NASCAR Cup Michigan starting lineup: Denny Hamlin…

Even after suffering a flat tire in practice, Denny Hamlin fought back in qualifying to secure pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

NOTE: While credited with pole, Hamlin will have to start from the rear of the field due to the repairs that need to be made to the diffuser after practice damage stemming from a flat tire.

Additionally, Christopher Bell (8th), William Byron (9th), Erik Jones (10th), Austin Cindric (31st), and Josh Berry (37th) will all move to the rear of the field as well.

Hamlin was the final driver on the track, and he denied home hero Carson Hocevar by just 0.018s with a pole lap of 36.901s.

This is Hamlin's 50th career pole, and his second of the 2026 season. Only six drivers besides Hamlin have ever scored at least 50 poles and 50 race wins, and it's an elite group that includes Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, and Bobby Allison.

"They did a really great job, accounting for the damage on the bottom side," said Hamlin after his pole run. "They re-balanced it, and it felt like they did a really good job. It was a handful, it was all I wanted, certainly. Hats off to this whole Toyota team. That was surprising ... I just noticed that I was chattering all the tires, it felt like, in the corners. It was the limit, for sure."

Championship leader Tyler Reddick qualified third, Ty Gibbs fourth, and Chase Briscoe. Four of the fastest five qualifiers were all Toyotas.

Chase Elliott followed in sixth, Kyle Larson seventh, Christopher Bell eighth, William Byron ninth, and Erik Jones was impressive in tenth.

With four of the top-ten starters moving to the rear, Hocevar will be in control for the start with Reddick joining him on the front row. Briscoe and Gibbs are the new Row 2, Larson and Elliott in Row 3, Daniel Suarez and Riley Herbst in Row 4, and then Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher filling out the top ten on the grid.

Qualifying recap

Berry goes up the race track and spins in Turn 4! pic.twitter.com/I1UUuudee3
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 6, 2026

Berry spun exiting turn 4, reversed back to pits due to flat tires. Allmendinger had just started his qualifying run, so they needed to return to the pits to re-cool the No. 16 before giving it another attempt. Berry will start last on the grid after the spin, in P37.

After the first ten cars took a time, Bubba Wallace set the pace with a 37.133s lap, over three tenths clear of his closest challenger.

The first driver to knock him off the top spot was Byron, the 15th driver to go out. He held P1 until his Hendrick Motorsports teammate dethroned him, with Larson becoming the first driver to reach into the 36-second bracket.

Gibbs then took the fight to the Hendrick duo, eclipsing Larson by just 0.014s. However, he did not stay there for long, with home hero Hocevar rocketing to the top with a 36.919s lap.

Reddick got very close, just 0.010s adrift of Hocevar's pole time. The Michigan native waited anxiously through the final group of cars, and was visibly disappointed when Hamlin knocked him off the top spot at the end of qualifying.

"It's a testament to these guys, they do a really good job," said Hocevar. "They're building fast race cars. Yeah, I would have loved to have gotten pole there, but third in the Truck race, second in Cup qualifying, so hopefully that's just a trend there. I would have loved to have that one ... I feel really good about our race car so starting up front is going to be super important, I know it's just qualifying, but damn, I didn't know I wanted it this much. It would mean a lot for so many reasons."

When asked if he felt bad for denying Hocevar at his home track, pole-sitter Hamlin said: "I remember Richmond, way back in '06 or '07, and trying to get a pole at my home track. I get it, I feel like that (a smidge) sorry for him."

Some notables that struggled in qualifying include Ford, with none of their cars fast enough to crack the top ten. It was also a dismal day for Trackhouse Racing with Shane van Gisbergen leading the charge in 30th, Ross Chastain 32nd, and Connor Zilisch 34th.

NASCAR Cup Michigan Starting Lineup

*Hamlin, Bell, Byron, Jones, Cindric, Berry all moving to the rear of the field*

Cla	Driver	#	Manufacturer	Time	Mph
1	D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing	11	Toyota	36.901	195.117
2	C. HocevarSpire Motorsports	77	Chevrolet	+0.018 36.919	195.022
3	T. Reddick23XI Racing	45	Toyota	+0.028 36.929	194.969
4	T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing	54	Toyota	+0.052 36.953	194.842
5	C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing	19	Toyota	+0.055 36.956	194.826
6	C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports	9	Chevrolet	+0.057 36.958	194.816
7	K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports	5	Chevrolet	+0.066 36.967	194.768
8	C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	+0.102 37.003	194.579
9	W. ByronHendrick Motorsports	24	Chevrolet	+0.137 37.038	194.395
10	E. JonesLegacy Motor Club	43	Toyota	+0.189 37.090	194.122
11	D. SuarezSpire Motorsports	7	Chevrolet	+0.220 37.121	193.960
12	R. Herbst23XI Racing	35	Toyota	+0.226 37.127	193.929
13	B. Wallace23XI Racing	23	Toyota	+0.232 37.133	193.898
14	C. BuescherRFK Racing	17	Ford	+0.285 37.186	193.621
15	C. CusterHaas Factory Team	41	Chevrolet	+0.304 37.205	193.522
16	Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports	38	Ford	+0.312 37.213	193.481
17	J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club	42	Toyota	+0.339 37.240	193.340
18	J. LoganoTeam Penske	22	Ford	+0.356 37.257	193.252
19	R. BlaneyTeam Penske	12	Ford	+0.357 37.258	193.247
20	A. DillonRichard Childress Racing	3	Chevrolet	+0.376 37.277	193.149
21	M. McDowellSpire Motorsports	71	Chevrolet	+0.376 37.277	193.149
22	N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports	4	Ford	+0.440 37.341	192.818
23	R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports	47	Chevrolet	+0.441 37.342	192.812
24	T. DillonKaulig Racing	10	Chevrolet	+0.507 37.408	192.472
25	A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing	16	Chevrolet	+0.556 37.457	192.220
26	B. KeselowskiRFK Racing	6	Ford	+0.575 37.476	192.123
27	R. PreeceRFK Racing	60	Ford	+0.650 37.551	191.739
28	A. HillRichard Childress Racing	33	Chevrolet	+0.652 37.553	191.729
29	A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports	48	Chevrolet	+0.660 37.561	191.688
30	S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing	97	Chevrolet	+0.661 37.562	191.683
31	A. CindricTeam Penske	2	Ford	+0.766 37.667	191.149
32	R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing	1	Chevrolet	+0.789 37.690	191.032
33	C. WareRick Ware Racing	51	Chevrolet	+0.814 37.715	190.905
34	C. ZilischTrackHouse Racing	88	Chevrolet	+0.819 37.720	190.880
35	T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports	34	Ford	+0.829 37.730	190.830
36	J. YeleyNY Racing Team	44	Chevrolet	+1.669 38.570	186.674
37	J. BerryWood Brothers Racing	21	Ford