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.”
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.
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.
Starting Line Up by Row
Michigan International Speedway
49th Annual FireKeepers Casino 400
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1:
1 42 Kyle Larson Cars 3/Target Chevrolet 35.616 202.156
2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 35.623 202.117
Row 2:
3 14 Clint Bowyer Haas-Automation Ford 35.703 201.664
4 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Red White & Blue Toyota 35.728 201.523
Row 3:
5 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 35.761 201.337
6 21 Ryan Blaney Omnicraft Auto Parts Ford 35.847 200.854
Row 4:
7 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 35.862 200.770
8 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 35.867 200.742
Row 5:
9 20 Matt Kenseth Freightliner Toyota 35.869 200.730
10 24 Chase Elliott NAPA Chevrolet 35.932 200.378
Row 6:
11 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford 35.963 200.206
12 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 35.991 200.050
Row 7:
13 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 35.945 200.306
14 77 Erik Jones # 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota 35.968 200.178
Row 8:
15 41 Kurt Busch Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford 36.052 199.712
16 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 36.114 199.369
Row 9:
17 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mountain Dew Chevrolet 36.140 199.225
18 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 36.188 198.961
Row 10:
19 31 Ryan Newman Velveeta Chevrolet 36.234 198.708
20 19 Daniel Suarez # Stanley Toyota 36.266 198.533
Row 11:
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 36.268 198.522
22 95 Michael McDowell WRL General Contractors Chevrolet 36.325 198.211
Row 12:
23 10 Danica Patrick TaxAct Ford 36.405 197.775
24 37 Chris Buescher Kingsford Chevrolet 36.451 197.525
Row 13:
25 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 36.459 197.482
26 43 Darrell Wallace Jr.(i) Smithfield Ford 36.474 197.401
Row 14:
27 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 36.519 197.158
28 32 Matt DiBenedetto Keen Parts Ford 36.693 196.223
Row 15:
29 38 David Ragan Shriners Hospitals for Children Ford 36.776 195.780
30 27 Paul Menard NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet 36.807 195.615
Row 16:
31 23 Ryan Sieg(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 37.177 193.668
32 83 Corey LaJoie # JAS Expedited Trucking Toyota 37.408 192.472
Row 17:
33 72 Cole Whitt RTIC Coolers Chevrolet 37.594 191.520
34 15 Reed Sorenson Corrigan Oil Chevrolet 37.834 190.305
Row 18:
35 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Hulu Chevrolet 37.895 189.999
36 34 Landon Cassill MDS Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 19:
37 13 Ty Dillon # Twisted Tea Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Did Not Qualify: None.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
