FireKeepers Casino 400 Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Certainly, the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway was not lacking in action or drama. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick claimed his second victory of the season – seventh of his career – while the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings shifted dramatically yet again in Monday’s weather-delayed double-overtime finish to the race. Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota pulled away from William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the second overtime restart – holding off Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs to claimRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Poor weather interrupted NASCAR Cup Series practice and forced a cancellation of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin being awarded the pole position for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on a metric analyzed by NASCAR factoring in the previous race outcome among other factors. It’s the second pole position start in as many weeks for Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. — After the completion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, we can hold the following truths to be self-evident: In an extended, dramatic, nail-biting green-flag run to the finish, Buescher held off hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. to win his second straight Cup Series race. With team co-owner Brad Keselowski finishing fourth and Buescher winning—the ninth straight victory for Ford drivers at the 2.0-mile speedway—RFK can claim bragging rights as the top Ford team in the Cup garage, at leastRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Persistent rain forced postponement of the completion of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 until Monday at noon ET, after 74 laps had been run and four drivers had fallen out because of accidents.  Three drivers expected to contend for the victory—Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and William Byron—exited with wrecked cars in the first 46 laps of the race and will not be on track for the resumption on Monday, which will be broadcast on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  Josh Berry,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Saving his best performance for the last round of qualifying, Christopher Bell sped to the pole position for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Bell covered the 2.0-mile distance in 37.232 seconds in Saturday’s money round, translating to a top speed of 193.82 mph—the fastest qualifying lap at any track since the 2020 Daytona 500.  Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was .027 secondsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – By his own admission, Ty Gibbs didn’t have his best race last Sunday at Richmond.   Nevertheless, he salvaged a 15th-place finish and gained both positions and points in the standings at the expense of other bubble drivers—Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger—who fared worse at the .75-mile short track.   Gibbs comes to Michigan International Speedway 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 18 points behind McDowell for the final Playoff-eligible position.    There are potential good omens for Gibbs at Michigan. NotRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Noah Gragson’s actions on social media have landed him in hot water with both his team, Legacy Motor Club, and NASCAR, as he has been indefinitely suspended from the Cup Series starting with this weekend’s event in Michigan. On Saturday morning, it came to light that Gragson had liked an insensitive meme regarding the death of George Floyd and shortly thereafter Legacy Motor Club announced that Gragson had been suspended from the team and super-sub Josh Berry would take his place behind the wheel of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season is in sight with just four races remaining before the Playoff field is set. After a scorcher in Richmond last weekend, the series heads north to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s running of the FireKeepers Casino 400. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning here for bragging rights. Especially this year with the track debut for the Next Gen car, whichRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service On a blustery Sunday in the Irish Hills of Michigan, Kevin Harvick saved his season. Grabbing the lead and pulling away after a restart on Lap 166 of 200 at Michigan International Speedway, Harvick won the FireKeepeers Casino 400 by 2.903 seconds over pole winner Bubba Wallace and leap-frogged bubble-riding Martin Truex Jr. in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings. Harvick’s victory ended a 65-race drought for the 46-year-old former series champion from Bakersfield, California. The win was his sixth at Michigan and his fifth in the lastRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service After turning a blistering lap on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, Bubba Wallace had no idea he had won the pole for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Moments after completing his final-round lap in 37.755 seconds (190.703 mph), Wallace continued through Turns 1 and 2 to dead silence on his team radio. “I felt really good about the lap, and I was on the wrong channel, and so it was quiet all the way toRead More