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Chase Briscoe Nabs 3rd Straight Cup Pole, Kyle Busch P2 at Michigan

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Toby Christie | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 12:04 PM ET

Lesley Ann Miller | Lumen Digital Agency for Toyota GAZOO Racing

Chase Briscoe had just two NASCAR Cup Series poles through his first 144 career starts. With his third consecutive pole-winning run on Saturday morning at Michigan International Speedway, the 30-year-old racer has now amassed four poles in his last 15 attempts to bring his career total to six poles.

The latest pole was secured with a 36.826-second (195.514 mph) lap time around the 2-mile oval on Saturday. In a fast and tight qualifying session, Briscoe was able to narrowly defeat Kyle Busch, the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, by 0.027 seconds to score the pole position

STARTING LINEUP: FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan

While it was a fast lap, Briscoe was nervous as he had to sweat out 14 cars that took to the track after he did in the session. In the end, his time stood tall.

"Yeah, I just tried to run low. I felt like with us all running wide-open fairly easily, if you could just cut a lot of distance, it would be better," Briscoe said of his run. "I ran low, but then I ended up way high on exit, and I felt like the guys who kind of opened up their entry would maybe beat me back to the line. I don't know, I was surprised, truthfully, that it held on."

Is the third time the charm for @chasebriscoe? ✨ #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/j65XWQ0HER
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 7, 2025

Now, Briscoe with his third pole in a row in hand, he'll try to do something he hasn't been able to do yet this season -- win.

"It'll definitely be nice starting up front. We've been able to do that now three weeks in a row, and haven't really been able to execute with it. So, hopefully, third time is a charm and hopefully we can finally get one on Sunday," Briscoe stated.

For Busch, the runner-up starting spot matched his season-best qualifying run, which he also achieved earlier this season at Talladega Superspeedway. Busch comes into this weekend looking to wipe out a career-long 71-race winless drought.

Denny Hamlin, who remains on baby watch as he and fiancée Jordan Fish continue to await the arrival of their third child, was able to lock down the third starting position. In a media bullpen session on Saturday, Hamlin indicated that he will communicate with Fish following some team meetings following Saturday's on-track action, and depending on how Fish is feeling, Hamlin could fly back to North Carolina to be with her.

"Gonna wait to see where her symptoms are at," Hamlin explained. "I have some meetings and whatnot here first. So, after that's over, see where her symptoms are at. If she has any then certainly, we'll go back."

If Hamlin does return home this afternoon, the plan is to return to Michigan International Speedway in the morning, provided Fish hasn't gone into labor. Ryan Truex is at Michigan International Speedway and is slated to fill in for Hamlin should he not be able to make it to the track due to the birth of his third child.

While waiting is difficult, Hamlin is doing his best to be patient.

"Patiently waiting. I thought we would be almost a week in by now, but just patiently waiting," Hamlin said.

William Byron, the NASCAR Cup Series point leader, will start Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 from the fourth position, which slots him one spot ahead of his teammate, and main competition for the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship, Kyle Larson.

Chris Buescher, who won this race in 2023, will start from the sixth position, and he will be followed by Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Zane Smith inside of the top-10 of the starting grid on Sunday.

Notable qualifying performances include five drivers, who have secured their 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff berths by way of victories: Austin Cindric (11th), Ryan Blaney (13th), Joey Logano (15th), Ross Chastain (20th), and Christopher Bell (25th).

Additionally, Carson Hocevar, who finished second a week ago at Nashville Superspeedway, will start from the 14th position, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who Hocevar tangled with on Lap 106 last week, will start from the 30th spot.

The NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway is set for Sunday, June 8. The race will be streamed live on Prime Video, and the official race broadcast will kick off at 2:00 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast of the event.