The last driver to make a qualifying run around Michigan International Speedway on Saturday evening, Denny Hamlin claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — dashing Michigan native Carson Hocevar’s hopes for 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 0.018 seconds around the 2-mile Michigan high banks and gives the NASCAR veteran — and defending Michigan race winner — 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 his thumb and forefinger close together — for taking the qualifying win.
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“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 Craftsman Truck Series race, only to finish third. A first-time 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 [on 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.”
Championship leader Tyler Reddick was third fastest in the No. 45 Toyota that Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend 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 of 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 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.
Reddick tops practice session
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s practice session at 192.622 mph, ahead of Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott (192.200 mph) and Kyle Larson (191.403 mph).
Chris Buescher (191.367 mph) and Denny Hamlin (191.342 mph) rounded out the top five.
Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar completed the top 10.
MORE: Practice results
In the Group 1 practice session, the caution came out for Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, who had a flat left-rear tire and stalled on track. The same thing happened to Denny Hamlin in Group 2, as the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota caused the second and final stoppage of practice.
Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell suffered a flat left-front tire entering Turn 1, but he was able to drive his No. 20 Toyota back to the pits without bringing out the caution.
Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones also had a flat left-rear tire and made his way back to the No. 43 pit box.
Contributing: Staff reports.