NASCAR at Michigan 2018 Qualifying Results: Kurt Busch Wins 2nd Pole of the Year

Kurt Busch will lead the field to the starting line Sunday in the 2018 FireKeepers Casino 400 after posting the best time in the final round of qualifying Friday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Brad Keselowski is also set to start on the front row for the 15th race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season after finishing second. Kyle Busch, Kurt's younger brother, and Kevin Harvick will break from Row 2.

Busch picks up his second pole of the season and the 24th of his career.

Here's a look at the top 10 starters for Sunday's race (via NASCAR.com):

1. Kurt Busch (41)

2. Brad Keselowski (2)

3. Kyle Busch (18)

4. Kevin Harvick (4)

5. Joey Logano (22)

6. Aric Almirola (10)

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17)

8. Erik Jones (20)

9. Ryan Blaney (12)

10. Denny Hamlin (11)

Busch has started from the pole position in three of his 35 races at Michigan. He owns three victories at the track heading into Sunday's event.

"This one is fun because I could trust the car and I knew I needed to go after it hard," he told reporters. "Watching all the Fords in practice, I knew we had a good shot at it."

Fox NASCAR highlighted his pole-winning run:

Meanwhile, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson continues to struggle in finding top form, ranking 20th in Friday's qualifying runs.

The 42-year-old California native currently sits a modest 12th in the standings and passed the one-year anniversary of his last victory, the 2017 AAA 400 Drive for Autism, earlier this week.

"It's about being patient and it's tough to be patient especially in this industry," Johnson told Holly Cain of NASCAR.com about the longest win drought of his career. "We're all adjusting to a thousandths of a second every time we're on track. I'm trying and that's where I do have some comfort in the process.

"But we need this to change, we need to see improvement and we need to keep marching forward. We can't stall out and be content where we are at. We need far better than this."

Getting back to Victory Lane at Michigan could prove difficult. Not only is he starting in the middle of the pack, but he's tallied a single triumph in 32 starts at the track.

Looking ahead, Busch established himself as the driver to beat with Friday's qualifying win. His biggest competition Sunday figures to come from other Ford drivers with seven of the top nine starters coming from the manufacturer.