Denny Hamlin to Start From Pole at Michigan after Rain Washes Out Qualifying
For the second consecutive week, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin will lead the field in the NASCAR Cup Series to the green flag. However, this week at Michigan International Speedway, the driver of the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE got an assist from Mother Nature.
Rain washed out roughly half of Saturday's FireKeepers Casino 400 practice session, which was paced by Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain. With a massive storm cell approaching the speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, NASCAR opted to cancel qualifying.
As a result, the 36-car starting lineup was set by the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, which means drivers and teams will line up based on their NASCAR Performance Metric Values. By virtue of having the lowest value (2.550), Hamlin secured the top spot in the starting lineup. While he'll start from the top spot, Hamlin will not be credited with his 44th career NASCAR Cup Series pole, as NASCAR doesn't officially tally pole positions in these situations.
Lining up alongside Hamlin in Sunday's race at Michigan will be Tyler Reddick, who drives the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing, the team that Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan. Reddick enters the weekend just five points behind Kyle Larson for the regular-season point lead. The regular-season champion is awarded 15 Playoff Points at the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, those Playoff Points carry through to every round, as do the Playoff Points accrued for race wins and Stage Wins throughout the season.
There are three races, counting Sunday's contest at Michigan International Speedway, remaining until the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Row 2 of Sunday's race will be occupied by Christopher Bell, in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE and Larson, who drives the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Bubba Wallace, who is still looking to secure his berth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, will start from the fifth position. Heading into this race, Wallace finds himself 15th in the 16-driver Playoff Grid, and he is just three points ahead of Ross Chastain, who is the first driver on the outside looking in.
Related: TRD Working Closely with Suppiers to Cure Recent Engine Issues
Chase Elliott, the third-place man in the hard-fought regular-season championship battle at just six points behind Larson, will start alongside Wallace driving the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Austin Dillon will round out the top 10 starters for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400.
Dillon won last weekend's race but was penalized by NASCAR earlier this week for the moves he made on the final lap of last weekend's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway to score said win. NASCAR stripped the automatic Playoff Berth for Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team as part of the sanctions, and they also docked the driver and team 25 driver and owner points. Additionally, Dillon's spotter Brandon Benesch has been suspended for three races, including this weekend's event, where he will be replaced by Brett Griffin.
Richard Childress Racing intends to appeal the penalties.
TOBY CHRISTIE