Alex Bowman found early trouble in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, walking away after a multicar crash during Stage 2 at Michigan International Speedway.
Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was running in the 29th position when contact between the cars of Austin Cindric and Cole Custer collected him on the 67th of 200 laps in the FireKeepers Casino 400. Bowman’s car nosed head-on into the outside retaining wall in Turn 2, and the cars of pole winner Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suárez were also involved.
The race was red-flagged for clean-up and for safety workers to attend to Bowman, who walked to the ambulance under his own power for the mandatory ride to the infield care center, where he was checked and released.
“I mean, I feel OK. It was the biggest hit I’ve ever taken in a stock car by a mile, but head-on into the wall at Michigan, it’s gonna be that way,” Bowman said. “So yeah, just try to go get them next week.”
Bowman finished last in the 36-car field. Custer was the only other driver who was sidelined, and he placed 35th. Suárez rallied from his spin to finish 14th, and Briscoe drove to a 23rd-place result.
Bowman said he saw Custer’s car break loose in front of him and the impact caused his No. 48 Chevy to veer sharply into the outside barrier. The Hendrick Motorsports driver lamented how the No. 48 missed the setup Sunday; he had started 16th and faded to 32nd by the end of Stage 1.
“It’s a bummer. We shouldn’t be back there to put ourselves in that situation,” Bowman said. “Same thing I said at Texas. But unfortunately, when you’re back there, you kind of just open the door for stuff like that to happen, and we’re better than that. We should have been in a better spot, but we weren’t and then that happened.”
Bowman entered Sunday’s race — the 15th of 36 points-paying events this season — ranked 12th in the Cup Series standings. He has been involved in crashes in four of the last five events, including three consecutive races.
“You got any good ideas?” Bowman replied when asked how he might turn his fortunes around. “Because I’ll take what I can get at this point for luck-changer ideas. But yeah, it’s unfortunate, right? A lot of those races were really good runs. I would say Texas and Kansas, we were plenty capable of winning before we got damage. Charlotte was my fault. Nashville was my fault. This week, not much we can do.”
Tyler Reddick will drop to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race because of unapproved adjustments to his 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota at Michigan International Speedway.
Reddick is the defending race winner of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He had qualified 12th in the 36-car field, earning that spot after being slowed by a flat tire in practice, an incident that prompted his No. 45 team to work on the rear diffuser.
No. 45 crew chief Billy Scott said on the pre-race grid that the team had to replace a worn strake on the diffuser, making other repairs underneath the car to make it race-ready.
Reddick enters Sunday’s 400-miler ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings. He is still in search of his first victory of the season, having gone six consecutive races without a top-five finish.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Burt Myers keeps adding milestones to his illustrious career at Bowman Gray Stadium.
On a hot and steamy Saturday night, Burt Myers picked up his 101st career win in the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series, tying him with Tim Brown for the most wins in Modified history.
“How could you have it any other way, right?,” Myers said. “Just knowing that me and Tim have got the championships and the wins that we do, and that we both kind of came up in this Modified Division together.
“And I didn’t realize it until somebody pointed it out, the next active driver in wins is Jason (Myers, Burt’s brother), I think at 42, so to say that we’ve been able to have such a successful career in this division that my family’s been racing in since the beginning, it’s pretty special.”
Just as small sample size, just Burt Myers, Jason Myers, and Gary Myers, who is Burt and Jason’s father and has 38 wins, have combined for 181 wins.
Gary Myers and his wife and Burt’s mother, Pam Myers, were driven on a golf cart from the pit area to Winner’s Circle to take part in Burt’s celebration.
“You don’t know when your last one’s going to be,” Burt Myers said. “So, I’m grateful that my mom and dad could come out there for that. And my dad’s health the way it is and to still make it out there for that, it meant a lot to me.”
In addition to Burt Myers collecting his 101st career win in the Modified Series, he also won a race in the Sportsman Series many years ago, meaning that he has 102 wins.
“We’ve always kind of counted featured wins because we run the featured division,” Burt Myers said. “But you can’t take away what other guys have done in other divisions. But as far as what’s in the book, you know, it’s 101. If you look at all-time wins it’s 102, but either way to think one day I’d have that many wins over here in anything, it’s kind of hard to imagine.”
Burt Myers celebrates after earning his 101st Bowman Gray Stadium Modified win on Saturday evening. (Photo: Erick Messer/Bowman Gray Stadium)
The 102 overall wins makes Burt Myers the all-time winningest driver in Bowman Gray Racing history. Burt Myers is second with 11 Modified championships, one less than Brown’s 12
“We talk about championships, but I’d said for years that championships are great, but I like winning races,” Burt Myers said. “And if winning races gets you championships, then that’s fine. But I like winning races. To be at the top of the list on all-time wins is probably something I’ll focus on more than I do championships.
Burt Myers had the fastest qualifying lap at 13.665 seconds, putting him on the pole for first 25-lap race. Burt Myers led wire-to-wire.
“In a 25-lapper, it gives you a really good chance,” he said. “But it’s still racing. And anything can happen.”
There were three cautions during the first 25-lap Modified race, the last of which came on lap 15.
“On that one restart I think Chris (Fleming) got into me,” Burt Myers said. “And I think we actually got stuck together. It felt like we were stuck together. So, you just never know what’s going to happen. But we’re fortunate enough to get this win tonight, and we’re going to celebrate it.”
Fleming finished second, followed by Lee Jeffreys, Brown, and Brandon Ward, the points leader.
The win Saturday night also adds to Burt Myers’ win total for the season.
“We’ve got four wins and four poles, so I’d be hard to complain about that, wouldn’t it?,” he said.
Following the first 25-lap Modified race, Burt Myers drew “12” in the Madhouse Scramble, which inverted the field for the second race there.
Mike Speeney sat on the pole for the second race, and just like Burt Myers, he led wire-to-wire to defeat John Holleman IV.
“Once I knew we were on the pole it definitely helped today,” Speeney said.
Riley Neal finished third, followed by Junior Snow, and Slate Myers, who is Burt Myers’ son.
“The biggest thing here is making sure it’s a show,” Speeney said. “You can’t get too far out.”
Saturday’s win was his second career Modified win at Bowman Gray, the last of which came on Aug. 17 of last year.
“It feels good,” he said. “I’d like to get a first twin 25 as a qualifying contest or a 100-lapper in there. But we’re close.”
Chuck Wall continued his winning ways Saturday night, and he did it in several different ways.
Wall won the 53-lap QRC Stadium Stock 50, which was supposed to be 50 laps, but it was extended after a caution on lap 46.
Wall also picked the win in the same race last year, which also was extended to 53 laps. In addition, it was Wall’s third win of the year this season, his 37th career win.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Wall said. “The car was great. I think the right-side tires have given up on me a little bit. These tires are pretty old.”
There were six cautions during the 53-lap race, but the last one happened on lap 46. On the single-file restart on lap 50, Wall started just ahead of Grayson Keaton.
Chuck Wall celebrates after winning the 50-lap Stadium Stock feature at Bowman Gray Stadium Saturday. (Photo: Erick Messer/Bowman Gray Stadium)
Keaton went underneath Wall, but Wall was able to maintain his lead and took the checkered flag.
“(Grayson Keaton) had a bad call, a bad fast car,” Wall said. “I thought we was a little bit quicker than him in the beginning, but it might have been because he had a left-rear tire go down. When the caution came out and I seed the lineup, I said, ‘Dang, that tire looks low.’ And then going down that backstretch, I was like, “That looks really low.’ And the next lap, when it was on the rim, I said, ‘Yeah, he’s done.’”
Tyler McDonald finished third, followed by Luke Smith, and A.J. Sanders.
In the first 25-lap race in the Law Offices of John Barrow Sportsman Series, Sterling Plemmons held off runner-up Chase Robertson to win.
“I appreciate Chase running me clean,” Plemmons said. “He’s been very good this year.”
Zack Ore was third, followed by Ryan Robertson, and Billy Gregg.
In the second 20-lap Sportsman race, Chase Robertson defeated Plemmons, who was the runner-up after drawing “8” in the Madhouse Scramble. That drawing inverted the field for the second race there at 8.
“I knew it was going to be a good race,” Chase Robertson said. “I just hate that my brother had a tire go flat. He definitely would’ve won that race. But I’ll take them any way you can get them.”
Billy Gregg was third, Ore was fourth, and Connor Branch was fifth.
The 20-lap race in the QRC HVAC & Refrigeration Street Stock Series ended the night. The race was full of cautions, but Bryan Sykes Jr. prevailed after a one-lap dash to the finish.
It was Sykes’ second win of the season.
Sykes defeated runner-up Austin Jones, followed by Kevin Gilbert, Brad Lewis, and Bryan Sykes Sr., who is Bryan Jr.’s father.
Next week’s racing will be highlighted by the Elite Underground Twin 50s in the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series.
Because the 100-lap Modified race was rained out on May 31, the $6,000 Fans’ Challenge will carry over until next week’s Twin 50s. The top four qualifiers have the option to take the Fans’ Challenge and go to the rear of the field. If nobody wins the Fans’ Challenge in the first 50-lap race, the top four drivers after the invert of the field for the second 50-lap race will have the option to take the $6,000 Fans’ Challenge. If nobody wins next week’s $6,000 Fans’ Challenge, then it will carry over to the next 100-lap Modified race, which would be $9,000.
In addition to the Twin 50s in the Modified Series, there will be two 20-lap races in the Law Offices of John Barrow Sportsman Series, a 20-lap race in the QRC HVAC & Refrigeration Street Stock Series, and two 15-lap races in the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series.
Ram announced Sunday that its brand will return to NASCAR competition, scheduling a Craftsman Truck Series campaign beginning in 2026.
The move came accompanied by a marketing splash before Sunday’s Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway. The choice of venue was intentional, marking the anticipated end of its 13-year absence in the backyard of Chevrolet and Ford — two fellow Detroit-area marques and current NASCAR manufacturers.
That blitz — billed as “Ram-Demption” — included the public debut of a Ram 1500 concept race truck, wearing a livery in Gloss Black and Molten Red. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis drove the truck during a recent promotional shoot at Darlington Raceway, and he hinted that the brand’s NASCAR comeback foreshadowed its intent to eventually return to Cup Series competition with another manufacturer under the global Stellantis banner.
“We’ll be on track in Daytona in eight months,” Kuniskis said during a midweek press briefing, “and the way we’re going to do it is unlike anyone else.”
Ram will become the first new OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in NASCAR’s national-series ranks since Toyota brought its Tundra model to the track in 2004. John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, indicated that the process for Ram’s return gained momentum at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.
“I know that this is something that we have been talking about for a long time, and it’s something that we don’t get to do very often,” Probst said. “I think the last time we did this was over 20 years ago when Toyota entered our sport, so this is something that is a big moment for our entire sport and our existing competitors, potential new competitors, our OEMs.”
The news is part of what’s been a busy week for Ram, which announced Thursday that the classic 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 would return to its production lineup. Kuniskis acknowledged the company had erred in dropping the Hemi powerplant — “Ram screwed up when we dropped the Hemi. We own it and we fixed it,” he said — and that customer feedback was key to bringing it back. The engine returns with a new “Symbol of Protest” badge — a ram’s head emerging from a V-8 block — to the revived branding, and the company’s NASCAR return is the next phase of its focus on automotive muscle.
Kuniskis said Ram would ideally have at least four trucks on the grid for next year’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway. But he added that he’s in need of one or more team partnerships to bring those efforts to life.
“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now,” Kuniskis said. “So how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Ram spun off as a separate brand from Dodge in 2010. Dodge last competed with factory support in NASCAR’s Cup Series in 2012. That run concluded with Brad Keselowski claiming the Cup championship for Team Penske that year in a Dodge Charger. Dodge Ram celebrated three manufacturer titles in the Craftsman Truck Series (2001, 2003-04) during its first stint, which ended after the 2013 campaign. Bobby Hamilton (2004) and Ted Musgrave (2005) drove Dodge Rams in their championship campaigns.
Probst did not speculate when asked about Ram’s prospects for aligning with an existing Truck Series organization, but he said he imagined the pursuit of a team partnership would be spirited.
“I want him to have a date that he wants to have his picture taken with,” Probst said, riffing on Kuniskis’ prom analogy. “That is completely a Ram competition-related thing. We know they are wanting to be very competitive, so I would anticipate them being pretty aggressive in getting a good team lined up in their camp to go run their banner.”
Probst said the runway for any prospective automakers to launch a Cup Series venture would be based on an 18-month timetable to allow for proper engine development and the submission of a competition-ready body. As for any other manufacturers who might be willing to follow Ram’s lead, Probst said those prospects were encouraging.
“I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say that we are very close with one other,” Probst said. “Can’t speak for them. Obviously, it’s their decision to make. We would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR, and even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions, but also looking pretty positive. But we all know that an OEM deciding to come into NASCAR, it’s a big commitment for them. It’s not something that they take lightly. It requires a lot of research and approval at the highest levels. We’re confident right now. We like the position we’re in, and think that we’re a pretty good investment for an OEM.”
The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the fifth straight intermediate oval race for the NASCAR Cup Series.
As we’ve seen over the previous four intermediate ovals in this stretch, practice data has played an important role in the running order. That’s especially true for Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, where there was a very strong correlation from practice speed to race speed.
Those two races are notable because they are two of the best comparable tracks to Michigan, which should point us in the direction of practice being a big asset again this week.
So that’s exactly where I’m looking with a couple of head-to-head matchups for my NASCAR best bets at Michigan.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Best Bets
Last week, I hit on three of the four head-to-head matchups, so I’m heading back to DraftKings, which has been offering a nice menu of driver matchups in recent weeks.
Like last week, a simple breakdown of each driver’s practice FLAGS rating and their predicted median finishing position from my model will show why I prefer the drivers that I do in these matchups.
1. Tyler Reddick +125 over Kyle Larson
FLAGS: Reddick 89.4% (2nd), Larson 56.4% (16th)
Med. Finish: Reddick 7.0, Larson 9.0
2. Bubba Wallace +100 over Chase Briscoe
FLAGS: Wallace 80.8% (6th), Briscoe 60.7% (14th)
Med. Finish: Wallace 10.0, Briscoe 12.0
Two plus-money matchups should hopefully net us a profit; we’d need to hit just one to, at worst, break even if we bet one unit per matchup. I like taking the cars that showed a bit more practice speed, and in both cases we’re getting drivers that were strong at Michigan last year as Reddick and Wallace were two of the top three cars in fastest laps per healthy lap run (Wallace’s car took damage last year, ruining the latter portion of his race).
You can also parlay these two bets together at a +350 price tag if you want a bit of a longer-odds sweat.
Editor’s note: Projections updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying.
It was a new winner in 2025 but a familiar face in Victory Lane at Nashville with Ryan Blaney, which now makes it four new victors in the last five weeks, setting up a similar story to follow at Michigan this Sunday (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
It took a while, but the list of winners is starting to grow, and with the last two races in the Irish Hills each having a track record of 16 different leaders, there’s a good chance we get our 10th season winner at Brooklyn.
Currently, two former Michigan winners — Chris Buescher (plus-8) and Kyle Busch (plus-2) — are barely hanging on to the final two playoff spots after scrapping top-15 finishes at Nashville.
Looking back to last year, both drivers cracked the top 10 at Michigan and now have a chance to no longer be at risk on the bubble but rather cause ruckus with a win. Given the unpredictability of the racing up north, we could see the bubble battle tighten up more as regular-season racing winds down. The only concern is that neither Buescher nor Busch rank top 10 in Passer, Defense, Restart and Speed Ratings, according to NASCAR Insights. However, both have two unique stats going for them entering this weekend.
In Buescher’s case, not only did he win there more recently (August 2023), but he drives a Ford and the Blue Ovals have won nine of the last 10 races in Michigan. To boot, RFK Racing owns 14 organization wins at the track, which is the most out of any team.
For Busch, the Great Lakes State track has a history of ending lengthy winless droughts. Eight times, a driver with a winless streak of 40 or more races was to reignite the victory flame in Michigan. Though he hasn’t won there since 2011, he owns 10 top 10s in the last 12 races at the track.
On the other hand, if we get a repeat winner, there are a few standouts on who it could be.
KYLE LARSON: A three-time Michigan winner and probably one of the best active drivers at the track, granted, he’s never won there in Hendrick equipment. Still, Larson has finished top three in six of the last 12 Michigan races and should be firmly in the mix.
JOEY LOGANO: Another fellow three-time winner in the Irish Hills, Logano is coming off a top-five performance and needs to string more good weeks together, given Nashville was his first top five since winning at Texas.
DENNY HAMLIN: Hamlin was able to turn things around at Nashville after four straight weeks of finishing 16th or worse. He has the chance to keep the momentum rolling at Michigan with top 10s in the last seven races in Brooklyn and two career wins at the track.
WILLIAM BYRON: Byron has been super consistent with an average finish of 9.2 to lead all full-time drivers, but the points leader is still searching for his second win of the season. He has two runner-up finishes, with the most recent one coming in last year’s race.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.
BROOKLYN, Mich. — There are a dozen races separating the NASCAR Cup Series from its playoffs. There are also a dozen points separating 15th-place Chris Buescher from 19th-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the provisional postseason grid.
Buescher sits eight points above the provisional dividing line entering Sunday’s FireKeepers Caisno 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Behind him is a scramble for the 16th and final spot in the playoffs: Kyle Busch has it for now by a mere two points over Ryan Preece, Buescher’s teammate at RFK Racing.
Busch and Buescher have each previously won at the 2-mile Michigan oval. Preece, the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, is still seeking his first career Cup win. What all of them share is the desire to drive into Victory Lane some time between Sunday and Aug. 23’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway — the only way to erase any doubts about their entry into the postseason.
“We’ve been able to recognize that it’s always a must-win situation,” Buescher said Wednesday of his No. 17 team. “From the beginning of the year, you have to win races. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve been right there in a good spot or been right there in that window and just get a surprise winner or two to close the regular season — or we got caught up in an accident in Darlington (in April 2024) and you can’t depend on points to get you in the playoffs when it’s as tight as it is every week.
“For us, I think that’s been our mindset, which means that ultimately wherever we bounce around that line we’ll be aware of it, but it’s a matter of figuring out how to go win races and we haven’t done that yet.”
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, is just barely on the inside looking in. In the midst of a career-long 71-race winless streak, the 40-year-old Busch is eager to get back to his signature post-win bow. But until then, his focus is maximizing points from now until August’s finale — including an emphasis on netting stage points. Of the 36 full-time entries, Busch ranks 25th with 17 stage points through 14 races.
“That’s just where our weak spot is of being able to get stage points in Stage 1 and Stage 2,” Busch said Saturday. “And we can finish OK, but it’s too late in the day by the time you get to that point to collect good points day on that front.”
The two-point buffer to Preece exists — but only momentarily in a sport that moves week-to-week in the blink of an eye. Behind Preece sit Carson Hocevar (minus-4 to Busch), Stenhouse (minus-6), AJ Allmendinger (minus-7) and Michael McDowell (minus-13). Of course, a win from a driver beneath the provisional elimination line also reduces the number of spots available to earn on points.
Rather than getting caught up in the minutiae, Busch is trying to keep his eyes out the windshield.
“All you can do is focus on you and just try to execute your day,” Busch said. “I mean, when you’re running around there under yellow and you see somebody who’s spun or crashed or whatever that’s around you in points, you’re like, ‘OK, well that helps.’ But other than that, you’ve got to focus on yourself and being able to make sure that you maximize your day.”
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
This particular scenario is new for Preece, who in his first year driving RFK Racing’s No. 60 Ford is truly in the thick of the playoff hunt for the first time in his six full-time seasons in Cup. But his experience competing for titles in the modified ranks — and racing for his career in limited Xfinity opportunities a decade ago — have strengthened his resiliency in high-stress scenarios.
“I’ve won championships at different levels. I’ve been a part of these type of situations before,” Preece said. “So the way I approach race weekends, it doesn’t bother me, you know? And I think if you look at my entire career, when it comes to pressure situations, I enjoy it. I thrive often. So yeah, I think being on that bubble, it’s not where I want to be. I look 40, 50 points ahead of me and I think, ‘I want to be there.’ So instead of focusing on who’s five or six or one behind me, I’m going to focus on the 40 points ahead of me and try to get there and let everybody try to catch me.”
Through 14 races, Preece is on pace for a career season, matching last year’s top-five (one) and top-10 (five) totals in less than half the time while posting a personal-best 19.6 average finish. But he knows there are still places to improve if he wants to continue climbing toward the top of the pylon.
“When it comes to racing situations, dirty air and all that, I feel really confident about it,” Preece said. “But the weakness has been trying to figure out a way to qualify better, to maximize stage points in Stage 1. Because that’s a frustrating part of the system is there’s times where you can definitely gather more points from stages than you can sometimes from having a good, strong ending of the day.”
And with the No. 60 car on the edge of the provisional playoff bubble, Preece knows he will need as many points as possible to make a postseason push — and nothing pays more than winning.
“I think you put yourself in a position to win races, and at the end, if, if you’re leading, you execute,” Preece said. “If not, you’re you’re trying to execute stage points; you’re trying to have a great day. So ultimately, it’s keeping track position. It’s doing everything right. And I feel like as a first-year team, Derrick (Finley, crew chief) and everybody’s been really growing their roots and it’s been great to be a part of.
“I think we’re a team that’s capable of contending, not only for the playoffs but for wins. We always seem to find a way to drive forward. And it’s just something as time progresses, we’re going to keep getting better and better at.”
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Clean air and crisp speed proved to be the difference for part-time driver Luke Fenhaus, who wheeled the No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford to a third-place finish in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway Saturday afternoon.
The result, which came after a collection of late-race cautions and three NASCAR Overtimes, is Fenhaus’ best finish in the Truck Series to date and his first top 10 in the circuit since July 2024 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP).
“Obviously a good end result,” Fenhaus said after the race. “Good to have speed late in the race, but obviously up-and-down day. I’m happy with it, though. We put ourselves in situations that aren’t ideal, you know, and we battle with air, and man, our trucks really struggled back in dirty air, but when we got cleared out front, you know, top five, it was alright, and we could manage it and have good pace. So yeah, good day for learning. We take the positives out of it and keep moving forward.”
The 21-year-old Wisconsin native raised eyebrows leading into Saturday’s bout, logging the second-fastest practice time and the top mark during qualifying to claim his first Truck Series pole in his 12th career start in the circuit.
Such speed continued into Stages 1 and 2, when the Wisconsin native tallied a seventh- and 10th-place finish, respectively. However, the gradual reduction of clean air — and subsequent mid-pack battles — resulted in Fenhaus faltering as the race wore on.
A late-race jolt, however, came to fruition following a Lap 127 pile-up for the front of the pack, re-racking the field and eventually giving way for Fenhaus to reclaim clean air once again.
“There’s a lot of pushing going on,” Fenhaus said. “There’s no give-and-take and, you know, soon as you cross the start/finish line, you’re three-, four-wide. So it’s just part of it, you know. And I think guys on the front row had bad tires, and just happens, right? I spun the tires for first green flag, you know, just rookie move. So, yeah, that’ll happen. That’s part of the racing.”
A continuation of clean air continued for Fenhaus entering the final overtime, with the top three drivers lining the outside lane and the No. 66 taking the bottom groove behind eventual race-winner Stewart Friesen. With this positioning, Fenhaus unlocked the same speed his No. 66 Ford found in practice and qualifying, and the end result was an impressive top-five finish.
“I think just clean air, that was everything,” Fenhaus said. “I mean, when we were back in the dirty air, we could run 24th at best, 20th at best. So, to just have clean air and just have a good, solid truck. Feel like our trucks can be good up front, but we need to qualify up front, have good pit stops. Me be good on pit road. And, you know, just have a mistake-free day.”
A convincing third-place finish is coupled with priceless on-track experience for the young Fenhaus, whose next Truck Series race is tentatively scheduled for July 25 at IRP, the same site where he achieved his prior career-high finish in the circuit.
To Fenhaus, the lesson learned from Michigan was a simple one.
“Learning the air. That just never ends,” Fenhaus said. “Every situation you’re in, it seems different, and every truck you have is different. So to battle that air week in and week out is huge for me, and to learn how to pass with these guys. And, you know, just learn how to race with these guys, a lot different than short-track racing, but we’re gonna get it, and we’ll have good runs eventually here.”
Track: Michigan International Speedway Location: Brooklyn, Michigan Track length: 2 miles When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET Where to tune in: Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,055,250 Race distance: 200 laps | 400 miles Stages: 45 | 120 | 200 Defending winner:Tyler Reddick, August 2024 Starting lineup:Chase Briscoe on pole
In-Season Challenge positioning begins at track not to be taken lightly
Plenty is on the minds of the NASCAR Cup Series field ahead of Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. From playoff jockeying to the looming trek across the border to Mexico City, there’s much for drivers and their respective teams to digest.
Then there’s the inaugural In-Season Challenge — and a $1 million prize — to factor into the slam-packed equation, with Michigan acting as the first of three seeding races before the five-race challenge begins on June 28 at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).
“I think it’s in the back of people’s minds,” Ryan Blaney said when discussing the In-Season Challenge. “I wasn’t sitting around this week, like, alright, In-Season [Challenge] time, like, you just try to run the best you can. And then I think when you get into that five-week stretch of the [challenge], you’re going to be aware of who you’re racing, like, who am I up against this week? You’re definitely going to be aware of that, because there is a lot of, you know, money and pride if you win the thing. It’s like a five-week All-Star Race, kind of.
“… Honestly, these next three (races) of just kind of, I guess, seeding yourself … it’s like the March Madness bracket, right? You want to do well to seed yourself against an easier opponent.”
Michigan, the asphalt 2-miler, will provide a stiff test for drivers in the first seeding race, beginning with its banking. The 18-degree corners, most notably in Turns 3 and 4, have provided plenty of action, including last year when a Stage 2 wreck involved big-time contenders Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and 2023 Michigan winner Chris Buescher.
Although Larson — who finished 34th at Michigan after the incident — believes aero positioning resulted in the crash, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports pilot does think mayhem can still occur … if you aren’t careful.
“I think just that maybe it’s so big and long and you can draft and stuff like that,” Larson said. “So, restarts for the first few laps are a bit chaotic, but that’s really every track we go to. I think the grip here is very high, but when you get like an awkward spot, you can lose the grip really quick. So I think that’s why you see spins and wrecks and accidents happen here.”
Michigan’s track surface also brings its uniqueness to the forefront. Repaved ahead of the 2012 season, the surface remains largely intact, allowing for speeds that eclipse 195 mph.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s just stayed very similar year over year, so you’re able to really fine-tune little detail stuff to continue to get better,” Buescher said.
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
“Strategy is quite a bit different here, right? Fuel is more important than tires, I’d say,” Ryan Sparks, crew chief for Justin Haley’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, told NASCAR.com. “So we kind of just focus on spending as much time on pit road as much as we need fuel, right? So, just a little different mindset. The track’s big enough to where you’re super close to the leaders, you can maybe short a stage, or, you know, kind of get creative with strategy as well. But restarts are crazy, so you got to make sure it turns that first corner for the driver and him be able to maneuver. So a lot of things happen here. It really takes a car that is good at everything.”
“I guess the best part is there’s so many lanes that you can run,” Jeremy Bullins, crew chief for Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, told NASCAR.com. “You can run down to the bottom, run the middle, run the top. Kind of gives you some options if you try to find a lane that your car works the best in, and hopefully good enough to be able to pass some guys.”
With such high speeds and an abundance of racing lanes, gauging fuel and positioning becomes important, especially in the race’s middle and late segments.
“It’s a big track position race,” Bullins said. “There’s a lot of right-side tire stops and a lot of fuel-only stops. I don’t think I put tires on here last year past halfway on the left, put rights on a couple times. But just trying to figure out, you know, what you can do to set yourself up to have decent track position in the last stage and later in the race and try to be up front.”
Long-run speed goes a long way. This can be expected at a track as fast as Michigan, but this is especially true in the Next Gen era. Per NASCAR Insights, the three winners at this track since the Gen 7’s introduction — Kevin Harvick in 2022, Buescher in 2023 and Tyler Reddick in 2024 — all ranked inside the top three in long-run speed in their respective races.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
ERIK JONES. The Michigan native possesses two top 10s at his home track in the Next Gen era, and the No. 43 pilot is on an upward wave of momentum. In addition to his statistical masterclass last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, Jones is sixth in Passer Rating over the last five races after ranking 29th in the same category over the first nine Cup contests.
Fantasy update
NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.
Speeds were blistering fast during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, which could be a tad deceiving for race conditions. I’ve broken away from the norm this week and have changed one-third of my lineup. Out are former Cup champions Logano and Chase Elliott in favor of William Byron and Kyle Busch. The No. 24 team is the most consistent team in the Cup Series this season and will start from the second row. Busch surprised with a runner-up qualifying effort, trailing only Chase Briscoe, who notched his third consecutive pole. Both drivers cracked the top five in last year’s rundown at Michigan. Contemplated using Ty Gibbs, who was the best car on 10-, 15- and 20-lap averages, but we’ve seen this story before in 2025. Denny Hamlin was also under strong consideration, but with only four uses left, I’m saving the No. 11 Toyota for down the road.
Lineup: Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar.
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. • NASCAR at Michigan: Key information, links, results through the weekend | Read more
• In-Season Challenge: Seeding format, schedule, additional information | Read more
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 | Read more • Field of 16: Fords look to reclaim Michigan dominion, clinch another playoff berth | Read more
• Turning Point to Michigan: Why this weekend is a major wild card | Read more
• At-track photos: Best shots from Brooklyn 2-miler | View gallery
• NASCAR Classics: All the thrills and intense moments from Michigan | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: Schemes set to shine in the Irish Hills | View gallery
• Power Rankings: How the Cup Series field stacks up ahead of Michigan |Read more
Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon’s triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway — a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn’t want to end, ultimately featuring 14 extra laps.
The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the Canadian driver Friesen, who had not been among the race’s front-runners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since 2022 at Texas Motor Speedway. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger’s Chevrolet by 0.111 seconds.
With most drivers opting for the outside row for lane choice on the final restart, Friesen moved up and took the inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win this season coming into the race.
“I don’t know what to say, thank you to Chris, Halmar and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there’s a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,” Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.
While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently. “We weren’t as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, (crew chief) Jeff (Stankiewicz) kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. … Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
ThorSport Racing’s Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position earlier Saturday, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie making only his sixth Truck Series start.
The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage was slowed by seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.
A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day’s strongest competitors — Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time, and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.
It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race’s best — NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late-race melee only to get a penalty after the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.
He led a race-high 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.
Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top 10 in the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th — his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season opener.
Despite his 18th-place finish, Heim stretched his championship lead to a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.
Note: Post-race tech inspection was completed in the Craftsman Truck Series garage without issue, confirming Friesen as the winner. Additionally, the Nos. 07, 38 and 17 trucks are being brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for engine dyno.
