Kenseth with pole at Michigan

Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth landed the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday afternoon qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, leading a 1-2-3 sweep of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers at Michigan International Speedway.

Kenseth piloted JGR's No. 20 Toyota to a pole-winning lap of 197.488 mph around the 2-mile track. The pole position was Kenseth's third of the season, first at Michigan and 16th of his Sprint Cup career.

Kenseth will start first in Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), just ahead of second-fastest qualifier Denny Hamlin, who posted a 196.990 mph lap in the Gibbs No. 11 Toyota

Carl Edwards landed the third starting spot in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota at 196.276 mph. Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) and Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas Racing) completed the top five, with Kyle Busch sixth in the other Joe Gibbs Racing entry.

Qualifying marked the second session using a high-drag rules package with an extended rear spoiler and other aerodynamic alterations. With the increased amount of drag, drivers were able to hold their cars nearly wide-open through Michigan's wide, sweeping turns.

The setup significantly reduced speeds, which were well under the track record of 206.558 mph set by Jeff Gordon last August. Pole-winning laps were established at 200-plus mph for five of the last six Michigan races before this weekend.

NASCAR also scrapped its usual multi-car group qualifying sessions for this weekend, instead opting for single-car runs to avoid the perils of widespread drafting.

Aric Almirola was 30th-fastest in qualifying after sickness left him with only limited participation in Friday's only practice session. Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton provided relief driving duties in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford, but a rested Almirola suited up for time trials.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick will start seventh Sunday in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Joey Logano, last week's winner at Watkins Glen International, was 10th-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22, the fastest Ford in qualifying.

Joe Gibbs Racing cars swept the top four spots in the first round of qualifying with Kenseth, Edwards, Kyle Busch and Hamlin completing the order. That result left the JGR quartet as the last four drivers to take the track in the final round of qualifying.

Clint Bowyer was the last driver to make the 12-driver cut for the second and final round of qualifying, edging out Michael Waltrip Racing teammate David Ragan in the process by just eight-thousandths of a second.

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