Michigan 101: Betting odds, Goodyear tires, track facts and more

After two weeks of adding in some right-hand turns, NASCAR returns to its oval roots at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday for the Firekeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Michigan | Buy tickets After a 2020 doubleheader saw Kevin Harvick sweep the Irish Hills away, the 2-mile D-shaped oval returns to the Cup Series’ schedule for just one race this season, the first time Michigan will host only one Cup race since 1973. With history to revisit and a future to preview, let’s look ahead to this weekend’s action: PLACES, EVERYBODY Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green flag Sunday, courtesy of the qualifying metric used to set the starting lineup. That metric, used at all tracks returning to the Cup schedule this season, factors in finishing position from the most recent race (50%), points position (35%) and fastest race lap (15%). Behind Larson and Elliott sit Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto in Row 2. Check out the rest of the starting lineup for Sunday’s race here. ‘RESIN’-ING WITH THE TRACK NASCAR has opted to use resin on the racing surface this weekend at Michigan in addition to dragging tires along the asphalt surface, a departure from its past attempts of using PJ1 traction compound to widen the racing groove on the track’s smooth but wide turns. The resin being used this weekend is the same that was applied on Nashville Superspeedway’s concrete surface for its mid-June races. NASCAR Executive Vice President of Competition Scott Miller joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday to discuss the advantages of using the resin over PJ1. “It doesn't have a sticky, glue-like component to it,” Miller said of the resin. “What it does is it accelerates the rubber going down with the tire dragging; it actually binds to the track much better. And what we liked about Nashville is it was super consistent, from the bottom to the top, where PJ1 sometimes it becomes a more dominant lane – a little bit too dominant lane – and sometimes it doesn't work so good. “There's weather conditions and timing and the amount of traffic, all figure really heavily into how PJ1 performs, but it seems like the resin was much more consistent and something that we just really wanted to take a good look at another race track, and Michigan was a great candidate for that.” NASCAR HISTORY IN THE IRISH HILLS – Michigan International Speedway opened for its first NASCAR races in 1969 and saw NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and David Pearson respectively win that year’s pair of events. – Land developer Larry LoPatin created the racetrack with help from track designer Charles Moneypenny, who also designed Daytona International Speedway. – LoPatin owned the short-lived American Raceways Inc. (ARI), which included tracks in Michigan, Atlanta and Texas. ARI went bankrupt in 1973 and fell into receivership, leading to Roger Penkse’s purchase of the facility that year. – Penske owned the facility for 25 years and launched seating capacity from 25,000 to over 125,000 before selling the track to International Speedway Corporation in 1999. – The track was most recently repaved in 2012, a process that consisted of removing the top two inches of the existing pavement and placing two lifts of asphalt – each 1.5 inches thick – as a leveling course and a final wearing course. About 646,000-square feet of asphalt was removed and another 22,000 tons of new asphalt went in its place. – In June 2013, Michigan International Speedway announced the creation of a Manufacturer's Trophy, an ode to the spirit of the automobile and its importance to the racetrack. Inspired by the Stanley Cup, the award recognizes the winning manufacturer after each Cup Series win at MIS. – Sunday marks the 104th NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan. Source: Racing Insights RELATED: Memorable moments at Michigan GOODYEAR TIRES This weekend’s right-side tires will be new to Michigan but familiar to all Cup Series teams. Goodyear will utilize the same right-side tire that has previously been run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway since 2020. The change to this tire aligns Michigan with the other three tracks in how smooth and fast the surface is, which this tire compound is built for. “Once the schedule firmed up in 2020, we were able to make a change to the right-side tread compound at those three tracks to introduce a little more wear and add some grip at the same time,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said in a press release. “Michigan moves to that right-side for this race, but at least Cup teams have had several races on this right-side tire code already and will know what to expect.” The left-side tire this weekend remains the same from one year ago. RULES PACKAGE As NASCAR shifts back to a large oval track, teams will utilize the high-downforce, lower-horsepower package at Michigan. This weekend marks the first race since the July 11 contest at Atlanta Motor Speedway that the 550-horsepower package will be used. This package features taller spoilers and longer splitters to increase drag and downforce to encourage closer racing. RELATED: How the postseason looks before Sunday MICHIGAN STORY LINES – Kevin Harvick has won four of the last five races at Michigan, including each of the last three. – Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive wins at Michigan, claiming four in a row from 1985-86. – Ford has won each of the last six races at MIS, the longest winning streak by one manufacturer at Michigan. – Twice in the last nine Michigan races, a driver has won three consecutive races: Kyle Larson (2016-17) and Kevin Harvick (2019-20). – In seven of the last 11 Michigan contests, the race winner led at least 90 laps. – While the second stage ran caution-free in both races last year, stage three has seen three or more cautions in each of the last four Michigan races. – Michigan races have gone to overtime seven times, including twice in the last four races. – Fourteen drivers have combined to win the 24 races run this year. – AJ Allmendinger, who won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last week, will not compete this weekend. – Kyle Larson claimed the points lead from Denny Hamlin following last week’s race, marking the first time since week two of the season that Hamlin isn’t atop the standings. Source: Racing Insights BETTING ODDS FOR THE FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 Kevin Harvick may be the most recent dominator at Michigan, but Kyle Larson is the current favorite on BetMGM with 3-1 odds. Larson has won three times at Michigan, his most at any track, and Michigan is the only track at which he has multiple wins. Behind Larson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex are all listed at 7-1 odds while Harvick trails them at 8-1 odds. If you’re looking for a sleeper, take a look at Bubba Wallace. His season stats don’t bode much confidence with just one top-10 – a fifth-place finish at the second of two races at Pocono Raceway – but Wallace has decent history at Michigan, winning a Truck Series race here in 2017 and earning a ninth-place finish in the first Michigan race in 2020. RELATED:  Odds for Michigan | NASCAR BetCenter FANTASY LIVE Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts. It’s not too late to join in on the competition. The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Kyle Larson (939), Denny Hamlin (927) and Chase Elliott (796). ALSO ON NASCAR.COM Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look. New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.