Brian Ickler wins first career Truck pole at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Billy Ballew Motorsports' Brian Ickler will start on the pole today when the Michigan 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race gets under way at Michigan International Speedway.
Ickler paced this morning’s qualifying efforts, turning a fast lap of 176.302 mph in his Billy Ballew Motorsports No. 15 Toyota.
Series points leader Matt Crafton (176.164), Todd Bodine (175.387), Kyle Busch (175.353) and Ron Hornaday (175.259) rounded out the top five. It’s the first pole for the 23-year-old Ickler, who is making just his fifth start in the truck series.
“I’ve got my teammate Kyle [Busch] up there with me so hopefully we can stay up there and draft and have a good finish for both trucks,” Ickler, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender, said.
“The biggest thing this year is that I haven’t been to any of these race tracks. I ran the ARCA race last night and all the practice in both cars. I feel like I’ve kind of figured it out a little bit and know what different lines are.”
Crafton enters today’s race with a 30-point advantage over Hornaday (1,202-1,272). Skinner and Bodine, the series’ most recent winner, are third and fourth respectively in the point standings.
Today’s race is scheduled to get under way at 2 p.m. with television coverage provided by Speed.
