BROOKLYN, Mich. — Chase Briscoe won his third straight pole and NASCAR -high fourth this year at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

Briscoe, driving the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, turned a lap of 195.514 mph in qualifying on the 2-mile oval in the fastest pole in the Cup Series since Ryan Blaney went 200-plus mph at Texas in 2018.

He is aiming for his first win this year after five top-five finishes, and the third victory of his career.

“It will be nice starting up front and we’ve been able to do that now three weeks in a row but haven’t been able to execute with it,” Briscoe said. “So, hopefully third time is a charm.”

Kyle Busch, in the No. 8 Chevrolet, will start second Sunday in the FireKeepers Casino 400.

Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, qualified third and points leader William Byron, in the No. 24 Chevrolet, was fourth.

Defending race champion Tyler Reddick, in the No. 45 Toyota, will start 12th and for 23XI Racing, which is suing NASCAR.

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin is unfazed that a three-judge federal appellate panel vacated an injunction that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI, which he owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row as chartered teams as part of an antitrust lawsuit.

“That’s just such a small part of the entire litigation,” Hamlin said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. “I’m not deterred at all. We’re in good shape.”

Hamlin said Jordan feels the same way.

“He just remains very confident, just like I do,” Hamiln said.

NASCAR has not commented on the latest ruling.

23XI and Front Row sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals. They asked for a temporary injunction that would recognize them as chartered teams for this season, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday ruled in NASCAR’s favor.

“We’re looking at all options right now,” Hamlin said.

The teams, each winless this year, said they needed the injunction because the current charter agreement prohibits them from suing NASCAR. 23XI also argued it would be harmed because Tyler Reddick’s contract would have made him a free agent if the team could not guarantee him a charter-protected car.

Hamlin insisted he’s not worried about losing drivers because of the uncertainty.

“I’m not focused on that particularly right this second,” he said.

Reddick, who was last year’s regular-season champion and competed for the Cup title in November, enters the race Sunday at Michigan ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings.

The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates.

The six teams may have to compete as “open” cars and would have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and would receive a fraction of the money.

Without a charter, Hamlin said it would cost the teams “tens of millions,” to run three cars.

“We’re committed to run this season open if we have to,” he said. “We’re going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We’re here to race. Our team is going to be here for the long haul and we’re confident of that.”

The antitrust case isn’t scheduled to be heard until December.

NASCAR has not said what it would do with the six charters held by the two organizations if they are returned to the sanctioning body. There are 36 chartered cars for a 40-car field.

“We feel like facts were on our side,” Hamlin said. “I think if you listen to the judges, even they mentioned that we might be in pretty good shape.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A three-judge federal appellate panel ruled Thursday in favor of NASCAR in the antitrust lawsuit filed by two teams, one owned by Michael Jordan, and vacated an injunction that required 23XI and Front Row be recognized as chartered teams as their case snakes through the legal system.

Both race teams sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals.

The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates. 23XI, which is owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, joined Front Row in suing NASCAR after 13 other organizations signed the renewals and those two organizations refused.

“We are disappointed by today’s ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and are reviewing the decision to determine our next steps,” said Jeffery Kessler, attorney for 23XI and Front Row. “This ruling is based on a very narrow consideration of whether a release of claims in the charter agreements is anti-competitive and does not impact our chances of winning at trial scheduled for Dec. 1.

“We remain confident in our case and committed to racing for the entirety of this season as we continue our fight to create a fair and just economic system for stock car racing that is free of anticompetitive, monopolistic conduct.”

The two teams sued and asked for a temporary injunction that would recognize them as chartered teams for this season. The antitrust case isn’t scheduled to be heard until December.

23XI and Front Row have 14 days to appeal to the full court, and the injunction has no bearings on the merits of the antitrust case.

The earliest NASCAR can treat the teams as unchartered — a charter guarantees their organizations a starting spot each week and prize money — is one week after the deadline to appeal, provided there is no pending appeal.

NASCAR has not said what it would do with the six charters held by the two organizations if they are returned to the sanctioning body. There are only 36 chartered cars for a 40-car field. If the teams do not appeal, the six entries would have to compete as “open” cars — which means they’d have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and they would receive a fraction of the money.

The teams said they needed the injunction because the current charter agreement prohibits them from suing NASCAR. 23XI also argued it would be harmed because Tyler Reddick‘s contract would have made him a free agent if the team could not guarantee him a charter-protected car.

It’s not clear what would happen to Reddick’s contract. Last year’s regular-season champion goes to Michigan this weekend ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings. Both organizations are still seeking a win this season — Hamlin’s three victories are with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team he drives for.

The original judge ruled that NASCAR’s charter agreement likely violated antitrust law in granting the injunction. But when they heard arguments last month, the three judges at the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, indicated they were skeptical of that decision.

The judges said in Thursday’s ruling they were not aware of any case that supports the lower court’s theory of antitrust law, so they vacated the injunction.

“In short, because we have found no support for the proposition that a business entity or person violates the antitrust laws by requiring a prospective participant to give a release for past conduct as a condition for doing business, we cannot conclude that the plaintiffs made a clear showing that they were likely to succeed on the merits of that theory,” the court said. “And without satisfaction of the likelihood-of-success element, the plaintiffs were not entitled to a preliminary injunction.”