Hometown favorite Brad Keselowski sits on the pole
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series hops back onto oval tracks with the Consumers Energy 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 11. Just four regular-season races remain before the playoffs as NASCAR shifts to the mecca of America car manufacturing outside Detroit.
This two-mile oval uses the sport's lower-horsepower handling package — and it shows. The pole-winning speed, while up significantly from June, was still 12 MPH slower than what Kevin Harvick ran to earn the pole here last season.
Team Penske dominated the June race at Michigan, won by Joey Logano, and they've come out swinging once again. All three Penske cars qualified within the top eight with Brad Keselowski sitting on the pole.
Only 38 cars and two unchartered teams showed up to qualify this weekend. That left two open spots on the 40-car grid; all drivers were guaranteed to make the race.
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kevin Harvick
3. William Byron
4. Alex Bowman
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Chase Elliott
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Joey Logano
9. Paul Menard
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Daniel Suarez
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kurt Busch
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Erik Jones
17. Kyle Larson
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. Matt Tifft
20. Ryan Newman
21. Ty Dillon
22. Kyle Busch
23. Michael McDowell
24. David Ragan
25. Chris Buescher
26. Bubba Wallace
27. Matt DiBenedetto
28. Landon Cassill (i)
29. Ryan Preece
30. Ross Chastain (i)
31. Corey Lajoie
32. Quin Houff
33. Austin Theriault
34. Cody Ware (i)
35. Reed Sorenson
36. Spencer Boyd (i)
37. Austin Dillon
38. Daniel Hemric
(i) - Ineligible to collect Cup Series points
Failed To Qualify
None
QUALIFYING NOTES
- Keselowski earned the 16th pole of his Cup Series career and second of the season. It's also the Michigan native's second career pole at his hometown track.
- Kevin Harvick (second) has five top-five qualifying efforts in the last seven races.
- William Byron (third) was the fastest Chevrolet. It’s his 10th top-three qualifying run of the year.
- Denny Hamlin (14th) was the fastest Toyota.
- Matt Tifft (19th) was the fastest rookie in the field. It's also the second-best qualifying run of his career (18th at Talladega in April).
- Quin Houff (32nd) moves to Premium Motorsports this week for a start in their unchartered car. He typically runs a limited schedule in Spire Motorsports' No. 77.
- Austin Theriault (33rd) will run his third race for RWR this season and first since Pocono.
- Spencer Boyd (36th) will make his Cup Series debut in a third car fielded by Rick Ware Racing. It's a one-race deal with sponsorship from CHELLE CORPORATION.
- Austin Dillon (37th) and Daniel Hemric (38th) had their qualifying times disallowed when NASCAR found unapproved alternators in their Chevrolets. The teams were also docked 10 driver and owner points.
NASCAR RACE BREAKDOWN
Race: Consumers Energy 400
Track: Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, Mich.)
Date: Sunday, August 11
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200 laps (400 miles)
Stage 1: 60 Laps
Stage 2: 60 Laps
Final Stage: 80 Laps
PRE-MICHIGAN NEWS
