For the fourth time in the opening 15 events of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Chase Briscoe is set to lead the field to the green flag.
Behind the wheel of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Briscoe posted the fastest lap in Saturday’s single-vehicle qualifying session from Michigan International Speedway.
The pole-winning lap time of 36.826 seconds (195.514mph) is the quickest lap around the two-mile speedway since the NASCAR Cup Series began using the NextGen car in 2022.
Briscoe started the year winning the pole position for the season-opening DAYTONA 500, before returning to the top of the qualifying charts in May for three straight weeks, at Charlotte, Nashville, and Michigan.
“I tried to run low, I felt like we’re all just running wide-open fairly easily, if you can just cut a lot of distance, it would be better,” Briscoe said. “So I ran low, but I ended up way high on exit. I felt like the guys who opened up their entry would maybe beat me back to the line. I was surprised, truthfully, that it held on. It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be, as far as holding it wide-open.”
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NCS FireKeepers Casino 400
Kyle Busch, searching for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in nearly two years, will start from the outside of the front row after lacking single-lap speed in practice.
Denny Hamlin will start from third place, provided he starts Sunday’s 400-mile contest. Hamlin is still on baby watch, and Ryan Truex is at the racetrack in case the 44-year-old needs to leave for home.
William Byron and Kyle Larson, teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, rounded out the top five in qualifying.
Chris Buescher, winner of the August 2023 event at Michigan International Speedway, will start sixth, with Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Zane Smith rounding out the top-10.
Other notables include Austin Cindric (11th), Tyler Reddick (12th), Ryan Blaney (13th), Joey Logano (15th), Alex Bowman (16th), Chase Elliott (17th), Ross Chastain (21st), Christopher Bell (23rd), and Brad Keselowski (27th).
All 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event were able to take time in qualifying, despite some issues with left-side tires in practice for Tyler Reddick, Shane Van Gisbergen, and Ryan Blaney.
The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway will take place on Sunday, June 8 at 2:00 PM ET on Prime Video, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
