BROOKLYN, Mich. — Mother Nature won the day Sunday at Michigan International Speedway as the NASCAR Cup Series race saw a delayed start and was ultimately postponed 74 laps into the 400-miler.
Six caution flags waved in the early portion of the FireKeepers Casino 400, with four cars going to the garage and retiring from the event.
Tyler Reddick is the current race leader, with Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones rounding out the top five.
RELATED: See running order after 74 laps
Despite not reaching the halfway point at Michigan, there were a handful of takeaways from the race so far.
Editor’s note: The race will resume Monday at noon ET on USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.
BIG-NAME DRIVERS HAVING ISSUES
Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and William Byron all crashed out on Sunday due to separate incidents. On Lap 14, Busch spun into the wall after a hard battle for position with Ryan Blaney in Turns 1 and 2, resulting in a 37th- and last-place finish for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Twenty laps later, Elliott had a tire go down that sent the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the wall in Turn 2. The DNF for Elliott forces him into a must-win situation entering the final three races of the regular season as he will leave the Irish Hills with just one additional point after entering Sunday 40 points below the playoff cutline.
Elliott’s teammate William Byron made contact with the wall off Turn 4 that was enough to put the No. 24 behind the wall.
MORE: Recap the issues for the Hendrick Motorsports duo
IT’S ANYBODY’S RACE
Toyota drivers have led 38 of the 74 laps so far but varying strategies through Stage 1 and thus far through Stage 2 have jumbled the running order.
Truex Jr. looks to be the best of the Toyota bunch as he stormed to the lead on Lap 30, pacing the field for a current race-high 30 laps after starting fifth.
Bowman, who currently sits 21st in points and 42 points below the elimination line, has led 19 laps and will return to the track on Monday running second. Fellow winless drivers Jones, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace will sit inside the top 10 when the race resumes.
FORDS STRUGGLING TO FIND SPEED
A ninth Michigan win in a row for the Ford camp doesn’t appear to be in the cards at the moment. Six-time Michigan winner Kevin Harvick started outside the top 20 and has been stuck toward the back all race long. He will resume from the 23rd position on Monday.
Austin Cindric (sixth) and Brad Keselowski (seventh) are the only Fords inside the top 10 as it stands. Keselowski was the only Ford driver to score points in Stage 1 with a fourth-place result.