NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 FireKeepers Casino 400 qualifying results – Kurt Busch takes pole
By Asher Fair
Kurt Busch took the pole position for the 15th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch took his second pole position of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season by taking the pole position for the 15th race of the 26-race regular season and 36-race season, the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Busch took the pole position for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at the four-turn, 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway oval in Brooklyn, Michigan by recording a lap at 203.361 miles per hour (35.405 seconds) in the qualifying session.
Busch led a top two Ford sweep of the speed chart in the qualifying session in his #41 Ford. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski qualified for the race in second place in his #2 Ford. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch was the highest qualifying driver of a Toyota car, as he qualified in third in his #18 Toyota.
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Kyle Busch ended up being the only Toyota driver and the only non-Ford driver who qualified in the top seven for the race, as Ford drivers took the top two positions and every position from fourth through seventh place, thus giving them six of the top seven positions.
The highest qualifying driver of a Chevrolet car was Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, who qualified in 11th place in his #31 Chevrolet.
Newman was the only Chevrolet driver who made it to the third and final round of qualifying, and as a result of this, he is the only Chevrolet driver who is set to start the race in the top 12.
Here are the full qualifying results of the 2018 FireKeepers Casino 600 at Michigan International Speedway.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 5 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 6 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 7 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 8 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 13 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 14 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 15 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 16 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 18 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 19 | Matt Kenseth | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 20 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 21 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 24 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 25 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 26 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 27 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 28 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 29 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 30 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford |
| 31 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 32 | Corey Lajoie | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 33 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 34 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 35 | B.J. McLeod | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Landon Cassill | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 37 | D.J. Kennington | #7, NY Racing Team, Chevrolet |
| 38 | Timmy Hill | #66, MBM Motorsports, Toyota |
| 39 | Garrett Smithley | #99, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
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Tune in to Fox on Sunday, June 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET to watch the live broadcast of the 2018 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.