BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) 鈥� Rebounding from a flat tire in practice that damaged the underside of his car, roared to his 50th career pole position in the .
Hamlin was the last driver of the session at Michigan International Speedway, and his No. 11 Toyota鈥檚 195.117-mph lap knocked No. 77 Chevrolet (195.022 mph) from the top spot on the 2-mile oval. The speed stunned Hamlin, who credited his team with some quick fixes that stabilized the wounded vehicle.
鈥淚t was a handful,鈥� the Joe Gibbs Racing star said after passing Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac for 10th in career poles in NASCAR鈥檚 premier series. 鈥淚t was all I wanted, certainly. But hats off to this whole team. Yeah, that was surprising. It was the limit for sure.鈥�
Hamlin continued a streak of Toyotas winning every pole at Michigan since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, but the news wasn鈥檛 all good. Hamlin expects his car will need further repairs that would be unapproved by NASCAR, sending him to the rear of the 37-car field for the start.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be a challenge in itself, certainly at this racetrack,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e going to have to have good restarts and have the race play out just right.鈥�
Last week, Hamlin started first at Nashville Superspeedway but was sent to the back on the opening lap for jumping the start. He , leading a top-three Gibbs sweep with teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.
Hamlin said he鈥檒l need to catch some breaks Sunday over 400 miles at Michigan.
鈥淭he race is long, and you can certainly do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not unachievable. And sometimes when you鈥檙e in the back, it gives you an opportunity if there鈥檚 an early caution to try a different strategy. I know if you look at last week, that all seemed easy, but things really fell our way, and they鈥檙e going to have to again (Sunday).鈥�
If Hamlin does start from the back, it鈥檒l be a break for Hocevar after Saturday鈥檚 disappointment. The Portage, Michigan, native threw up his hands in disbelief after Hamlin bumped him from the pole at his home track.
鈥淚 would have loved to have that one,鈥� Hocevar said. 鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 a really good race car, one of the best I鈥檝e had here, so I hope it really translates to (Sunday). Starting up front is going to be super important.鈥�
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