NASCAR at Michigan 2018 Qualifying Results: Denny Hamlin Wins Pole Position
Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, narrowly edging out his teammate, Kyle Busch.
Hamlin finished with a top time of 35.504, followed by Busch (35.515), Kevin Harvick (35.626), Erik Jones (35.678) and Austin Dillon (35.688).
"I didn't get all of it, for sure, but definitely the team gave me a great driving car," Hamlin said after qualifying, per NASCAR. "One that was easily able to back up times, time after time. We got faster every time on the racetrack today. Proud of this whole FedEx Toyota team. These guys are really stepping up. We're starting to make a little hay now."
Despite the close overall finish, Hamlin had the fastest time in each of the three qualifying rounds with a top speed of 202.794 mph. He'll now sit on the pole for the second time this season.
Hamlin doubled down on how good his car is running at the moment:
Other notable finishers included Clint Bowyer at No. 16, who won at the Michigan International Speedway in June, and Kyle Larson at No. 17, the defending winner at this race. Martin Truex Jr., currently second in the standings behind Busch and Harvick, finished seventh.
Daniel Suarez had a rough qualifying, meanwhile, hitting the wall twice in his first run before bowing out.
"It's just a starting position," he said on the NBCSN broadcast (h/t NASCAR.com). "I think we're going to see the 19 Stanley Toyota Camry passing a lot of cars on Sunday."
It's hard to imagine many people passing Hamlin, however, who has one of hottest cars going at the moment. At the very least, Hamlin looks like a safe bet to finish in the top five Sunday if not win the race altogether.
