Saturday Michigan Notebook

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Poor weather interrupted NASCAR Cup Series practice and forced a cancellation of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin being awarded the pole position for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on a metric analyzed by NASCAR factoring in the previous race outcome among other factors.

It’s the second pole position start in as many weeks for Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota, who will start out front alongside Tyler Reddick, who drives the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, a team that Hamlin co-owns.

JGR’s Christopher Bell will start third in his No. 20 Toyota alongside NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota rounds out the top-five. 

Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet led the limited practice session at Michigan with a lap of 192.303 mph around the two-miler. JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. and Larson were next fastest.

Hamlin was only 29th fastest among the cars that made practice laps before poor weather moved in. Defending race winner, Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher and Truex’s 18-laps run were the most completed in the limited time on track.

NOTEBOOK:

Last weekend’s Richmond (Va.) Raceway race winner Austin Dillon spoke to NBC Sports after qualifying was cancelled Saturday afternoon and addressed the situation he finds himself in going forward. NASCAR issued penalties to Dillon, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team, his spotter and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in the wake of the controversial finish.

Dillon’s Chevy made contact with then race leader Logano’s Ford with a lap to go in the Richmond overtime finish – knocking Logano’s car into the wall. Then seconds later, Dillon’s Chevy made contact with Hamlin’s Toyota wrecking it as they pushed toward the checkered flag. On Wednesday, NASCAR ruled that while Dillon may keep the win, he does not become Playoff-eligible with the win because of the aggressive driving.

He and his team were fined points. His spotter – who can be heard on the team radio urging Dillon to wreck the other drivers – was suspended three races and Logano, who drove aggressively down pit road after the race was fined $50,000 for putting others in a dangerous situation on pit road.

Richard Childress Racing announced immediately afterward that it would appeal the decision and the matter is scheduled to go before the appeals panel this Wednesday. Dillon said he listened to Hamlin share his side of the story on Hamlin’s podcast this week and expected to share his own feelings after the appeals process.

“It’s been tough with everything going on,’’ Dillon said, adding, “We’ll give our side of the story and see where it goes from there.

Hamlin noted that Dillon did not participate in a weekly basketball game he normally plays in. Dillon confirmed he had not spoken with either Hamlin or Logano since last week’s race.

“For Joey, I’m sorry for the situation he was in and it didn’t matter if it was Joey or anybody I was going to do my best to get my team to victory lane,’’ Dillon said. “The situation on pit road after the race, a lot of things were said in the heat of the moment from him about my family and my belief in Christ, even. For me, I forgive him. 

“For him getting frustrated and the pit road part with the race car was a lot. That was kinda out of line and I think NASCAR took care of it and I forgive him. I’m sure he’s still mad at me for what went on on the race track, but this is a game in the end and you don’t hate the player, you hate the game. That was the situation I was up against. 

“I learned a lot from Joey and Denny over the years and they don’t have regrets over what they do on the race track and I don’t either. I’m not going to say I regret anything. I went to sleep and felt really good about everything I did for me and my team.’’

Hamlin, who sits fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship – 21 points behind leader Larson, remained adamant that Dillon’s actions were wrong and the penalties he received were justified.

He was hopeful that the whole situation further helped the sport define a competitive line of what is acceptable and what is not in the emotional, high-stakes final laps of a race. Dillon entered the Richmond race ranked 32nd in the standings without a single top-five this year.

“I don’t have anything negative to say about this with Austin (Dillon),’’ Hamlin said. “I really don’t have anything negative to say about his character. I really stuck up for him quite about earlier in this year, when he was going through some pretty tough finishes and things like that, and talking about how I really respected his character, and I still do.

“He just was put in a really tough spot, where you have to make a split-second decision, and he made one that was not in the, in my opinion, best interest of the sport. People make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves second chances.”

However, he added, “You just can’t clean someone else out for the win.’’

It’s been a dramatic week for defending Michigan race winner Buescher, who was bumped outside the Playoffs standings with Dillon’s win last week, only to be back Playoff eligible by Wednesday with Dillon’s points penalty. Buescher is tied with Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain, three-points behind 15th place Bubba Wallace, but Buescher got the all-important 16th and final Playoff position ahead of Chastain based on who had the best finish this season.

Buescher reiterated that his path and purpose has not changed despite the change in his championship standings. He insists he still needs to win a race. His win at Michigan last year was part of a three-race summer victory showing entering the Playoffs.

“It’s not going to change anything for myself or our team,’’ Buescher said of being bumped back into the Top-16 with Dillon’s penalty. “We knew at the beginning of the year before we ever got to Daytona that this was the only way to really be comfortable at any point before playoffs was a win. And really, there’s no way to get through the next three weeks and be comfortable without one.

“So no, this isn’t going to change anything for how we approach these next handful of races. For us, we’re looking at a stretch that has been very good to us. I was just laughing coming in here last time we were at this table was for all the right reasons. So, you know, I was looking forward to that for this go around at Michigan.”

Buescher’s best showings in 2024 are runner-up finishes at Phoenix and Kansas, where he was on the wrong side of a photo finish. He’s had two top-10s in the last seven races – fifth place finishes at New Hampshire and Nashville. 

Haas Factory Team Unveils 2025 Lineup

The Haas Factory Team – which debuts next year – announced Saturday that it has signed NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contenders Sheldon Creed (No. 00 Ford Mustang) and Sam Mayer (No. 41 Ford Mustang) to its 2025 lineup. They join Cole Custer, who announced at Indianapolis in July that he will steer the team’s NASCAR Cup Series entry, the No. 41 Ford.

“I think there is a lot that goes into a decision like this, obviously, the angle is Cup, so what is Haas Factory tied to, where is it going?” said Creed, who currently drives for the Joe Gibbs Racing team and will start on pole for Saturday’s Michigan race. “They [Haas]have an alliance with RFK moving forward. And I think for me, it was a multiple-year contract going forward. Where can I grow more in Xfinity? Where can I win races? And Haas Factory seemed to be the place for me.”

Mayer, 21, also reiterated the opportunity he sees the Haas team has for the championship but also for him, possibly a future in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“It’s really important to continue development for me as a race car driver and Haas Factory is providing that for me on and off the racetrack,’’ said Mayer, who has two wins this season. “I think that they’re going to do a really good job setting the table for me to go out there and perform and dominate. … I feel like I have a lot to prove. Cup Series racing is something that I really, really, really want to do, and this is a huge step in that direction for myself.”

NASCAR Announces New Veteran Partnership

NASCAR announced an important new partnership Saturday in Michigan and will be teaming with the national nonprofit “We the Veterans and Military Families” to support “Vet the Vote” – a national campaign designed to encourage veterans and their families to serve as poll workers for the upcoming national election.

“NASCAR is honored and humbled to count thousands of military veterans as NASCAR fans and we’re encouraging them to consider once again serving their country this election season as poll workers,” said Eric Nyquist, NASCAR’s Chief Impact Officer.  “We are committed to doing our part to help address the critical shortage of poll workers in this country, so we’re proud to support Vet the Vote and its vital mission this fall.” 

The Vet the Vote campaign was specifically created to help address the need for poll workers all over the United States and to encourage and inspire veterans and military families to aid in that capacity. In two years, the program has more than doubled (140,000) the registrations of military poll workers. And this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the program will engage with fans in the Fan Zone hoping to register more veterans and their families in this very important program.