The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 18, at 12:30 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2]Spencer Gallagher of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 37.834 and an average speed of 190.305 mph (306.266 km/h).[3]
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, July 18, at 3:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2]Brad Keselowski of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 37.277 and an average speed of 193.149 mph (310.843 km/h).[4]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, June 17, at 10:00 AM EST.[2] Since Michigan International Speedway is at least 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–40. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.[5]
Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 37.197 and an average speed of 193.564 miles per hour (311.511 km/h) in the second round.[6]
