For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Bubba Wallace will start on the pole after topping qualifying for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. In doing so, he became only the second black pole sitter in Cup history after Wendell Scott in 1962, and the third in any NASCAR national series with Bill Lester the other.
Wallace was the only driver of the thirty-seven entered to set a qualifying speed of over 190 miles per hour at 190.703 mph (118.497 km/h) with a lap time of 37.755 seconds. He led a trio of Toyotas as Joe Gibbs Racing allies Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch followed, with Wallace’s time being .160 quicker than Bell.
Besides being the maiden Cup pole for Wallace and his 23XI Racing team, the driver secured his sixth career national series pole and first since the 2014 Xfinity Series race at Dover. His previous best Cup starting spot was fourth at New Hampshire in July.
“Let’s go! First time pole sitter here,” Wallace said in a Twitter video. “So excited, so pumped, so proud of my team. McDonald’s Toyota Camry is super fast, the test that we had here a couple months ago definitely proved that.
“Now, we’re showing back up to come get the big trophy when it matters.”
Scott recorded his lone Cup pole for the Savannah Speedway race on 20 July 1962, where he finished eighth. Forty-one years later, Lester won his first of three poles in the Truck Series at Charlotte. Lester then added two more in 2005 at Kansas and Kentucky, and he scored a top five at the former.
Although a pole does not guarantee a victory on Sunday, it is a positive step for Wallace in his pursuit of a playoff spot. With four races remaining in the regular season, he is twentieth in points and arguably would have already been in position to qualify had he not been set back by pit crew mistakes.
Michigan has been a solid track for Wallace throughout his career, having won there in the Truck Series in 2017 (although his truck failed post-race inspection, the win stood as NASCAR’s current disqualification process had not been implemented). He also finished tenth in an Xfinity Series one-off there in 2021. In eight Cup starts at Michigan, his best finish is ninth at 2020 Race #1, while he placed nineteenth with 23XI last year.
Qualifying results
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Best Time | Best Speed (mph) |
| 1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 37.755 | 190.703 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 37.915 | 189.898 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 37.921 | 189.868 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 37.993 | 189.509 |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 38.005 | 189.449 |
| 6 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 38.090 | 189.026 |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.151 | 188.724 |
| 8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.175 | 188.605 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.209 | 188.437 |
| 10 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.366 | 187.666 |
| 11 | 45 | Ty Gibbs* | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 38.218 | 188.393 |
| 12 | 16 | Noah Gragson* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 38.248 | 188.245 |
| 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.270 | 188.137 |
| 14 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 38.287 | 188.053 |
| 15 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 38.306 | 187.960 |
| 16 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.333 | 187.828 |
| 17 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.380 | 187.598 |
| 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.385 | 187.573 |
| 19 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 38.448 | 187.266 |
| 20 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.463 | 187.193 |
| 21 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 38.482 | 187.100 |
| 22 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 38.502 | 187.003 |
| 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.526 | 186.887 |
| 24 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 38.551 | 186.766 |
| 25 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.617 | 186.446 |
| 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 38.639 | 186.340 |
| 27 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 38.641 | 186.331 |
| 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 38.697 | 186.061 |
| 29 | 15 | J.J. Yeley* | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 38.803 | 185.553 |
| 30 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.814 | 185.500 |
| 31 | 33 | Austin Hill* | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 38.875 | 185.209 |
| 32 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.940 | 184.900 |
| 33 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 38.997 | 184.630 |
| 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 39.021 | 184.516 |
| 35 | 77 | Josh Bilicki* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.308 | 183.169 |
| 36 | 78 | B.J. McLeod* | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 39.308 | 183.169 |
| 37 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 39.317 | 183.127 |
* – Ineligible for points