NASCAR At Michigan International Speedway Starting Lineup For The 2011 Heluva Good! 400

Kurt Busch made it three in a row on Saturday, winning his third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole by claiming the top spot for Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Busch (188.699 mph), who drives for Michigan native Roger Penske, bested David Reutimann (188.684) and Matt Kenseth.

The pole trifecta for Busch – the first driver to win three straight poles since Brian Vickers in 2009 – continued to mark a turnaround for a driver who, just a few weeks ago, appeared to be going the wrong way.

“At one point, there was a feeling that we were going to lose this edge if we didn’t go in a different direction,” Busch said. “It’s great to be able to see the results pop up so soon. I had no idea we were right around the corner.”

Brian Vickers and Regan Smith rounded out the top five, followed by Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and Denny Hamlin.

“The car had a pole in it, but the driver didn’t, unfortunately,” Reutimann said. “I screwed it up a little bit. Nothing would have made me happier than to knock him off the pole, but we’re second. We’ll have to deal with that.”

Said Kenseth: “Obviously we’re not really known for qualifying, so to qualify third is really good for us.”

Three cars failed to qualify for the race: Tony Raines, Mike Skinner and Michigan native Brian Keselowski.

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway:

DNQ: Tony Raines, Brian Keselowski, Mike Skinner