Posted on by Holly Cain

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.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Michigan

Only an hour earlier during practice, Hamlin cut a left-rear tire and was unable to participate in the full session as his team made repairs, making the pole win all the more remarkable and dramatic. He did admit, however, the No. 11 team will make repairs to the vehicle’s underbody and start from the rear Sunday.

“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.

Posted on by Zack Albert

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Corey Heim’s time came at the wrong time for Kaden Honeycutt, his foil and his teammate in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series showdown at Michigan International Speedway. The Tricon Garage stablemates wound up being a 1-2 combination on the leaderboard, but a dramatic 1-2 punch of final-lap blocks by Heim put the two at odds.

Heim, last year’s series champion, won for the third time in five races in his partial Truck Series schedule before he launches to the Cup Series next year. Honeycutt, the driver who replaced him in Tricon’s No. 11 Toyota, finished a scant 0.065 seconds behind in the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics to mark his third runner-up result this season.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

Heim’s tactics, though, left Honeycutt stewing on an already steamy Saturday afternoon.

“Thank God it was a company truck ’cause I definitely wouldn’t have lifted in that situation,” Honeycutt said. “Just, it just sucks. I felt like I’ve given so many away this year, and I think that’s what’s angered me the most, for sure. Just unfortunate.”

Honeycutt led just one lap — the 99th of 125 — before Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar briefly took command. Hocevar eventually faded to third place after Heim took a lead on Lap 111 that he would hold to the end.

Hanging onto that lead became a bigger challenge after Honeycutt dispatched Hocevar for second place and closed in on the white-flag lap. He looked low then high on Heim at the end of the high-speed frontstretch, but Heim aggressively blocked each advance. Honeycutt recovered by the final lap’s end, but Heim kept him at bay one last time to deny Honeycutt his second career win.

Asked about the proper decorum when racing teammates for the win, Heim was less than sympathetic.

“Just get thicker skin and deal with it,” Heim said. “That’s honestly my advice to him.”

MORE: Craftsman Truck Series standings | Craftsman Truck Series schedule

Honeycutt may not have many more opportunities this season to be a concern for his teammate. Heim believed he had two more Truck Series races scheduled this year with the Tricon group, but was unsure of their timing.

Instead, Honeycutt was left with a sour taste from a tough tussle among teammates.

“When is it not? I don’t know, I’m just frustrated,” Honeycutt said. “We just need to work together better. That’s just really it. That’s all there is to it.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Michigan is the home state for three current NASCAR Cup Series competitors — RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar — and all are looking for their first victory at Michigan International Speedway in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

When it comes to competing there, the 2012 series champion Keselowski and another former champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, have the most runner-up finishes (three) without a win among active drivers.

RELATED: Michigan schedule | At-track photos

The owner-driver of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford has 16 top 10s in 28 career Michigan races, including four of the last five series visits. His runner-up runs came in 2020, 2018 and his championship 2012 season. He owns a pair of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victories at the 2-mile track, winning in back-to-back seasons (2009-10).

His RFK team has the most wins (14) historically of any organization at Michigan.

“When we go, it’s a win that would really mean a lot for me to get,” said Keselowski, 42, the Rochester Hills native, noting that he still has a lot of family in the area. “Michigan now has those three full-time Cup drivers, so really well-covered.”

Smiling when reminded he’s the only champion among the group, Keselowski grinned and said, “I’ve just got to be a champion in that [Michigan] race.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones isn’t just enthused about racing this weekend because it’s in his home state, but because he seriously thinks the team’s progress this season could result in a trophy soon. Perhaps even on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 30-year-old from Byron, Michigan — a 70-mile drive from the Michigan track — has improved on his race finishes in the famous No. 43 Toyota four of the last five races. His best showings in 2026 are a pair of 10th-place finishes, and he’s finished 11th or better in three of the last four Michigan contests. Jones’ best showing at the track is third, which came during his 2017 rookie season.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | At-track photos

“I think we are in a better spot,” Jones said Saturday about his Michigan expectations. “It’s funny, I looked at the points position at this point last year, and we aren’t a whole lot different, but I think as a group we are running consistently better. We’ve had a great stretch here for a month of showing up each week and having good cars and running well. A couple of execution things have kept us from a few better finishes, and some strange strategies have kept us from some stage points, especially last week in Nashville.

“I think overall, we are in a better spot. I think there are so many little things that we can do better still, which is frustrating but good. To have performance like we are currently having and know there are little things that we need to work on and improve, there is value in that. For me, yeah, I’ve been happy with the direction, happy with my team.”

MORE: Legacy Motor Club website

Posted on by Holly Cain

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is considered a perennial NASCAR Cup Series championship contender, finishing fifth or better in the title chase four of the last five seasons. He’s earned 13 wins and claimed top-10 finishes in nearly half of his starts — 113 such finishes in 230 total races.

However, the lone active track the 31-year-old Oklahoman hasn’t earned a NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish? Michigan International Speedway, where the field will race on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Michigan results hub

The No. 20 JGR Toyota driver has a best finish of 13th at Michigan — three times, including in 2023, when he started from pole position. He’s led only 37 laps in seven starts and crashed out in two of the last four races there.

But there is reason an upswing could be on the horizon. He finished sixth in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the 2-miler, sweeping both stages and leading 37 laps. And he’s very optimistic about improving his Cup Series fortunes at the big track.

“Michigan, on paper, that’s my worst track, but I’m always super fast and competitive there,” Bell said, smiling at the irony. “I’m very much looking forward to going there. I’m sad we’re only going there once a year, but I’m looking forward to trying to get a good result there. It’s a fun race track. I have a lot of fun racing there.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Several notable NASCAR Cup Series drivers will start from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR announced.

William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will drop to the rear because of a mechanical issue with the car’s charging system, the team announced Sunday morning. Byron had qualified ninth.

MORE: Michigan schedule | Cup standings

Additionally, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of teammate Christopher Bell are also slated to start from the rear. Hamlin earned the Busch Light Pole Award on Saturday, while Bell qualified eighth. Fellow Toyota driver Erik Jones will also start from the rear after qualifying 10th.

On the Ford side, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry will also drop to the rear after qualifying 31st and 37th, respectively.

Separately, two teams were penalized for infractions during Saturday’s pre-race technical inspection.

The No. 17 RFK Racing Ford for driver Chris Buescher failed inspection on each of its first two attempts before passing on its third. The same occurred for the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet, which will be driven this week by JJ Yeley.

As a result, both teams lost pit-selection privileges for Sunday’s race. Additionally, each team’s car chief was ejected from the event. No. 17 car chief Joshua Sisco and No. 44 car chief Lee Leslie are sidelined for the race weekend.

Posted on by Staff Report

All States Materials Group 150

Oxford Plains Raceway

  • Starting lineup
Pos.  Car No. Driver Sponsor
1 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh
3 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power
4 79 Jon McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Hillsboro Ent.; Leone’s Landscaping
5 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power
6 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing
7 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP
8 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports
9 31 Mike Christopher Jr. Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing
10 05 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel
11 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power
12 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Avenue Materials
13 73 Paulie Hartwig III* Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting
14 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services
15 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines
16 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory
17 84 Tyler Catalano Catalano Motorsports
18 17 Anthony Nocella Bells Septic; Sontag Motorsports; Copart; Xtreme Autobody; Keene Towing & Recovery

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

Reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim held off a dramatic checkered-flag charge — in lapped traffic — from his Tricon Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt to claim the win at the iconic Michigan International Speedway in Saturday’s DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics.

It’s Heim’s 26th career victory, but first ever on the 2-mile Michigan high banks, giving him series wins now on 22 different tracks — second best all-time; only NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. has won at more venues with 31. It’s also Heim’s third win in only five Truck starts this season and comes a week after announcing he will join the championship-leading 23XI Racing organization full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2027.

Heim’s No. 1 Tricon Toyota passed the day’s most dominant truck, driven by Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar with 15 laps remaining and crossed the line only 0.065 seconds ahead of Honeycutt’s No. 11 Tricon Toyota — the truck Heim drove to the championship last season.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

He immediately thanked Honeycutt for the push forward in the final laps — his only laps out front all day — acknowledging the help put just enough distance on Hocevar, who led a race-best 65 of the 125 laps.

“We discussed it pre-race that we were going to race it out in the end, and that’s what we did,” the 23-year-old Georgia native Heim said. “He tried to get to my right rear there, which would have probably won the race and I had to protect it.

“Props to Kaden there and to [fellow Toyota driver] Christopher Bell, I don’t know where he ended up, but he was strong all day. The last couple laps there at the end, were pretty awesome.

“That was a lot of fun, I had a blast,” he added.

The 21-year-old Honeycutt certainly kept Heim honest in the closing run to the checkered, hoping to earn his second career win, matching his work at Watkins Glen in May.

“Good race there at the end, us five up there and I’m sure it was a good race for the fans so that was good,” Honeycutt said. “It was unfortunate I didn’t get the win there. Just feel like I’ve lost too many of them on my part so I think that’s what bothers me the most.”

Although boosted by a strong showing all day at his “home track,” the Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, was clearly disappointed with his finish, explaining his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet truck had been overheating all day. He was hoping to win for the hometown crowd and especially for his mother, who is celebrating her birthday this weekend.

“Everyone did a good job,” he said, adding, “Just sucks we didn’t close it out there. Felt like I could have done a better job, but don’t know what I could have done differently. Would like to see what I would have had full power.

“A lot of reasons to win here at Michigan.”

Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs rounded out the top five — an especially valiant effort from Riggs, who went a lap down early after a pit-stop issue. A winner in the previous two races, Riggs’ comeback to fifth place keeps him atop the championship standings by 26 points over Honeycutt.

Bell finished sixth in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Toyota after sweeping both stage wins and leading 37 laps — one of six race leaders on the afternoon. Fellow Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr was seventh, followed by Connor Mosack, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum.

Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland rallied from a late-race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags — and finished 25th on the lead lap in only his second series start.

After six consecutive races, the trucks go into an off week and will return to action Friday, June 19, in the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego (7 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Heim as the race winner. The Nos. 12, 38, 52 and 91 trucks will be taken by NASCAR for additional wind-tunnel testing at Aerodyn in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Posted on by Staff Report

All States Materials Group 150

Oxford Plains Raceway

  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Hillsboro Ent.; Leone’s Landscaping 15.376 87.799 5 25
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh 15.505 87.069 3 23 0.129
3 73 Paulie Hartwig* Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 15.547 86.833 29 29 0.171
4 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 15.568 86.716 6 28 0.192
5 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 15.586 86.616 4 35 0.21
6 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 15.587 86.611 20 20 0.211
7 17 Anthony Nocella Bells Septic; Sontag Motorsports; Copart; Xtreme Autobody; Keene Towing & Recovery 15.602 86.527 18 18 0.226
8 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 15.619 86.433 5 27 0.243
9 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 15.65 86.262 9 10 0.274
10 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 15.668 86.163 13 15 0.292
11 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 15.675 86.124 12 29 0.299
12 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 15.683 86.08 15 24 0.307
13 31 Michael Christopher Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 15.698 85.998 4 22 0.322
14 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 15.708 85.943 12 26 0.332
15 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Avenue Materials 15.713 85.916 11 27 0.337
16 84 Tyler Catalano Catalano Motorsports 15.722 85.867 11 17 0.346
17 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 15.748 85.725 4 23 0.372
18 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services 15.909 84.858 5 26 0.533

 

Posted on by Staff Report

All States Materials Group 150

Oxford Plains Raceway

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Hillsboro Ent.; Leone’s Landscaping 15.286 88.316 5 34
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh 15.488 87.164 7 50 0.202
3 73 Paulie Hartwig* Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 15.579 86.655 4 21 0.293
4 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 15.58 86.65 5 31 0.294
5 17 Anthony Nocella Bells Septic; Sontag Motorsports; Copart; Xtreme Autobody; Keene Towing & Recovery 15.6 86.538 26 35 0.314
6 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 15.603 86.522 8 59 0.317
7 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 15.605 86.511 27 43 0.319
8 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 15.61 86.483 6 31 0.324
9 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 15.623 86.411 4 37 0.337
10 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 15.63 86.372 9 39 0.344
11 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Avenue Materials 15.648 86.273 6 35 0.362
12 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 15.656 86.229 9 43 0.37
13 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 15.685 86.069 6 36 0.399
14 84 Tyler Catalano Catalano Motorsports 15.7 85.987 6 58 0.414
15 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 15.75 85.714 5 27 0.464
16 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services 15.809 85.394 5 38 0.523
17 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 15.837 85.243 27 29 0.551
18 31 Michael Christopher Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 15.894 84.938 4 34 0.608