By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Poor weather interrupted NASCAR Cup Series practice and forced a cancellation of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin being awarded the pole position for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on a metric analyzed by NASCAR factoring in the previous race outcome among other factors.
It’s the second pole position start in as many weeks for Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota, who will start out front alongside Tyler Reddick, who drives the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, a team that Hamlin co-owns.
JGR’s Christopher Bell will start third in his No. 20 Toyota alongside NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota rounds out the top-five.
Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet led the limited practice session at Michigan with a lap of 192.303 mph around the two-miler. JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. and Larson were next fastest.
Hamlin was only 29th fastest among the cars that made practice laps before poor weather moved in. Defending race winner, Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher and Truex’s 18-laps run were the most completed in the limited time on track.
NOTEBOOK:
Last weekend’s Richmond (Va.) Raceway race winner Austin Dillon spoke to NBC Sports after qualifying was cancelled Saturday afternoon and addressed the situation he finds himself in going forward. NASCAR issued penalties to Dillon, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team, his spotter and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in the wake of the controversial finish.
Dillon’s Chevy made contact with then race leader Logano’s Ford with a lap to go in the Richmond overtime finish – knocking Logano’s car into the wall. Then seconds later, Dillon’s Chevy made contact with Hamlin’s Toyota wrecking it as they pushed toward the checkered flag. On Wednesday, NASCAR ruled that while Dillon may keep the win, he does not become Playoff-eligible with the win because of the aggressive driving.
He and his team were fined points. His spotter – who can be heard on the team radio urging Dillon to wreck the other drivers – was suspended three races and Logano, who drove aggressively down pit road after the race was fined $50,000 for putting others in a dangerous situation on…
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