The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway this weekend for a showdown on the 2-mile ‘D-shaped’ track as they host their 100th race.
Leading into Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), here’s the rundown on a few things to watch.
RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Michigan/Texas
TRACK DETAILS
Michigan International Speedway is a 2-mile D-shaped track. With a unique track design featuring a 3,600-foot frontstretch and 2,242-foot backstretch, the banking in each corner is 18 degrees. The frontstretch banking is 12 degrees and the backstretch banking is five degrees. The inaugural Monster Energy Series race at the track was the 1969 Motor State 500, won by Cale Yarborough on June 15.
RULES PACKAGE
Michigan will feature the 2019 rules package with aero ducts and a tapered-spacer engine that will generate about 550 horsepower.
Cup teams are allowed three sets of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials tires for practice, one set for qualifying and seven sets for the race. The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will have six sets for the race.
With the current rules package, corner speeds at Michigan will be up and tight racing throughout the field should take place throughout the entire race.
Michigan was resurfaced in 2012 and is still relatively smooth so Goodyear’s tire setup at Michigan is now aligned with what was run at Texas Motor Speedway earlier in the season.
“With Michigan being a relatively recent repave, combined with the 2019 Cup rules package and drivers expected to be on the throttle all the way through the corners, we always have to be cognizant of tire heat,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “We combat that with the tread compounds we bring to tracks with smooth surfaces, as well as the gage or thickness of that tread that allows the tire to dissipate heat. Overall, this weekend could be a good show for the fans if it is anything like some other recent events where corner speeds have been up and there has been a lot of tight racing and passing.”
Teams in both the Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire setup at Michigan this weekend. It is a combination of left- and right-side tires that were run at Texas in March and the right-side tire code is what was run at Michigan in 2018. The left-side code is different than last year featuring a construction change to align with other speedways.
STATS
- Michigan International Speedway is tied with Talladega for the most 200 mph Busch Pole Award speeds with 11. Only three of the last 14 poles at the 2-mile track were less than 200 mph.
- Michigan will host its 100th race on Sunday.
- Kyle Larson has won three of the last five races at Michigan.
- Either Chase Elliott or Kevin Harvick has finished runner-up in nine of the last 12 races at Michigan.
- Long winless streaks ended at Michigan for some drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped a 76-race winless streak in 2008 and a 143-race winless streak in 2012 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend’s race will be televised on FS1, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Friday’s first practices for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be live streamed on NASCAR.com. The second practice for both series will be live on FS2.
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying on Friday at 5:35 p.m. will be streamed live on NASCAR.com. Friday’s Gander Truck Series race (9 p.m.) will be on FS1.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s race-day schedules will be covered on FS1, with the exception of Xfinity qualifying on FS2. You can also log onto NASCAR.com for coverage, including in-car cameras on Drive and in-car audio on RaceView.
Be sure to follow your Fantasy Live team and make your garage decision by the end of Stage 2 when rosters are final.
2018 RACE WINNER
Clint Bowyer brought home the checkered flag at last year’s race, finishing ahead of his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick. Bowyer led only eight laps en route to his first victory at the Michigan track.
ACTIVE MICHIGAN WINNERS
Kurt Busch (three), Kyle Larson (three), Denny Hamlin (two), Kevin Harvick (two), Joey Logano (two), Ryan Newman (two), Clint Bowyer (one), Kyle Busch (one) and Jimmie Johnson (one).