NASCAR: Bubba wins pole at Michigan

Bubba Wallace snagged his first career Busch Light Pole Award Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

Wallace was the only driver to break 190 mph in the final round of qualifying, earning the top starting position with an average lap speed of 190.703 mph. The pole is also the first for 23XI Racing, which first began fielding cars in 2021.

“About time,” Wallace said. “It took me five years to get my first pole. It’s a testament to 23XI, everybody on the No. 23 team. They’ve been doing a tremendous job all year long, really. Just haven’t had the finishes we deserve, but proud for everybody just sticking through it.

“A lot of adversity on this team, and we keep showing up ready to battle.”

The speed in the No. 23 Toyota was shared across each of the manufacturer’s six cars. Christopher Bell (189.898 mph) will roll off alongside Wallace on the front row for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kyle Busch, Bell’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, will start third (189.868 mph) with Martin Truex Jr. starting seventh (189.724 mph).

The best non-Toyotas in Saturday’s session were Team Penske teammates Joey Logano in fourth (189.509 mph) and Austin Cindric fifth (189.449 mph). Tyler Reddick, who won last week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, posted the sixth-fastest lap at 189.026 mph.

The top 10 was completed by Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones.

A pair of part-time rookies will start from Row 6 on Sunday. Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson, both of whom are vying for the Xfinity Series championship this season, posted quick lap times in Saturday’s session and narrowly missed advancing to the final round of qualifying from Group B. Gibbs will roll off P11 Sunday with Gragson 12th.

Chase Elliott, who entered the weekend as a co-favorite according to BetMGM, qualified 13th. Ryan Blaney, the defending race winner at Michigan and highest ranked driver in the playoff grid on points, will start 24th on Sunday.

Drivers who struggled in Saturday’s time trials included Alex Bowman in 30th, Brad Keselowski in 33rd and Todd Gilliland in 37th. In his Cup Series debut for Richard Childress Racing, Austin Hill will start 31st.

Qualifying Results

Round 1, Group 1 – Qualified

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (Miles per hour)
1st – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 190.024
2nd – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 189.949
3rd – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 189.269
4th – Austin Cindric – #2, Team Penske, Ford – 189.125
5th – Erik Jones – #43, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 188.299
6th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – 188.053
7th – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 187.828
8th – Cole Custer – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 187.598
9th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 187.193
10th – Justin Haley – #31, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet – 187.1
11th – Ty Dillon – #42, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 186.446
12th – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 186.34
13th – Harrison Burton – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – 186.331
14th – Brad Keselowski – #6, RFK Racing, Ford – 184.63
15th – Cody Ware – #51, Rick Ware Racing, Ford – 184.516
16th – B.J. McLeod – #78, Live Fast Motorsports, Ford – 183.169
16th – Josh Bilicki – #77, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet – 183.169
18th – Todd Gilliland – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – 183.127

Round 1, Group 2 – Qualified

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (Miles per hour)
1st – Bubba Wallace – #23, 23XI Racing, Toyota – 189.964
2nd – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – 189.225
3rd – Kyle Larson – #5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 189.22
4th – Tyler Reddick – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 189.105
5th – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 188.867
6th – Ty Gibbs – #45, 23XI Racing, Toyota – 188.393
7th – Noah Gragson – #16, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet – 188.245
8th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 188.137
9th – Daniel Suarez – #99, Trackhouse Racing Team, Chevrolet – 187.96
10th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 187.573
11th – Chris Buescher – #17, RFK Racing, Ford – 187.266
12th – Ross Chastain – #1, Trackhouse Racing Team, Chevrolet – 187.003
13th – Chase Briscoe – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 186.887
14th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – 186.766
15th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – 186.061
16th – J.J. Yeley – #15, Rick Ware Racing, Ford – 185.553
17th – Alex Bowman – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 185.5
18th – Austin Hill – #33, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 185.209
19th – Corey LaJoie – #7, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet – 184.9

Round 2 – Qualified

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (Miles per hour)
1st – Bubba Wallace – #23, 23XI Racing, Toyota – 190.703
2nd – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 189.898
3rd – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 189.868
4th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – 189.509
5th – Austin Cindric – #2, Team Penske, Ford – 189.449
6th – Tyler Reddick – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 189.026
7th – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 188.724
8th – Kyle Larson – #5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 188.605
9th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 188.437
10th – Erik Jones – #43, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 187.666

Full starting lineup

Starting lineup
1st – Bubba Wallace
2nd – Christopher Bell
3rd – Kyle Busch
4th – Joey Logano
5th – Austin Cindric
6th – Tyler Reddick
7th – Martin Truex Jr.
8th – Kyle Larson
9th – Denny Hamlin
10th – Erik Jones
11th – Ty Gibbs
12th – Noah Gragson
13th – Chase Elliott
14th – Michael McDowell
15th – Daniel Suarez
16th – Kevin Harvick
17th – Cole Custer
18th – Aric Almirola
19th – Chris Buescher
20th – William Byron
21st – Justin Haley
22nd – Ross Chastain
23rd – Chase Briscoe
24th – Ryan Blaney
25th – Ty Dillon
26th – Austin Dillon
27th – Harrison Burton
28th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29th – J.J. Yeley
30th – Alex Bowman
31st – Austin Hill
32nd – Corey LaJoie
33rd – Brad Keselowski
34th – Cody Ware
35th – B.J. McLeod
36th – Josh Bilicki
37th – Todd Gilliland