Bubba Wallace turned in a historic qualifying run at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, earning both his and 23XI Racing's first pole in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The driver of the No. 23 Toyota achieved the milestone at an opportune time. He sits outside the projected NASCAR playoff field with just four races remaining before the start of the playoffs.
Wallace has yet to secure a win in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. What better position to aim for win No. 1 than from the pole?
MORE: Watch NASCAR at Michigan live with fuboTV (free trial)
P1️⃣ 👊
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 6, 2022
First-career pole for @BubbaWallace and first-ever team pole @23XIRacing! pic.twitter.com/t1wyRRzJd3
Wallace appears ready to go get his second career Cup Series victory:
How about a pole win at Michigan?😮💨 pic.twitter.com/EemAwGqQw6
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) August 6, 2022
The Sporting News has everything you need to know about qualifying for the FireKeepers Casino 400, and the starting order for the race.
FireKeepers Casino 400 qualifying results
Final group results
| Finish | Driver | Lap speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bubba Wallace | 190.703 |
| 2. | Christopher Bell | 189.898 |
| 3. | Kyle Busch | 189.868 |
| 4. | Joey Logano | 189.509 |
| 5. | Austin Cindric | 189.449 |
| 6. | Tyler Reddick | 189.026 |
| 7. | Martin Truex Jr. | 188.724 |
| 8. | Kyle Larson | 188.605 |
| 9. | Denny Hamlin | 188.605 |
| 10. | Eric Jones | 187.666 |
Full results here.
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Michigan?
Bubba Wallace took the pole for Sunday's Michigan race. It is the first pole of his Cup Series career:
Pedal down! @BubbaWallace wins the #BuschLightPole for Sunday's race at @MISpeedway! pic.twitter.com/6XaUSCVL0f
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 6, 2022
Wallace — currently sitting four spots outside the projected playoff field at 20th overall — has five top-10 finishes, including three straight at New Hampshire, Pocono and Indianapolis. He also started the season with a second-place finish in the Daytona 500.
MORE: Tyler Reddick takes the checkered flag in wacky Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Starting lineup for Michigan race
Wallace's first pole in the Cup Series might not have come at a better time. This will be his ninth race at Michigan International Speedway; in his eight previous appearances, he has only one top-10 finish (10th in the 2020 FireKeepers Casino 400).
Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick won this event in 2021 and 2020, respectively. Harvick, it should be noted, also won the Consumers Energy 400, held at the same track a day after winning the FireKeepers asino 400, in 2020).
Here is the complete starting lineup for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400:
| Starting pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 2 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 5 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske |
| 6 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Erik Jones | 43 | Petty GMS Motorsports |
| 11 | Ty Gibbs | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 12 | Noah Gragson | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 13 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 14 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 16 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 18 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 19 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 20 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 21 | Justin Haley | 31 | Kaulig Racing |
| 22 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 23 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 24 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 25 | Ty Dillon | 42 | Petty GMS Motorsports |
| 26 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 27 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 29 | JJ Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Motorsports |
| 30 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 31 | Austin Hill | 33 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 33 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 34 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 | Josh Bilicki | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 36 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 37 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Racing |
