BROOKLYN, Mich. -- William Byron and Chase Elliott will line up in the top 10 for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Byron drove the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the seventh starting spot (192.108 mph). This marks his 16th starting spot inside the top 10 in 2023. On the season, the 25-year-old driver leads the series with four wins, 810 laps led and seven stage wins. In eight starts at Michigan, Byron has a track-best finish of second (in 2021) and two top 10s.
RELATED: See this weekend's paint schemes for Michigan
Elliott is taking the grid from the 10th position (191.755 mph) in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. For this season, it is his sixth starting spot inside the top 10. The 2-mile track of Michigan has been one of Elliott’s best with 10 top-10s in 12 starts. In his first three starts there, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native was the runner-up finisher on three straight occasions.
The 27-year-old driver enters this weekend 40 points outside the provisional playoff cutline with four races left in the regular season. Elliott sees a strong points effort and winning as interconnected.
"My stance has been the same since I got back," Elliott said during a media availability on Saturday morning. "I think we need to win. I think gaining a lot of points and contending for wins is very much one in the same. It’s not a coincidence that the guys that are high up in points have race wins, but they are also leading the regular season thing. Those things go hand in hand. If you are gaining a lot of points, you are probably going to have a shot to win. And if you are not, then you are probably not going to have a shot to win."
Kyle Larson will start 17th in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 31-year-old driver’s first Cup Series win came at Michigan in 2016, which was part of a run of three consecutive victories at this track. In his last three starts at the 2-mile track, he has three straight top 10s and an average of 4.33 in that span.
Alex Bowman is going to line up 20th in the No. 48 Ally X Detroit Pistons Chevy. The 30-year-old driver has three top 10s at Michigan, with all those coming in the last six races there. In last year’s race, he finished a track-best ninth. Bowman enters Sunday’s race sitting 42 points outside the provisional playoff cutline.
RELATED: Bowman, Harris visit Pistons facility | See every angle of the No. 48
Christopher Bell grabbed the pole position for the 200-lap, 400-mile race.
All four Hendrick Motorsports cars placed in the top six for the Group A practice session and the top 11 on the overall board. Byron was third overall in practice (and the best in Group A at 191.729 mph), followed by Bowman in seventh (191.200 mph), Larson in eighth (191.184 mph) and Elliott in 11th (191.002 mph). Byron topped the 10-lap consecutive average chart and was second in the five-lap consecutive averages. Bowman was sixth in 10-lap consecutive average.
The Rick Hendrick-owned organization has won eight times and led a series-best 2,658 laps at Michigan. Five drivers have victories at the Irish Hills track – that mark is tied with three other teams for the most different number of drivers to win for an organization at this venue. Gordon has the most wins for the team at three, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with two. Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin and Johnson each won once for the squad at the 2-mile track.
PHOTOS: See every winner for Hendrick Motorsports at Michigan
Sunday’s race is set to take place on Aug. 6. In two of the last three Cup Series races held on that date, Hendrick Motorsports has been victorious. Gordon won in 1994 and Johnson won in 2006, with both triumphs coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tune in to watch the action in the Irish Hills on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).