See above for where your favorite driver will be pitting for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Starting lineup for Sunday’s race | See every car in the field
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Martin Truex Jr. thought he had the pole for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 — until Kyle Larson made the last run in the final round of Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.
Driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, Larson, who won the first Cup race of his career last August at MIS, covered the two-mile distance in 35.616 seconds (202.156 mph), edging Truex (202.117 mph) for the top starting spot by a scant .007 seconds.
“We made some good adjustments there for that final round,” said Larson, who earned his first Coors Light Pole Award at Michigan, his second of the season and the third of his career. “I was pretty good in the first round and a little bit tight in the second round. They went a step further on freeing it up for the final round and the ‘Cars 3’ Chevy drove good.
“I could tell by the RPM and the engine it was going to be a pretty good lap, so I was happy about that to get the pole after winning here last year. So, hopefully, we can keep it going. So far, it’s been a really good weekend leading in (opening) practice and then getting the quick time here. So, yeah, it’s an exciting weekend, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
RELATED: Full schedule for Michigan and Gateway
Truex went all-out on his lap in the money round, with his car bottoming out and trailing a stream of sparks though the corners at each end of the track.
“You’re just hoping the tires stick enough that it doesn’t turn you sideways or make you get tight or whatever,” Truex said of the lap. “It really feels like the car rides really rough. That’s really all it is. It doesn’t upset the car too much, if it’s just light contact.
“You’ve got to get it down to go fast, and the guys did a good job of getting it down — that’s for sure.”
As fast as his final lap was, Truex will start second for the third consecutive race, having lost poles at Dover and Pocono to Kyle Busch.
“It’s a little disappointing,” Truex said. “I thought we had it there, but Kyle went out late and beat us. But, really, you’re never shocked. It’s really hard to put a perfect lap together. There’s always something you could do a little bit better, and our lap in the third round was the same way… We picked up a good chunk in the third round, but, obviously, Larson picked up a tiny bit more.”
Clint Bowyer matched his best qualifying effort of the season and will start third on Sunday. Kyle Busch qualified fourth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Pocono winner Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray.
GALLERY: Best photos from Michigan and Gateway
Kevin Harvick, who was fastest in each of the first two rounds of Friday’s time trials, fell off the pace in the third round and will start 11th.
“We just got really loose there in the last round,” Harvick said. “We were really good the first two, but something changed. I like the speed in race trim. We have some work to do for Sunday.”
Chase Elliott, who will start 10th, was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to make the final round, as seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was bumped out of the top 12 by Matt Kenseth on the last run of the second round.
Johnson qualified 13th, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned the 17th starting spot.
In his second race in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford as a substitute driver for injured Aric Almirola, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. will start 26th.
Ty Dillon will start from the rear on Sunday after his time was disallowed because of unapproved modifications to the body of his No. 13 Chevrolet during qualifying.
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Michigan International Speedway has already been the site of a historic first for Daniel Suarez, who launched to his breakthrough NASCAR XFINITY Series victory here just a year ago.
Back in the Great Lakes State, the ground seems fertile with potential for another landmark victory. Suarez has since made the jump to his rookie year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, which has enjoyed a flurry of first-time winners with more than half the season still to run.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and last week’s first-timer, Ryan Blaney, are the newest drivers on the list. Is Suarez next? Friday at Michigan, he said he’s getting closer to the neighborhood.
“Seeing all these kind of victories always gives you like an extra boost to keep working and keep digging because already Ryan and I, we’ve been racing together for a long time since the K&N days,” Suarez said Friday, ahead of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). “Austin, obviously we’ve been racing for a while in the XFINITY Series, and it’s very cool to see this new generation of drivers being successful in NASCAR. I was very, very happy for Ryan last week — that was an incredible race and incredible win.
“Overall, I feel like we have to keep working on ourselves. We have to keep working on the race team. I feel like, like I said, we’re getting better, but it’s not easy. It’s not easy to win races in the Cup Series. It’s not easy at all. You have to get there and then one day put everything together to get that win. I feel like now, we are getting more comfortable running in the top 10. We have to keep working to make that top 10, be a top five and after that I feel like we can have a shot every weekend. Once you start running in the top five, you can be a contender.”
The gains have been modest thus far for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota camp. In the past four races, he has a seventh place (Kansas) and a career-best sixth (Dover) to show for his improvement.
That development has come even as the No. 19 team has undergone transition, announcing an indefinite personal leave for crew chief Dave Rogers on March 29. Scott Graves — who helped guide Suarez to the XFINITY Series championship last season — has filled in as an interim replacement, atop the pit box for a premier-series team for the first time since 2013.
Suarez said he’s strengthened his communication with Graves in the nine races since the change, but also expressed his best wishes for Rogers’ speedy return.
“Scott has been doing great, just as I was expecting,” Suarez said. “He’s a great guy outside the race track. We get along very well and he’s a very smart person. The only thing that he needed was some time and to gain some experience at the Cup level as a crew chief, so I feel like he’s been great. I feel like we are getting better every weekend and we had a little hard time last weekend in Pocono, but, you know, that happens to every single race team out there, so I feel like overall we have learned a lot together and we’re moving in the right direction.
“About Dave Rogers, I just hope that he comes back soon to Joe Gibbs Racing to be a part of the family. He’s a great person as well, a great crew chief with a lot of experience and I hope he comes back because the last time I heard from him he was doing much better and things are getting better, so I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe he’ll come back to do something at the race team one day.”
BUY TICKETS: See the races at Michigan
MORE: Practice results
Kyle Larson topped the leaderboard in Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway at 200.798 mph in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
Right behind Larson was Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 200.619 mph.
Rounding out the top five were Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, series points leader Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
HMS announced earlier Friday morning that Johnson, a seven-time champion, had signed an extension with the team.
RELATED: Johnson locked up for long run | Wants Knaus by his side
With less than two minutes remaining in the session, Landon Cassill backed his No. 34 Front Row Racing Ford into the wall, incurring significant damage. He will go to a backup, the team announced on Twitter.
The cars of Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones were held 15 minutes to begin practice as penalty for failing pre-race inspection at Pocono twice.
The next on-track activity for the Monster Energy Series at Michigan is Coors Light Qualifying at 4:15 p.m. ET on FS2.
RELATED: How to find FS2 on your TV
RELATED: Johnson inks contract extension
BROOKLYN, Mich. — The power trio of Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and primary sponsor Lowe’s has been an enduring combination since Johnson’s first season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2002.
Friday’s announcement of contract extensions at Hendrick Motorsports will keep Johnson in the fold through 2020 and Lowe’s on the No. 48 Chevrolet through 2018. But Knaus?
“I think I’ve got another year to try to convince him,” Johnson said before the opening of on-track activity Friday at Michigan International Speedway. “He has another year on his contract, and I’m sure discussions will take place about an extension for him. But he at least has another year. You know, I’ve started this with him and I’ve said it before, I want to finish it with him, so I’ll keep leaning on him.”
Leaning or not, Knaus smiled when asked about his status.
“Look, we’ve been together for a long time obviously,” Knaus said after the series’ opening practice at the 2-mile track. “Great friends, great teammates all the way around with Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie. I don’t think the future is written in stone, but it’s looking good, how’s that.”
Knaus, 45, came to Hendrick Motorsports after one year serving as crew chief with Melling Racing and driver Stacy Compton. Since joining Hendrick for Johnson’s rookie year, Knaus has been a driving force behind the team’s success, which has seen Johnson rack up 83 career wins and seven series championships.
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Johnson indicated he’s still motivated to achieve milestones beyond those already impressive numbers, and that the end of his contract and end of his career are not necessarily synonymous. Knaus agreed.
“At the rate he’s going, I don’t see why it would change too much by then,” Knaus said of his driver’s determination. “He’d still be very young in relative terms, obviously maybe a little bit older as some of the drivers go, but his ability is there, his desire is there, his physical fitness is definitely there, so as long as he wants to drive, he’s going to have an opportunity to do it. And he’ll know when that time is before anybody else.”
As for Knaus’ ability, desire and fitness?
“I enjoy the hell out of what I do. I really do,” Knaus said. “I have the best job in the world. I mean, I work for the best race team, I’ve got the best driver, I’ve got the best sponsor, and they keep asking me to come back, so it’s pretty good.”
While he struck a hopeful tone about keeping the pairing intact, Johnson seemed to acknowledge the week-in, week-out demands on a crew chief at NASCAR’s highest level.
“Crew-chief years, I’d like to call them dog years,” Johnson said. “I don’t have a clear picture on where that will take him, but I’ll do my best to keep him around as long as I can.”
WATCH: Alon Day talks about the whirlwind leading up to debut
Alon Day will become the first driver from Israel to ever compete in NASCAR’s top series next weekend in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 driving the BK Racing No. 23 EarthWater Limited Toyota Camry. Day, a 25 year-old native of Tel Aviv, Israel, was named Israel’s 2016 “Athlete of the Year.”
As a result of his outstanding achievements in NASCAR’s Euro Series, Day has the unique distinction of being the first stock car driver from outside of North America to be selected for the NASCAR NEXT program, an initiative to feature NASCAR’s future stars. Day comes to Sonoma upon the heels of being crowned “King of Brands Hatch”, as a result of last week’s victory in the NASCAR Whelen Euro race in England. Day intends to compete for the 2017 NASCAR Euro Series Championship with plans to race again in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, as well as select races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series the remainder of the 2017 season.
RELATED: NASCAR Next drivers in national series | More on Day’s win
EarthWater Limited, the official water provider of BK Racing, will be on board Day’s Toyota at Sonoma Raceway. EarthWater was first introduced to NASCAR earlier this season when they were on board the BK Racing Toyotas for the Martinsville, Texas, and Charlotte races.
“I’m very excited to make my debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next week in Sonoma,” said Day. “Being the first Israeli who is going to race in NASCAR’s highest series is a dream come true. I must thank BK Racing, EarthWater Limited, as well as Hall of Famer Franco Harris, Super Bakery, and Silversport for giving me this awesome opportunity.”
“We’re excited to partner with BK Racing for this groundbreaking moment in NASCAR’s history which features an amazing driver who will be competing at the highest level with world class drivers,” said EarthWater President, Cash Riley Jr. “With increasing numbers of issues around dehydration in all sports, especially during the summer, we are honored to offer a solution and bring awareness to a life-threatening issue. We’re looking forward to the celebration of diversity at Sonoma and the continued expansion of our global brand.”
“I like giving new drivers an opportunity, and Alon is a great road course driver,” said team owner, Ron Devine. “He has been successful in other series around the world and deserves a shot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.”
RELATED: Johnson wants Knaus by his side
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Hendrick Motorsports announced a three-year contract extension for seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson on Friday, keeping him with the No. 48 Chevrolet team through 2020.
The organization also announced an extension with primary sponsor Lowe’s, which will continue its longtime backing of the team through 2018.
Though the 41-year-old driver’s immediate future in the sport is settled for now, Johnson said it’s presumptuous to link the duration of his contract to the definitive endpoint of his career.
“I think in all fairness to the questions and to myself, any contract I sign right now with my age is probably going to raise questions,” Johnson said before the opening of on-track activity this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. “I get it, but I don’t have a vision of if it’s three (years), if it’s five, if it’s seven, I don’t know. I do know I’m having a great time and I don’t want to stop right now.”
Johnson has slowed little in his unfettered pursuit of stock-car racing history. This season, the 16-year veteran has a series-best three victories, which have raised his career total to 83 — tied for sixth place on the all-time list with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough. Johnson won the most recent of his record-tying seven series championships in 2016, drawing even with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
RELATED: Jimmie, Cale highlights through years | Side-by-side photos
Friday, he indicated there’s plenty of motivation to build upon his already impressive resume.
“I’ve said it before and continued to say that when the fire does go out, I will step down,” Johnson said. “I don’t have any framework now on a timeline. I just know that I’ve got three more years of trying to go out there and win championships and win races. I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been and as focused and dedicated on doing my job.
“We will see how these three years go and certainly from my standpoint I hope to collect another big trophy and then lots of other race trophies along the way and have some fun.”
The news adds some bedrock stability to Hendrick Motorsports, which is currently in a time of transition. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, the sport’s third-winningest driver all-time, retired from full-time competition after the 2015 campaign. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver and a fixture at Hendrick since 2008, has indicated he’ll follow suit at the end of this season.
RELATED: NASCAR’s all-time winningest drivers
The drivers may be changing, but Johnson said the perpetual constants have been team owner Rick Hendrick and his commitment to winning.
“The sport is always changing and evolving and how we win and how we stay on top has changed so much since I started in 2002,” Johnson said. “I have full confidence and trust in him and where he takes the team. Sitting in closed-door meetings I know that there is a lot of options being explored, and I know in Rick’s heart that it’s all to put the best four cars on the race track for Hendrick Motorsports and win races and championships. It’s hard to tell where it’s going to go, but my faith is in Rick.”
That faith has been rewarded by seemingly no surprises in contract negotiations over the years between the two sides, though Johnson has stopped short of a longer-term commitment. Gordon famously signed a “lifetime” contract with Hendrick Motorsports in the fall of 1999, an agreement that stretched over another 16 years of racing.
Still, fans probably can’t imagine Johnson in anything other than the No. 48. Though he hasn’t chosen to pursue a lifetime deal, Johnson said he can’t imagine driving anywhere else, either.
“I’ve had some discussions and that was in play at one point in time, but we just elected to go a different route,” Johnson said. “Rick and I have always said to one another on our word that I always have a spot at Hendrick Motorsports, and I’ve always told him I’m never going anywhere. Instead of it being necessarily a statement and shown through a lifetime contract we have just had a handshake and agreement amongst friends that I’ve got a car and I’ve always told him I’m never going anywhere.”
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As Denny Hamlin and his two special guests — U.S. military veterans — pulled up to the first tee at Walt Disney World’s Shades of Green resort Thursday morning, the 2016 Daytona 500 winner dropped some big news on the crowd of reporters watching.
“Mickey Mouse and I share the same birthday (November 18),’’ Hamlin, 36, said, smiling.
And as impressive as that statistic was, Hamlin’s golf swing was even better.
His two playing partners, U.S. Army veteran Joe Eason and U.S. Marines veteran Sean Rego were clearly having big moments, too, enjoying the time with one of their favorite NASCAR drivers. Hamlin presented the pair with tickets to the upcoming, July 1 Coke Zero 400 — the race he was in Florida to promote on Thursday.
“They are a prime example of why we celebrate Independence Day,’’ Hamlin said of the veterans.
A few surprises for veterans Sean Rego & Joe Eason
☑️Tix to the #CokeZero400
☑️Custom drinks from @CocaColaRacing
☑️@FedEx Denny die casts pic.twitter.com/u8vgnpculp— Daytona IntlSpeedway (@DISupdates) June 15, 2017
Hamlin is eager for another opportunity to celebrate — earning his first race win of the year. He and the rest of the four-driver Joe Gibbs Racing team — also including past Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, along with Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Daniel Suarez — are amazingly winless 14 races into the season.
Hamlin has a pair of top-five showings and six top-10 runs in this No. 11 FedEx Toyota, but a third place showing at his hometown Richmond, Virginia track is the closest he’s come to winning so far this season.
Encouragingly, he’s won at seven of the remaining 12 tracks leading into the playoffs, including this week’s venue, Michigan (in 2010 and 2011).
“There’s no way you’d imagine that,’’ Hamlin says of the O-fer the Gibbs crew has endured this season, adding with a smile, “You’d think it had to happen somewhere, even accidentally.
“But,’’ he added, “When you look at the list of winners and those that haven’t won, it’s like, ‘oh boy.’ It could actually be really tight getting into the playoffs this year. You either better be way up there in points, or you need a win. We’re not taking that for granted. We know we need to run well and get a win very soon.’’
Hamlin said he’s genuinely surprised that his championship JGR team is still looking for that first win of 2017.
“It is very bizarre,’’ he said. “Some of the races, we’ve been in position to win with the 18 (of Busch), mostly. But it’s a matter of time in my opinion and I wouldn’t be surprised that after we won the first, we’d win three in a row. It could happen in a hurry.
“I still think we have room to get better. It’s about executing and doing everything you need to do to win.”
Should Hamlin score a victory on the Daytona International Speedway high banks in three weeks, he would have won every type of NASCAR race at the sport’s most famous track. But with a trophy-less start to the season, a victory at Daytona isn’t just a historical achievement, it could also be a matter of championship necessity.
“To me, I feel like maybe our mile-and-a-half package or short track package isn’t where we need it to be but when we go to the superspeedways I always feel the field is level and there’s no reason why we can’t go out and win,’’ Hamlin said.
“Really with my success on the restrictor-plate racing tracks over the last five or six years, I always feel confident coming down here. I think right now, I’m not sure where the cut line is in the points, but it’s dangerously close to where I’m at. The only way I’d feel comfortable is getting a win. That’s the number one most important thing.
“We’ve had some surprise winners and any time you have three or four surprise winners in a season, that leaves very few spots for people to make it in on points. When it’s all said and done, hopefully at Richmond we’re resting easy at that point.”
RELATED: Buy tickets for Michigan
For the third consecutive year, Austin Dillon is set to pilot a very special Dow Chevrolet.
In addition to a fresh paint scheme, more than 1,100 names of veterans will be featured on the No. 3 car this weekend during the FireKeepers Casino 400 (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Michigan International Speedway. The names are those of Dow employees, contractors, family members and Richard Childress Racing employees.
The names of RCR employees include the president, Torrey Galida, who served in the Navy, as well as Dillon’s engine tuner, Frank Mathalia, who served in the Marines. The car was unveiled on Thursday night’s edition of Race Hub on FS1.
“In a show of appreciation for the contributions of veterans serving in the United States Armed Forces, and the knowledge and attributes they add to the workforce, it means a lot to be able to honor their service and sacrifice through the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet,” Dillon said.
“The No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet honors the service and sacrifice of more than 1,100 members of the Dow and Richard Childress Racing family. I have immense respect for the U.S. military, and it’s really special to know that many of the people I have formed relationships with at Dow have served and will be on the car with me this weekend.”
RELATED: Austin Dillon swaps gloves with servicemember
Dillon earned his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory last month in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.
In keeping with the military theme, Sunday’s pre-race activities at Michigan will also feature special guests. A group of 10 military members from the “Troops to the Track” program will be on pit road with Dillon before he climbs into his veterans Chevrolet for the 200-lap event.
“It is an honor to be one of the many Dow employees represented on the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet,” said Andrew Fry, the facility manager at the Dow AgroSciences Pittsburg, CA, site. “This is a tremendous opportunity to preserve, promote and acknowledge the virtues of military service.”
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 15, 2017) – Veteran stock car and open-wheel driver Sam Hornish Jr. will return to Team Penske this summer to compete in select NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) races for the team, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Hornish is currently scheduled to compete in both upcoming series events at Iowa Speedway (June 24 and July 29) and the NXS road course event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (August 12).
“I’m really excited to return to Team Penske and get the opportunity to drive the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in a few races this season,” said Hornish. “Team Penske continues to be one of the top teams in the XFINITY Series and I’m looking forward to once again working with them. Roger (Penske) and Team Penske have been a huge part of my racing career, so coming back here feels like home. I’m also really appreciative of everyone at Discount Tire for allowing me to take the reins of one of the most recognizable cars in the garage area.
“The new NASCAR eligibility rules also allow for drivers like me to compete in more races, so I hope to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Hornish experienced immense success with Team Penske in both INDYCAR and NASCAR during his previous stint with the team. After capturing two Verizon IndyCar Series Championships, Hornish joined Team Penske in 2004, racing for its famed open wheel team. Over the course of four INDYCAR seasons with Team Penske, Hornish earned eight wins – including a victory in the 2006 Indianapolis 500 – and a series championship in 2006.
The Ohio-native also made 130 starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and 99 starts in the XFINITY Series for Team Penske between 2006 and 2013. Hornish produced two NXS victories for the team and finished second in the series standings in 2013. Hornish has collected a total of four NXS victories over the course of his career, including at Iowa Speedway in both 2014 and 2016.
The team may also add additional races to Hornish’s schedule over the balance of the NXS season.