last driver to make a qualifying run around Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon, Denny Hamlin claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – dashing Michigan native Carson Hocevar’s hopes for some home state glory in the final minutes of the session.
Hamlin’s lap of 195.117 mph in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota bettered Hocevar’s run in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet by a slight .018-second around the two-mile Michigan high-banks and gives the veteran – and defending Michigan race winner – Hamlin 50 career NASCAR Cup Series pole positions.
After climbing out of his Toyota, the 45-year-old Hamlin walked over to the 23-year-old Hocevar on pit road, where they spoke briefly and hugged. Hamlin smiled and joked that he only felt “this bad” holding up a nearly-touching thumb and forefinger for taking the qualifying win.
Only an hour earlier during practice Hamlin’s car had a tire issue and he was unable to participate in the full session as his team made repairs, making the pole win all the more remarkable and dramatic.
“They did a great job accounting for the damage on the bottom side (of his car), they re-balanced it but it was a handful – all I wanted, certainly,” said Hamlin, who won from pole position last week at Nashville. “That was surprising.
“That was the limit for sure,” Hamlin said.
Hocevar was clearly disappointed in the qualifying outcome. Earlier in the afternoon, he led the most laps in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race only to finish third. A first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Talladega in April, Hocevar insisted, however, he was still optimistic about his chances come Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a testament to these guys, they do a really good job,” Hocevar said. “Yeah, I would have loved to have that there, but third in the truck race {Saturday afternoon} and second in Cup qualifying, hopefully that’s a trend there.
“I feel like it’s a really good race car, one of the best I’ve had here. So, I hope it translates tomorrow. I feel really good about our race car so starting out front is super important.
“I know it’s just qualifying, but damn, I didn’t know I wanted it this much here. Just means a lot for so many reasons.”
Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick (who topped Saturday practice) was third fastest in the No. 45 Toyota that Hamlin co-owns with NBA superstar Michael Jordan. Hamlin’s JGR teammates Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe were next quickest giving Toyota four of the top-five starting positions.
Chase Elliott was the top qualifying Chevrolet in sixth place. Chris Buescher, the 2023 Michigan winner was the top qualifying Ford in 14th place. Ford has a Michigan track record 44 wins – 18 more than Chevrolet and 37 more than Toyota, however Toyota has won the last two races (Reddick in 2024 and Hamlin in 2025).
The last polesitter to win at Michigan from pole was Team Penske’s Joey Logano in 2019. In fact, Logano’s three Michigan wins (2019, 2016, 2013) all came from pole position. He’ll start 18th Sunday.
Starting Line Up by Row
Michigan International Speedway
FireKeepers Casino 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 6/6/2026 @ 07:18 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett 06/13/99 2:17:56 173.997
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 11 Denny Hamlin National Debt Relief Toyota 36.901 195.117
2 77 Carson Hocevar Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 36.919 195.022
Row 2: 3 45 Tyler Reddick ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota 36.929 194.969
4 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 36.953 194.842
Row 3: 5 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 36.956 194.826
6 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 36.958 194.816
Row 4: 7 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 36.967 194.768
8 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 37.003 194.579
Row 5: 9 24 William Byron Axalta Solar Boost Chevrolet 37.038 194.395
10 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 37.090 194.122
Row 6: 11 7 Daniel Suarez NationsGuard Chevrolet 37.121 193.960
12 35 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota 37.127 193.929
Row 7: 13 23 Bubba Wallace Columbia Toyota 37.133 193.898
14 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Oscar Mayer/The Rustik Oven Ford 37.186 193.621
Row 8: 15 41 Cole Custer Air Lift Chevrolet 37.205 193.522
16 38 Zane Smith Aaron's Rent To Own Ford 37.213 193.481
Row 9: 17 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 37.240 193.340
18 22 Joey Logano Autotrader Ford 37.257 193.252
Row 10: 19 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 37.258 193.247
20 71 Michael McDowell Garner Trucking Chevrolet 37.277 193.149
Row 11: 21 3 Austin Dillon Dow Mobility Services Chevrolet 37.277 193.149
22 4 Noah Gragson Ribbiot Ford 37.341 192.818
Row 12: 23 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Pylon Aviation Chevrolet 37.342 192.812
24 10 Ty Dillon Patriot Mobile Chevrolet 37.408 192.472
Row 13: 25 16 AJ Allmendinger Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 37.457 192.220
26 6 Brad Keselowski Solomon Plumbing Ford 37.476 192.123
Row 14: 27 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 37.551 191.739
28 33 Austin Hill(i) Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet 37.553 191.729
Row 15: 29 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 37.561 191.688
30 97 Shane Van Gisbergen SafetyCulture Chevrolet 37.562 191.683
Row 16: 31 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 37.667 191.149
32 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 37.690 191.032
Row 17: 33 51 Cody Ware Super.com Chevrolet 37.715 190.905
34 88 Connor Zilisch # WeatherTech Chevrolet 37.720 190.880
Row 18: 35 34 Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 37.730 190.830
36 44 JJ Yeley(i) Fanatics Casino Chevrolet 38.570 186.674
Row 19: 37 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 0.000 0.000
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 18 0 Ford 10 0
Toyota 9 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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