Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Cup pole at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kyle Larson was joined again by son Owen for a press conference at Michigan International Speedway.
After winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race last August at MIS, Larson qualified first Friday afternoon, putting the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevroleton the pole for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.
“Hopefully we can get him back up here again for Father’s Day,” Larson said of his two-year-old son. “That would be a special thing for me.
“Yeah, we’ve got a fast car, we’ve just got to take control of the race and be mistake free.”
Sunday’s race, the 15th of the season, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
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It was the first pole in seven races for Larson at Michigan.
“I could tell by the rpm and the engine it was going to be a pretty good lap, so I was happy about that to get the pole after winning here last year,” Larson said of his lap of 202.156 mph. “So far, it’s been a really good weekend leading in practice and then getting the quick time here. So, yeah; it’s an exciting weekend and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Martin Truex Jr., who holds a one-point lead over Larson at the top of the points standings, qualified second in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota (202.117).
“I won on Mother’s Day weekend and that was really, really awesome,” Truex said. “My mom was pretty stoked about it. She was very excited, so I’d love to win on Father’s Day weekend as well. My dad won’t be here, but I’m sure he’ll be watching and have his friends over to the house.”
PHOTOS: NASCAR DRIVERS AND THEIR KIDS
Clint Bowyer qualified third in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (201.664).
“We had a little bit of a hiccup on the first lap and made some adjustments and got the most out of the second and third sessions,” Bowyer said.
Kevin Harvick, who was fastest in the first and second rounds, fell to 11th in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford the third and final round of qualifying
“We just got really loose there in the last round,” Harvick said. “We were really good the first two but something changed. I like the speed in race trim. We have some work to do for Sunday.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 17th in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet after running 199.225 in qualifying.
“I really liked the car when it came off the trailer in race trim,” Earnhardt said. “We couldn’t really find exactly what we needed for qualifying trim. But, we have some good ideas on when we come back here the next trip on things that can help the car for qualifying, but really happy with how the car was off the truck.”
An unapproved body modification on the No. 13 Twisted Tea Chevrolet will leave Ty Dillon at the back of the pack instead of 24th.
Sipple writes for the Detroit Free Press, part of the Paste BN Network.
PHOTOS: 2017 NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS
FULL LINEUP: FireKeepers Casino 400
1. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 202.156 mph.
2. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 202.117 mph.
3. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 201.664 mph.
4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 201.523 mph.
5. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201.337 mph.
6. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.854 mph.
7. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 200.770 mph.
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 200.742 mph.
9. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 200.730 mph.
10. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.378 mph.
11. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 200.206 mph.
12. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.050 mph.
13. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 200.306 mph.
14. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, 200.178 mph.
15. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 199.712 mph.
16. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 199.369 mph.
17. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 199.225 mph.
18. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 198.961 mph.
19. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 198.708 mph.
20. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 198.533 mph.
21. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 198.522 mph.
22. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 198.211 mph.
23. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, 197.775 mph.
24. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 197.525 mph.
25. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 197.482 mph.
26. (43) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 197.401 mph.
27. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 197.158 mph.
28. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 196.223 mph.
29. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 195.780 mph.
30. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 195.615 mph.
31. (23) Ryan Sieg, Toyota, 193.668 mph.
32. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 192.472 mph.
33. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 191.520 mph.
34. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 190.305 mph.
35. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 189.999 mph.
36. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 0.000 mph.
37. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.