The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series head to Michigan International Speedway this weekend for their annual stops in the Irish Hills. The ARCA Menards Series kicks off on-track activity Friday, followed by Trucks on Saturday and culminating with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Below are the qualifying orders for both series.
Kevin Magnussen will pilot Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry at Naval Base Coronado in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on June 21, the team announced Wednesday morning.
Magnussen, a 10-year veteran of Formula One and a noted sports-car racer, will drive the No. 91 Qualcomm Technologies Chevrolet in NASCAR’s inaugural race on an active United States military base, as Qualcomm will serve as the Official Circuit Partner of NASCAR San Diego race weekend.
A native of Denmark, Magnussen made 185 career starts in F1 from 2014 through 2024, competing for McLaren, Renault and Haas throughout his time in the sport, earning a career-best second-place finish in his debut at Melbourne in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren. In a move to sports cars in 2021, Magnussen won the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition for Chip Ganassi Racing at Belle Isle alongside co-driver Renger van der Zande. He also made one NTT IndyCar Series start in 2021 at Road America before rejoining F1 from 2022 through 2024.
In an already diverse career, Magnussen will now add stock-car racing to an already impressive resume.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to have the opportunity to compete in NASCAR,” Magnussen said in a team release. “What Justin Marks and Trackhouse have done with Project 91 is unique, to provide drivers from outside of the NASCAR world with a chance to compete at this level. I’m proud to have this opportunity.
“I’ve already spent time with the team in North Carolina — meeting everyone, doing the seat fit, going through pit-stop procedures and all the details that come with preparing for a NASCAR weekend. They’re an awesome group of people, incredibly dedicated, and just as excited about this debut as I am. I really can’t wait to get to San Diego and experience it all for the first time.”
Magnussen will have three teammates on track at the San Diego street course, joining full-time competitors Ross Chastain, Connor Zilisch and Project 91 alum Shane van Gisbergen on track. Phil Surgen, the team’s director of technology, will serve as Magnussen’s crew chief on the No. 91 car. Surgen previously served as crew chief for five years alongside Chastain. As part of the team’s partnership with Qualcomm, Trackhouse notes in its press release that the technology company will aid the four-car organization’s on-track performance with artificial intelligence.
“Through the Qualcomm Dragonwing™ AI on-prem appliance, the competition and performance team will gain efficient insights into real-time data, streamlining faster and more strategic in-race decision-making,” the release states. “The technology will analyze and distribute complex data and radio communications to race engineers at both the track and race shop.”
While the 33-year-old has never competed in NASCAR, the Danish driver has gotten behind the wheel of a NASCAR stock car before. His time as a competitor for Haas F1 Team led to a NASCAR crossover in 2022, when he and then-teammate Mick Schumacher traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway, riding shotgun with Chase Briscoe around the track’s Roval in a Gen 6 Cup car before ripping laps of their own.
“NASCAR, it’s a different animal to a Formula One car,” Magnussen said after his first experience. “That’s what we’re used to. When you drive in NASCAR, as a Formula One driver, it’s like you’ve never driven a race car before. It’s completely different.
“Everything you know is out of the window. It’s a lot of fun. You’ve got to relearn everything again, and it’s like driving a race car for the first time. It’s awesome.”
Briscoe watched as the duo caught on quickly, noting lap times were only “three or four seconds off” in only a handful of laps.
“I think if they ever wanted to come try it, they’d definitely be competitive,” Briscoe said.
Courtesy of Trackhouse Racing
Magnussen will get his first legitimate chance when NASCAR travels to Coronado for its own moment of history.
Trackhouse fields its Project 91 program with the intent of expanding Trackhouse Racing’s global reach by fielding an Open entry in the Cup Series for renowned international racing drivers, an effort led by team owner Justin Marks that has hit the track five times since the program’s inception in 2022. Magnussen’s appearance marks the first for Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry since the 2025 Daytona 500, when four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves made his NASCAR debut.
“I’m thrilled to be able to bring back Project 91 again this year, especially at San Diego,” said Marks. “We were waiting for the right opportunity with the right partner and driver to bring this Project 91 entry to fruition. Qualcomm is a worldwide brand, and Kevin Magnussen is a global driver, and both are elements we look for when it comes to running Project 91.”
Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula One World Champion, served as the team’s proof of concept when he debuted at Watkins Glen International in 2022, ultimately making two Cup starts for the organization.
The program exploded on the scene, though, thanks to three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, when his NASCAR debut culminated in a stunning victory in July 2023 in NASCAR’s inaugural race on the Chicago Street Course. The New Zealander made one more Project 91 start that year for Trackhouse but ultimately springboarded a full career shift to NASCAR, with SVG now in the midst of his second full-time season and sitting 12th in the current points standings.
Magnussen will make Project 91’s sixth start in the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, June 21 (4 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
There will be no penalty issued for the crash involving Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski at Nashville Superspeedway after NASCAR officials quickly determined no fault in the incident.
During the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis said the wreck was reviewed immediately at NASCAR’s remote race control facility in Concord, North Carolina.
“Scott Miller pulled all the data from that incident, and we knew pretty quickly that Austin was out of the throttle (before hitting Keselowski),” Ellis said. “They obviously tangled on the track, and then the incident happened, right? But we were able to tell pretty quickly that it wasn’t a situation where Austin was in the gas or anything related to that.”
In his team’s radio communication and interviews, Keselowski held Dillon responsible for the crash. Prime Video analyst Steve Letarte dissected the incident Monday in a NASCAR.com video and determined Dillon was at 100% throttle at the exit of Turn 4 and dropped to 17% throttle at the time of impact on the front straightaway.
“Those two (drivers) clearly kind of had some differences of opinion throughout the race,” Ellis said. “And so that one is really more of just a racing incident, and that’s really how NASCAR viewed it on Sunday night.”
The crash was one of 11 cautions, including four for drivers with brake issues.
NASCAR vice president of racing communications Mike Forde said the problems likely were the result of setups that weren’t optimized for a 2026 rules package with an increase to 750 horsepower and lower downforce. The higher corner entry speeds necessitated heavier braking.
“Depending on what kind of brake package you use and setup that you chose, which is a team’s choice, that’s what we believe led to a lot of the problems,” Forde said. “I think it’s going to be pretty easily fixable. We saw 30-some cars that didn’t have any problems. We did see the four, but we want to see zero. So I think there will be some learnings from the entire garage, but I think, suffice to say, we looked at it, and if this was back at the 670 (horsepower) package last year, we probably wouldn’t have seen the problems.
“It’s kind of the teams have to work through it, and I don’t think anyone’s calling for any change in that regard.”
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 56th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The decision to hold the yellow flag for a Kyle Larson spin near the end of the race at Nashville.
— The process and rules that govern how a polesitter starts a race.
— The verdict in Ryan Preece’s appeal hearing.
— Why flashing lights are used to help drivers determine when the pits are closed.
Click on the embed below to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA Today Co. and, for the past 10 years, at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
Goodyear Racing will use a new right-side tire setup for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend as teams prepare for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
With the smooth and high-speed surface of the 2-mile oval in the Irish Hills, Goodyear had the challenge of providing a tire that could handle the stress going into the corners of the track. The left-side tire is the same setup used on multiple ovals this year, including Nashville last weekend.
“This weekend’s Goodyear Racing Eagle tire setup builds on the intermediate track package teams have already raced multiple times this season,” said Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear Director of Racing for the Americas. “Michigan is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR schedule, featuring a smooth surface and multiple racing grooves that allow drivers to run different lines. The high speeds place significant stress on the right-side tires, so we have brought a new right-side tire designed to withstand those loads while also increasing strategy options for teams.”
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will run a familiar setup this weekend, using the same setup from Texas Motor Speedway and the same left-side tire run the last two weekends at Nashville and Charlotte.
Meeting the standard for 1-mile tracks or longer, the 15-inch Goodyear tires will also feature inner liners.
Tire allotments for each team competing this weekend:
Cup Series: 8 total sets — 6 new sets for the race, 1 for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and 1 for practice.
Craftsman Truck Series: 5 total sets — 3 new sets for the race, 1 for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and 1 for practice.
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series drivers competing for the 2026 championship after Denny Hamlin’s win at Nashville Superspeedway and before Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin enters as the defending winner.
Analysis: Another week, another reminder that Reddick remains the sport’s measuring stick in 2026, though his boss is now awfully close to taking that distinction. The 23XI Racing driver led the opening 37 laps at Nashville, spent much of the night near the front and came home sixth despite getting swept into the post-checkered-flag melee that erupted behind the battle for the win. Michigan has also been one of his strongest tracks recently, highlighted by a 2024 victory there, and the target remains squarely on the No. 45 team entering Sunday.
Analysis: Hamlin’s Nashville victory may have been one of the most impressive wins of his career, and that’s saying something. After starting from the pole, Hamlin was penalized literally immediately for jumping the start, dropped to the rear of the field, then methodically drove back through the pack before winning a thriller of a three-wide battle on the final lap — against his teammates. Still sitting second in points but not quite within striking distance, Hamlin heads to Michigan as the defending winner of this race and one of the hottest drivers in the garage. If he goes back-to-back, we may see a new No. 1 for the first time this season.
Analysis: Blaney’s eighth-place finish was solid, but it doesn’t fully reflect how competitive he was at Nashville. The Team Penske driver led 46 laps, claimed Stage 1 points and spent much of the night inside the top five before late-race strategy shuffled the running order. No. 12 remains one of the most dangerous drivers on intermediate and larger tracks (all tracks, really), and Michigan has historically suited him well. The 2021 winner at the 2-mile oval enters the weekend third in points with nine top-10 finishes already this season. A second victory of 2026 is certainly less a question of if and more like when.
Analysis: Elliott gains a spot after another quietly effective performance, rallying from 29th on the grid to finish seventh at Nashville after spending time running inside the top five late before getting caught in the violent crash that unfolded after the checkered flag. Michigan has traditionally been one of his steadier tracks as well, giving the No. 9 team another opportunity to continue building momentum and perhaps collect its first Cup Series victory in the Irish Hills.
Analysis: Gibbs slips a position, though the drop says more about Elliott’s rise than anything lacking from the No. 54 team. Gibbs finished 13th at Nashville after spending portions of the race among the frontrunners and remains fifth in the standings with nine top-10 finishes. Michigan has been one of his better Cup tracks to date, finishing third there each of the past two seasons while never finishing worse than 11th across four races. The speed remains present almost every week; the next step is turning more of those strong runs into trophies.
Analysis: Few drivers left Nashville more frustrated than Bell, and for good reason. Few drivers left looking stronger, either, which bodes well as he continues to mount a second-half charge. Bell finished second for the second consecutive week and appeared poised to claim 2026 win No. 1 before Hamlin stole the victory on the final lap. The No. 20 team has become one of the fastest groups in the series again, as Bell led laps, posted the race’s fastest lap early and recovered from an earlier pit-road setback that dropped him deep in the field. With back-to-back runner-ups and renewed speed on intermediate tracks, Bell feels like a legitimate threat to win any Sunday right now.
Analysis: Larson’s final result — 23rd — was ugly, but his race was anything but. The reigning champ led 56 laps at Nashville, spent much of the event battling Bell, Briscoe and Reddick at the front and looked capable of winning before a late tire issue derailed the evening. That outcome drops Larson one spot, but the underlying performance remains elite. He still ranks among the series leaders in laps led and fastest laps while continuing to unload with race-winning speed nearly every weekend. Michigan has long been his playground and it would be beyond fitting to see his winless streak snap at the track where he once won three straight races at.
Analysis: Hocevar continues climbing. The Talladega winner finished 10th at Nashville despite scraping the wall late and navigating another chaotic race filled with incidents, cautions and strategy swings. Now ninth in points, the Michigan native returns home this weekend riding the strongest stretch of his young Cup career. His racecraft continues improving, his raw speed has never been in question and the No. 77 team keeps putting itself in position, all setting up for a potential breakthrough moment at Michigan that would surprise far fewer people than it would have a month ago.
Analysis: Buescher’s Nashville result ended with another mechanical failure, but it doesn’t erase the speed he’s showing during what has become one of the most challenging stretches of his season so far. Before the issue, Buescher remained in the mix and once again showed top-10 pace. Few drivers arrive at Michigan with a stronger recent résumé. Buescher won there in 2023 and followed it with a P6 in 2024 and a runner-up finish last season. RFK Racing has consistently excelled at the 2-mile track, making this an ideal opportunity for the No. 17 team to immediately rebound.
Analysis: Suárez continues to maximize opportunities, even if he was held out of the top 10 a week after winning the Coca-Cola 600. After winning Stage 2 through clever strategy at Nashville, he ultimately finished 19th but still gained ground relative to several drivers around him in the standings battle. The consistency remains a bit uneven week to week, but the Spire Motorsports driver has repeatedly shown an ability to capitalize when strategy creates openings, and that quality has become one of the defining characteristics of his season. And will likely lead to another trophy or two.
Analysis: Byron’s Nashville race unraveled late after contact and damage left him with a 30th-place finish, continuing a frustrating stretch for the No. 24 team after opening the season as one of the championship favorites — and atop these rankings. A Chase appearance is almost definitely in his future, but title aspirations could fade over the coming months if No. 24 doesn’t get back to his winning ways, and soon. The encouraging news is that the speed hasn’t disappeared; it just hasn’t shown up as heavily in the laps-led column. That could change Sunday, as Michigan provided a race-high 98 laps led and a dominant performance for much of last year’s race before the finish got away, so another strong rebound opportunity awaits, and perhaps a lot more.
Analysis: Van Gisbergen earns another move upward after producing the best oval performance of his Cup career to date, and you get the sense more are coming. SVG finished fifth at Nashville, led 12 laps and spent most of the evening racing inside the top 10 against the series’ established stars, continuing to turn doubters into believers and changing the conversation around the Trackhouse Racing driver. A top-20 finish at Michigan suggests it isn’t likely to implode this weekend either.
Analysis: Briscoe’s third-place finish was one of the drives of the night, even if it stung like hell for him personally. Starting 31st, No. 19 methodically worked through the field, leading laps and nearly stealing the win from his teammate(s) in the closing corners. The result was also his first Nashville finish better than 17th, and another sign that the No. 19 team is trending upward with championship aspirations. Briscoe has quietly assembled six top-10 finishes this season — five of which were top fives — and enters Michigan carrying some of the best momentum he has had all year.
Analysis: Keselowski falls two spots after a difficult Nashville outing that ended with a 34th-place finish; a disappointing result for a driver who entered the race on one of the stronger consistency runs of his season. Fortunately for the 2012 champ, the schedule now shifts to one of his best venues, even if he’s yet to win there. The Michigan native has extensive success at the 2-mile oval and RFK Racing continues to show strength there. If there is a week for a bounce-back performance, this is it.
Analysis: Wallace’s Nashville race ended in frustration after getting swept into a multicar crash that also damaged Byron and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. The final result failed to reflect the speed Wallace showed earlier in the event, but extends a slide off his early-season showings. Michigan has historically rewarded Wallace’s strengths, however, and the bleeding could stop here, as the No. 23 team remains capable of producing race-winning runs when execution matches pace.
Analysis: Logano gains a spot after a relatively quiet 14th-place finish at Nashville, which solidified his standing a bit. While the three-time champion has yet to find the consistency expected from a Penske powerhouse — not to mention hitting his own standard — signs of improvement have emerged over the past month. Michigan has been one of Logano’s better tracks throughout his career, including a victory there in 2019. The standings deficit remains significant, but the No. 22 team continues inching closer to Chase contention, but how much further from there looks murky.
Analysis: Cindric’s Nashville night produced a fourth-place finish in Stage 2 … and a 26th-place result at the checkered flag, though the raw finishing position undersells the competitiveness shown by No. 2 throughout the race. The good news is he remains on the good side of The Chase bubble, albeit barely. He could see a third straight finish outside the top 25 this weekend, however, as he’s yet to land a top 10 at Michigan with a 27.0 average finish across four starts.
Analysis: Preece slips two spots after radiator issues sent him behind the wall at Nashville, marking a frustrating setback for a driver who had steadily climbed toward Chase contention over recent weeks but is starting to slip. The margin remains razor-thin, with Preece currently sitting just outside the provisional 16-driver field and cannot afford many more lost opportunities. The encouraging part is that the speed shown by the No. 60 team remains significantly better than where it sat at this point a year ago, and he’s averaged a top 10 the last two times out at Michigan.
Analysis: Smith holds steady after delivering one of the strongest performances of his Cup career, as it’s becoming clear Nashville will be a track he can capitalize at. No. 38 led late, appeared capable of pulling off a major upset and ultimately finished ninth after a caution erased his fuel-strategy advantage. The Front Row Motorsports driver continues building confidence each week, and while the breakthrough victory did not materialize, Nashville offered another reminder that Smith is becoming a legitimate factor rather than simply a promising prospect. After a P7 run at Michigan last year, he’ll once again be worth watching this weekend.
Analysis: McDowell closes out the rankings after another gritty effort at Nashville keeps him afloat. The Spire Motorsports veteran spent significant portions of the race inside the top 10, briefly challenged near the front, and brought home a respectable 15th-place finish as he continues to eye a return to the postseason after tastes in 2021 and 2023. No.71’s steadiness keeps the McDowell and Co. firmly in the conversation entering Michigan — where he’s never finished in the top 10 in 19 attempts.
LEBANON, Tenn. — Nashville Superspeedway delivered drama, action and intensity from start to finish Sunday night.
For viewers, the Music City mayhem capped a thrilling weekend in the Volunteer State. For most drivers other than Denny Hamlin, the chaos left their stomachs in knots.
Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 marked the NASCAR Cup Series’ official start to the second half of the regular season and another grueling test on both man and machine in the Tennessee heat with a new racing package, featuring lower downforce and 750 horsepower under the hood.
That added speed and reduced aerodynamic stability appeared to lead to extra wear on the brakes, resulting in numerous failures in brake rotors Sunday, including Trackhouse Racing teammates Connor Zilisch and Ross Chastain as well as then-leader AJ Allmendinger, who surged through strategy to score a Stage 1 victory.
But brakes weren’t the only source of misfortune. Mistimed contact led to multiple incidents, many collecting those around the 16th-place bubble in the Cup Series points standings where the cutoff will be determined for The Chase at the end of August. In total, 24 of Sunday’s 38 cars were involved in an accident, according to Racing Insights. That list includes Chastain, Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace.
Chastain, runner-up in the 2022 season standings, has fallen to 26th in points after his second consecutive DNF left him 37th at Nashville and sits 67 points behind Cindric for the provisional 16th and final spot in the 10-race postseason run. Cindric was collected in a Lap 193 crash off Turn 4 when Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon collided, sending Keselowski into a spin and into Cindric’s door. Keselowski, 13th in points, was unable to continue and finished 34th while Cindric trudged on to a 26th-place result. Ryan Preece, Keselowski’s RFK Racing teammate, wasn’t involved in an incident but fell outside The Chase after a radiator issue sent his No. 60 Ford to the garage early, resulting in a 36th-place finish.
Wallace, meanwhile, was involved in an incident not of his doing for the fourth consecutive week, including the exhibition All-Star Race at Dover on May 17. Wallace started the year strong and sat inside the top three in the points standings for five straight weeks. But in a dismal stretch since Darlington Raceway in late March, Wallace has finished 22nd or worse in six of the last nine races, including three straight after finishing 32nd at Nashville, and now sits 15th in points, just 34 points inside The Chase bubble.
“It’s been a long couple weeks,” a dejected Wallace said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Just tired. But I become the [expletive] when I let this carry over in the Mondays and Tuesdays, so I’ve got to somehow put on a face.
“Just a weird race. A lot of cautions. I’m just beyond devastated.”
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
That frustration was not reserved for the rear of the field. Third-place finisher Chase Briscoe was gutted by not winning Sunday’s race against Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell in search of his first win of 2026, particularly because he has his eyes set on a run to the top five in points despite sitting 14th in standings post-Nashville.
“I’ve never been so frustrated to not win a race before,” Briscoe said.
But as he inches up the standings leaderboard, Briscoe found slight solace on a night where he finished where he was running, as opposed to Charlotte one week earlier where he crashed out after a top-five day was rounding into form.
“I mean, I’m frustrated and annoyed right now, just because I felt like I certainly had a car that could have won the race, and then ended up third with it,” Briscoe said. “But to have a fast car, right? There’s been a lot of points this year where we’ve had cars that were capable of running up front and we haven’t been able to have the finish, so yeah, it’s nice to get the finish tonight.”
Briscoe said fifth place in points is the goal for the No. 19 team after a poor start to the season left him outside the top 20 for the first seven weeks of 2026. After Sunday, he trails Kyle Larson by 66 markers for sixth place and is 106 points behind teammate Ty Gibbs for fifth.
“We’re slowly chipping away at it,” Briscoe said. “Just really want to win.”
Hendrick Motorsports, another perennial contender, has been to Victory Lane twice this season with Chase Elliott, who sits fourth in points after a seventh-place finish at Nashville. But its other three drivers — Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman — are still seeking that first breakthrough of the year after uncharacteristic misfortune or mistakes.
Team president Jeff Andrews has no doubt the No. 24 team will sort its way up the pylon as Byron is 11th in points and Bowman in the No. 48 plays catch-up from a four-race absence for vertigo earlier this season. But this is the time of year where any weaknesses must be addressed.
“Between now and September, you want to start seeing some consistency, and that builds confidence,” Andrews told NASCAR.com. “The 24 has just had some terrible luck here. We’ve just got to get that turned around, and it will. That’s too good of a race team not to get that turned around. And the 5 (Larson), I mean, ran over a brake rotor tonight, running fifth. Not much we can do about that. That’s not in our hands. So we’ve just got to go back and pump each other up and take the positives from the night and carry that on into September, and we will.
“We’ve got Michigan and Pocono coming up, and should be two good tracks for us. Just go race there, take it one week at a time. And as long as the momentum is going forward, and as long as the gains are going in the forward direction, by the time we get to September, I feel like we’ll be right in the middle of it.”
The combination of the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway and a new aero package proved tricky for NASCAR Cup Series drivers Sunday night in Music City.
While Denny Hamlin bounced back from a start violation at the beginning of the Cracker Barrel 400 and survived the chaos around him to win at the Tennessee track, a few of his competitors also found some good fortune in the Volunteer State.
In contrast, others need a lucky break as the second half of the regular season kicks into gear, with the Cup Series heading to Michigan International Speedway on Sunday to compete in the FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 4th
Finished: 2nd
What happened: For the second straight week, Bell was the bridesmaid after coming up short of his first Cup Series victory of the 2026 season. Coming to the white flag, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pilot was the race leader. Then, he engaged in a three-wide battle with teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe entering Turns 1 and 2. On the exit of Turn 2, Hamlin slid up in front of Bell and held off the No. 20 Toyota for the win.
What’s next: Although Bell might feel disappointment in back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Cup Series, there is good reason for the No. 20 team to believe that momentum is finally on their side. Before a pair of second-place finishes the last couple of weeks at Charlotte and Nashville, Bell was riding a streak of finishing 17th or worse in five straight races. However, looking at Bell’s history at Michigan, it might be a challenging day in the Irish Hills for the Norman, Oklahoma, native. In seven career Cup Series starts, Bell has never finished in the top 10 at Michigan, with a best finish of 13th in three of those starts.
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 15th
Finished: 4th
What happened: Toward the end of the Cracker Barrel 400, crew chief Mike Kelley made the call to bring Stenhouse’s No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet down pit road for a set of fresh Goodyear tires. Then, on the final restart, Stenhouse made good use of the new rubber by sailing into the top five as the checkered flag waved Sunday night.
What’s next: Despite picking up his best finish of the 2026 season at a non-drafting style track in Music City, it might be tougher to replicate that result at Michigan. In his last 12 Michigan starts, the 38-year-old driver has not finished higher than 12th. Stenhouse has only one career top-10 finish in the Irish Hills, and that was nearly a decade ago (June 2017).
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
3. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Started: 11th
Finished: 9th
What happened: Ryan Bergenty, Smith’s crew chief, tried an alternate strategy by attempting to stretch the No. 38 Ford’s fuel until the end. Unfortunately, drivers with fresher tires caught up to Smith before a late-race yellow. Although he was no longer in contention for the win, the caution allowed Smith to come down pit road for a fresh set of Goodyear tires for the final restart that ultimately resulted in a ninth-place finish.
What’s next: After moving into the top 20 in the Cup Series standings, Smith could continue the upward trajectory at Michigan. The No. 38 driver has only two career Michigan starts at the premier level, with both visits resulting in seventh-place finishes. With five top 10s this year and three top 10s in the last five Cup races, Smith might keep the good times rolling.
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 8th
Finished: 30th
What happened: Byron was a victim of a Lap 205 incident when Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher made contact, sending the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford up the track in Turns 1 and 2 into Bubba Wallace, with Byron having nowhere to go as he ran into the back of the No. 23 Toyota. This damage affected the rest of Byron’s night as he limped his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a 30th-place finish.
What’s next: In the last five Michigan races, Byron has taken the runner-up position twice. This could be a place for the No. 24 team to start building momentum after finishing 30th or worse in four of the last seven Cup Series races.
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
2. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Started: 28th
Finished: 36th
What happened: Preece entered the night in Music City with the last spot in the provisional Chase standings and left the 1.33-mile Tennessee track one spot out, 17th in the standings and two points below the cutline. The No. 60 RFK Racing driver had a piece from a brake rotor puncture his radiator, forcing a DNF after 90 laps.
What’s next: Michigan comes at the right time for Preece, who has two top 10s at the 2-mile oval and has finished 11th or better in his last two trips to the Irish Hills. RFK traditionally runs well at Michigan, and given the extra motivation to perform in Ford’s backyard, Preece could slide his way back into the top 16 in points.
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
3. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 35th
Finished: 37th
What happened: For the second consecutive week, Chastain picked up a DNF and continued his downward slide in the Cup Series standings. At Charlotte, Chastain’s race came to an end after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet spinning into the inside wall on the backstretch. One week later at Nashville, a brake rotor failure on Chastain’s car sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall at the 1.33-mile concrete track.
What’s next: If Chastain wants to turn his luck around, it may or may not come at Michigan. In his last four Michigan starts with Trackhouse, Chastain has two top 10s and two finishes of 24th or worse. In the last six Cup Series races, Chastain has finished 26th or worse five times. The Trackhouse driver really needs to be on the right side of the equation in the Irish Hills if he wants to get himself in a better position to contend for a spot in The Chase later in the summer.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series treks from Nashville Superspeedway to Michigan International Speedway for a race at the 2-mile track on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The race is the 12th points-paying event of the 2026 season. Stewart Friesen is the defending winner.
Garrett Mitchell, also known by Cleetus McFarland, will race in his second Truck Series event of the season, piloting the No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. Spencer Davis will return to the Truck Series fold for the first time since 2023, with the Georgia native piloting the No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota. Four NASCAR Cup Series regulars — Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar — will race in the event.
Thirty-six trucks are entered into this weekend’s event.
The NASCAR Cup Series travels from outside the confines of Music City to the Motor City, with Michigan International Speedway the next track on tap for Sunday (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
J.J. Yeley will drive the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet this weekend. The event will be the 49-year-old’s second this season and first since EchoPark Speedway in February.
Thirty-seven cars are entered into this weekend’s event.
