Posted on by Staff Report

Can’t wait until exactly 5 p.m. ET for your racing fix? We’ve got you covered.

NASCAR.com will be live from Michigan International Speedway at 4 p.m. ET today in advance of the FireKeepers Casino 400 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which was delayed from Sunday due to rain.

BOOKMARK: Watch the show here

Host Chase Wilhelm will walk you through the garage and onto pit road, checking out the sights and scenes from Michigan just before the green flag drops.

We’ll also be live on our official Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts.

RELATED: Full race lineup

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Persistent rain forced the postponement of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race to a Monday start at Michigan International Speedway.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 is now set for Monday at 5 p.m. ET, airing on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Weather updates

NASCAR officials made the decision to reschedule the 200-lap, 400-mile event following an attempt to get the race started after a one-hour delay Sunday afternoon. The 36-car field completed several pace laps in hopes of reaching a 3:02 ET green flag, but another rain shower forced the cars back to pit road.

Track-drying briefly resumed, but inclement weather continued to halt the process. The track was almost dry by 4:15 p.m. when another rain cell struck. NASCAR officials made the decision at 4:30 p.m. ET to postpone Sunday’s scheduled at-track activity.

Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie passed the time during the rain delay by throwing a football, eventually lobbing it into the grandstand and playing catch with fans who braved the rain.

When the race gets started, Joey Logano will lead the field to the green flag in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford after securing the Busch Pole Award in Saturday qualifying. Aric Almirola, in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, will join Logano on the front row for the season’s 15th race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Clint Bowyer, the defending winner of the race, will line up fifth as Ford drivers make up eight of the top 10 starting spots.

Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

Posted on by Staff Report

Weather again delayed the start of the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Rain in the area led to a revised green-flag time of 3:02 p.m. ET being missed. Cars got on the track, but rain picked up during pace laps to prevent the start, which originally was slated for 2 p.m. ET. Cars were brought down pit road at approximately 3:08 p.m. ET.

The race was postponed until Monday at 5 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

When the race gets started, Joey Logano will lead the field to the green flag in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Aric Almirola, in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, will join Logano on the front row for the season’s 15th race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

RELATED: Full lineup for Michigan | Weather updates

Clint Bowyer, the defending winner of the race, will line up fifth as Ford drivers make up eight of the top 10 starting spots.

NASCAR had a sizable contingent of track-drying equipment on hand to prepare the 2-mile oval: 13 Air Titans, 10 jet dryers, one track blower, two track vacuums and one Elgin sweeper.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 will be the first time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series runs its new aero package at a track like Michigan International Speedway.

While Auto Club Speedway is similar to Michigan in terms of size and shape, the abrasive surface makes tire wear much more severe in Fontana than what we’ll see in Michigan.

As a result, there isn’t much from the series’ previous visit to Michigan that we can use today.

So in order to find value, I’m going to mainly focus on what’s happened on-track so far this weekend to pinpoint my bets for the FireKeepers Casino 400.

Joey Logano (7-1 at Westgate)

Track position has been huge this season with the current aero package, and nobody will have a better view to start the race than Logano.

Joey will start on pole and in clean air, plus he’ll have the best pit stall in order to keep that track position. This is a huge — and underrated — advantage at a race where teams will do everything they can on pit road to try and get their drivers up front.

While Logano didn’t dominate on the practice sheets, he’s a driver who focuses more on feel than speed in practice, so I’m not too concerned with the speed in the car under race conditions.

Aric Almirola (25-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Almirola is easily my favorite futures bet for today’s race. He will join Logano on the front row to start, giving Almirola the advantage of clean air and a great pit stall as well.

But unlike Logano, Almirola has been an absolute rocket in practice so far this weekend. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver had the second-best 10-lap average, the best 15-lap average and the best 20-lap average in final practice.

At 25-1 we’re getting a driver for one of NASCAR’s top teams who starts up front and has been nothing but fast in race trim. Sign me up.

Daniel Suarez (30-1 at DraftKings)

Many of the boxes that Almirola checks off also apply to Suarez for today’s race. While not starting on the front row, Almirola’s SHR teammate will start in the top 10 (ninth) while having tons of speed in his race car throughout practice as well.

Suarez had the top 10-lap average and the second-best 15-lap average in Friday’s final practice, which is extremely encouraging for a driver in this price range.

As always, be sure to shop around for the best prices as there’s a good chance we can find better numbers as more books open NASCAR odds for today’s race.

Posted on by Staff Report

Hailie Deegan nudged her way to her second victory of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season Saturday night, bumping past teammate Derek Kraus in overtime at Colorado National Speedway.

Kraus grabbed the lead with a bold move off the restart for the two-lap dash to the finish, but Deegan regained it with a bump in the final turn, sending her Bill McAnally Racing teammate spinning. Deegan forged ahead to the checkered flag and was declared the winner after a brief officials’ review.

RELATED: Race results

The triumph in the NAPA Auto Parts 150 was the 17-year-old Deegan’s third in 19 career K&N West starts.

“That was probably the scrappiest race I’ve ever ran,” said Deegan, who led a race-high 66 of the 155 laps. “Everyone was beating and banging doors from the start.

” … We went out there, (and) we ran our hardest race. In the end, Derek ran me hard right there so I was gonna run him hard back. In the end that’s racing. … In the end, I got the win and that’s all that matters.”

RELATED: More on FansChoiceTV

Deegan initially snared the lead on Lap 89 and had opened up a sizable margin at the .375-mile track, but a spin by teammate Brittney Zamora forced the race five laps past the scheduled 150-lap distance.

Pole-starter Kody Vanderwal finished second, with Todd Souza, Zamora and Matt Levin completing the top five. Kraus led 43 laps and was credited with an eighth-place finish.

Kraus retains the lead in the K&N West standings, holding a 12-point margin over Deegan.

The full race will be broadcast Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app.

LOOKBACK: Photos of Las Vegas win

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Joey Logano will start from the Busch Pole in Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Michigan:
1. Joey Logano
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Paul Menard
Garage: Erik Jones

RELATED: Odds for Michigan | 10-lap averages | Podcast: Fantasy Fastlane

Analysis: Logano and Harvick are my cornerstones — based on past Michigan history and their overall solid performances in 2019. With the two of them in my lineup, I don’t want to overload on some of the higher scoring drivers in 2019 for fear that if things go wrong or drivers underform, I can only get one of them out. This is something to consider as we move deeper in the regular season. That means Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski take a seat. I wanted to use Chase Elliott here with his strong Michigan numbers, but the speed just doesn’t seem to be there this weekend. Martin Truex Jr. was another consideration for me, but I like a number of other summer tracks for him.

Bowyer is the defending race winner and has had strong speed all weekend long. He’s also been pretty steady for the past two-plus months. Busch has been strong on the 10-lap board this weekend, had the second-best 20-lap average (h/t@MikeJoy500) and has been solid at this 2-mile track before. Menard qualified well — sixth — and posted the fifth-best 10-lap average in opening practice. He finished fifth in this race last year and his overall Michigan numbers show its among his better tracks. I also have yet to use him, so I like the idea of him as a driver who can help me save a use elsewhere. Jones gets the garage spot on the strength of his top-three spot in both practices on the 10-lap board. I gave some extra consideration to Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney for this spot, but I just have a gut feeling on the Joe Gibbs Racing driver performing well at home.

For bonus picks, I’ve got Logano winning Stage 1 and then Harvick the rest of the way and Ford for the manufacturer pick.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today

1. O/U 28.5 stage points for Team Penske. I’m taking the over. I expect Logano to nab top-three finishes in each stage meaning that Keselowski and Blaney need to score 5-7 stage points apiece to make this work. That’s something both drivers have done plenty of times in the past and something that they are more than capable of doing in the Irish Hills.

2. Which Hendrick Motorsports driver will finish higher: William Byron or Jimmie Johnson? Johnson had the better 10-lap averages in both practices and qualified slightly better. This duo has finished higher than the other seven times apiece, so this is pretty even and a close call. I like the second-year driver Byron to finish just higher than the seven-time champion on Monday.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BROOKLYN, Mich. – “Three” was the magic number in Saturday’s LTI Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway, and that was just fine with Tyler Reddick.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series leader — one of the so-called “Big Three” in the series this year — saved enough fuel over the closing 44-lap green-flag run to win for the third time this season, matching fellow Big Three members Christopher Bell and Cole Custer for most so far this year.

RELATED: Race results

After Custer and Bell pitted for fuel from the top two positions with 10 and 11 laps left, respectively, Reddick inherited the lead on Lap 115 of 125 with a lead of just over three seconds over Michael Annett. Ultimately, Reddick finished 1.515 seconds ahead of Noah Gragson, who passed Annett for the runner-up spot on the final lap.

Annett held third, followed by pole winner Paul Menard and Justin Allgaier.

The victory was Reddick’s first at Michigan and the sixth of his career, accomplished with three different organizations (Chip Ganassi Racing, JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, his current ride). Reddick overcame a Lap 33 snafu on pit road where he slid through his pit stall and dropped to 10th for a restart on Lap 38.

Reddick came to pit road for the final time on lap 78 and got 47 laps out of his last tank of fuel.

“I just didn’t want to burn a lot of fuel there,” the driver of the No. 2 RCR Chevrolet said of the closing run. “Our Chevrolet was really good, but I made some mistakes on pit road, and we didn’t get the track position until the end there.

“A great team effort. I didn’t do the thing I needed to do on the race track but, man, that was a great car and we put ourselves in position to win.”

The victory was Reddick’s third in the last five races.

“All the guys at Richard Childress Racing just make an outstanding effort throughout the week,” Reddick said. “Their efforts back at the shop and their hours spent from morning to afternoon every single day is what’s paying off in getting us back to Victory Lane so often this year.”

Custer and Bell shared the lead and ran 1-2 for the bulk of the 250-mile race’s final stage. But a mixup kept them on the track during the race’s sixth and final caution and forced them to stop for fuel during green-flag conditions late in the race. Bell pitted on Lap 114, and Custer — the faster of the two over the final stretch — stopped on the next lap.

That handed the lead to Reddick, who led from Laps 115-125. Custer finished 12th with Bell 13th.

Bell later explained that this was the first week that his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team used code words to discuss pit-stop strategy. Miscommunication with veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff led to Bell staying out, and Custer was told by his crew to mimic Bell’s strategy.

“Yeah, that was our first time using code words and we got the code words mixed up,” Bell told FOX Sports post-race. “My definition was a little bit different than what Jason had planned. Ultimately that was a big hiccup in our day, but the 00 blew our doors off, man. So we just have to get faster. That’s our biggest thing. For whatever reason on the bigger tracks right now, I just don’t have the speed that the 00 has, so we’ve just got to keep working hard and get our Rheem Supras to be a little bit faster and it’ll be easy to clean up the miscommunication there.”

Ratcliff shouldered blame for the gaffe.

“Just some code words and it’s really simple actually,” Ratcliff said. “It’s first-grade stuff and somehow we mixed it up. He did exactly what his wristband said on it. Unfortunately, it was poor execution on my part in communicating what to put on the wristband. I think we had a good performance today after a little bit of a struggle last week in Pocono. I felt like our car had speed so we’ll just build in that and go on to Iowa.”

Menard, a Monster Energy Series regular, started from the pole position and led a race-high 56 laps in his first Xfinity start of the season. Menard won Stage 1, but settled for a top five in the Team Penske No. 12 Ford.

Custer led 20 laps; Bell was out front for 36.

“We had a really fast Mustang,” Custer said ruefully. “I really wanted to win here for Ford in their back yard and everything. We got the track position and got up front, and I think we had the best car here. I don’t know how much the 2 (Reddick) was saving there, but the strategy just didn’t work out for us. That one kind of stings, but I definitely feel like we had a fast car.”

Brandon Jones finished sixth, followed by Briscoe, John Hunter Nemechek, Jeb Burton and Justin Haley completed the top 10. Reddick increased his series lead to 89 points over Bell in second.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the CircuitCity.com 250, scheduled Sunday, June 16 (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Iowa Speedway.

Note: Reddick’s No. 2 Chevrolet was found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check. The guidelines for such an infraction should mean a fine for crew chief Randall Burnett next week. It was the only issue in an otherwise all-clear inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

BROOKLYN, Mich. – With 12 races remaining in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Austin Dillon is well aware that crunch time is approaching.

Dillon is coming off a pair of finishes outside the top 30, due to wrecks not of his own doing – getting caught up in Kyle Larson’s incident at Charlotte and taken out by Paul Menard last week at Pocono.

“The last two weeks have been a bummer getting wrecked,” Dillon told NASCAR.com. “To start off the season, we didn’t really finish outside the top 20. … When you have two bad weeks and a tight points battle, it looks pretty bad.”

RELATED: Dillon on Michigan: ‘Hold onto your hats, it’s going to be a good one’

Dillon said his Richard Childress Racing team has hauled fast cars to the track each week but capitalizing on Sunday has been a sore spot.

“We keep that up, we can turn it around and really put our season where we feel like it needs to be,” Dillon said. “We feel like we need to be in the playoffs and have a shot to win races each week.”

With NASCAR Salutes in full swing, the hood of a patriotic No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend — an ode to Dale Earnhardt’s 1996 Atlanta Olympics NASCAR All-Star Race car — features the names of more than 1,400 military veterans. Dillon also recently received a letter back from his former gasman Tyler Rader, who elected to join the U.S. Army and currently attends basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

“He’s one of my boys,” Dillon said. “He lived with me for a while and when he told me he wanted to join the military, I was really supportive and pumped for him. He’s just that type of guy that puts our country first. When I got that first letter back from him, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.”

Heading into Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM), Michigan International Speedway could provide the perfect opportunity for Dillon to ignite a potential streak of good finishes. Dillon finished fourth at Michigan last August and has four top 10s in his career at the 2-mile oval.

Between a fresh red, white and blue paint scheme, a letter from a close friend and a 12th-place start, it could all provide the jolt that Dillon’s 2019 season needs.

“We got to; I think there’s no other choice,” Dillon said. “We have to put everything we have into our race cars and put ourselves in position because we feel like we can compete with the best. We just have to go after it every single week and put ourselves in the best position we can come the end of this regular season.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BROOKLYN, Mich. – The Ford drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series apparently took the words of Edsel Ford II to heart.

At a dinner with Ford drivers on Thursday night, the member of the Ford Motor Company board of directors emphasized the importance of putting a Mustang in Victory Lane after Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (5 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Qualifying results | Full schedule for Michigan

On Saturday morning at the 2-mile track, Joey Logano took the first step toward fulfilling the mission outlined by the Henry Ford’s great-grandson. Taking a racing line that differed from that of his competitors, Logano covered the distance in 38.474 seconds (187.139 mph) to win the pole position for Monday’s race.

In winning his second Busch Pole Award of the season, his fourth at Michigan and the 22nd of his career, Logano led five Fords into the top six in time trials, edging Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola (187.047 mph) for the top starting spot by .019 seconds.

Logano demolished the rest of the field through Turn 3 and 4, entering the corner on the high side, arcing to the bottom in the center of the corner and getting off the bottom sooner than almost every other driver.

How did Logano develop the line he ran?

“I just got lucky—it was all luck,” Logano quipped. “Of course, we all work at things. We all try to figure things out and try to take an advantage when you have it. It’s always short-lived, but today we were able to take advantage of a lot of things and be able to have a fast car.

“Our (No. 22) Shell/Pennzoil Ford definitely has speed in it, for sure, especially for one lap. Hopefully, that maintains throughout the race to where we can stay up there. That (No. 1) pit stall is going to help a lot. The first pit stall here is quite the advantage. It’s nice to have that, and hopefully it keeps us up front and keeps us out of the big chaotic mess that I think is going to be toward the middle of the pack.”

But did the lap go according to plan.

“It was all luck,” Logano joked again. “Of course, it’s planned—I drive the car. I’m still the driver. At least it went where I told it to go. That part really helped a lot.”

Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford wound up second in the qualifying session ahead of Monday’s 200-lap, 400-mile event. Almirola is scheduled to start second for the fourth time this season.

“Close but no cigar,” Almirola said. “What is that old saying, ‘Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?’ … That is frustrating to get that close to getting a pole that often and only have one pole (this season). We seem to always get beat just by a little bit by somebody different every time. That is part of it.”

Kevin Harvick, a teammate to Almirola in the No. 4 Ford, was third with Denny Hamlin fourth and defending race winner Clint Bowyer completing the top five in another Stewart-Haas Racing entry. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota was the only non-Ford among the top six. A total of eight Fords claimed the top 10 qualifying spots.

Monday’s event is the 15th of 36 points-paying races on the Monster Energy Series schedule. A dozen races remain in the regular season before the 16-driver playoff field is set.

Contributing: Staff reports