Richard Childress Racing appeal on tap for Wednesday; how process works

Posted on August 20, 2024August 21, 2024 by Staff Report

On Wednesday morning, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel will hear Richard Childress Racing’s appeal of NASCAR’s Aug. 14 ruling that stripped driver Austin Dillon of his playoff eligibility after his win on Aug. 11 at Richmond Raceway. The sanctioning body deemed the totality of Dillon’s actions, in which he crashed into Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano on the final lap of the Cook Out 400, crossed a line of what is considered to be acceptable behavior in competition.

In the ruling, Dillon kept his Richmond win, giving him five career Cup Series victories. However, he lost playoff eligibility for the win in both the driver and owner championship races, along with 25 driver points and 25 owner points. That loss in driver points dropped him from 26th place to 31st in the standings. After a 17th-place finish in Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, Dillon moved up to 29th place in the standings.

RELATED: Cup schedule | Driver standings

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel is an independent group that is not directly associated with NASCAR. However, the panel is made up of former drivers, owners, administrators and track operators who may or may not have had a connection to NASCAR at one time. There are also some on the panel who do not have a background in racing.

Representatives for RCR and NASCAR will be present at the hearing before three members of the appeals panel. After listening to testimony and potentially witnesses from each side, the panel will then decide essentially two things. First, did the violation occur? If yes, then should the penalty meted out by NASCAR be upheld or modified?

If the team loses the initial appeal, it can appeal once more to the final appeals office. If NASCAR loses an appeal, the process is over — the sanctioning body can’t appeal that overturn to the final officer.

Heading to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, 12 drivers are locked into playoff spots by virtue of a victory with two races left in the regular season. Should Dillon’s playoff eligibility be restored, that number would increase to 13 and alter the playoff picture once more.

Posted on August 19, 2024August 20, 2024 by Zack Albert

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff picture contorted at both ends after a momentous Monday finish at Michigan International Speedway. A change at the top came by way of a validating victory for one of the circuit’s newer teams, and the playoff bubble had its own blustery day with its three primary residents all involved in crashes.

Strategy shifts and a pair of consequential overtimes told the tale of the FireKeepers Casino 400, spread over two days at the 2-mile track. Tyler Reddick made it his second victory of the season, and it put the 23XI Racing organization atop the Cup Series standings for the first time in its fourth year of operation.

Reddick now holds the lead in the tight race for the circuit’s Regular Season Championship, which provides a bonus of 15 playoff points with the crown. Just two regular-season races remain — Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the finale a week later at Darlington Raceway — until that trophy is decided and the 16-driver postseason field is set.

Reddick’s rise to the top was hastened by Kyle Larson’s misfortune at Michigan, where he lost control in the 115th lap to trigger a multicar stack-up. Larson teammate Chase Elliott was in position to capitalize and regain the points lead that he last held a month ago, but late-race contact with Ryan Blaney in a restart shuffle dropped him to 15th in the finishing order.

Elliott is now 10 points back of new points leader Reddick, who has methodically gained ground with a streak of top-six finishes in the last seven races. Two months ago before that hot streak’s start, Reddick sat sixth in the Cup Series standings with a 64-point deficit to make up. Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing’s co-owner with NBA legend Michael Jordan, said post-race that Reddick’s run to the head of the class marks a significant milestone.

“It’s legitimacy, right?” said Hamlin, who sits 28 points back in third place in the regular-season title hunt, just ahead of fourth-place Larson (-32). “I’m not going to say anybody, but almost anybody can be leading the points after two or three races, right? We’re 20-some races in. All the averages have worked themselves out. When we were in Stage 1 right there, the top four in points were the top four on the race track. It’s just not by happenstance. It’s awesome to see how tough they are. I mean, week in, week out, they’re a tough out. It’s certainly going to make my path a lot harder. That’s what I started the team for. This is part of the crux of being a team owner and a driver, you’re going to have to deal with the days they beat you.”

At the other end of the provisional 16-driver grid, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher came out as Michigan’s best upward movers. Gibbs finished a solid third, padding his cushion above the provisional playoff elimination line from 18 points entering the race to a more promising plus-39. Buescher’s rebound had the more dramatic turn.

Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford was caught up in the same crash that eliminated Larson and damaged fellow bubble dweller Bubba Wallace, but when a late caution period for Martin Truex Jr.’s wall slap forced overtime, his team opted to pit from 14th place in a divergent strategy move. In the two overtime sessions that followed, Buescher charged on fresher tires from 18th to sixth at the end, moving him from a dead heat with Ross Chastain for the final playoff berth into plus-16 stature.

MORE: At-track photos | Get notified for 2025 schedule release

Chastain and Wallace both finished one lap down, with Chastain slipping to a 25th-place result after a spinout in Michigan’s first overtime and Wallace holding on for 26th after his wreck involvement. Chastain is just one point up on Wallace for the final berth.

Buescher likened the outcome to a best-case scenario after his No. 17 entry was crumpled at all four corners in the midrace mangle, and the top-10 finish was his first in a five-race span. The 31-year-old driver has long maintained that his focus is on winning and not gathering points, so the notification that he was 16 points ahead relative to the elimination line was news to him.

“That is the first I have seen it. I am adamant that we are not points racers but when our chance to win this thing was gone, ultimately that was some of the mentality, to figure out how to make the best of our day,” said Buescher, the defending 400-mile race winner at Daytona. “We had seen troubles from some of the other cars that were on the bubble. I wouldn’t say we weren’t aggressive on restarts, though. We were moving, but we were also trying to be smart and methodical about it and not put ourselves in a really bad spot. It was on our mind there at the end. It is what you have to do once you aren’t in contention to win the race.”

Posted on August 19, 2024August 20, 2024 by John Crane

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Hurry up and wait.

Such was the theme looming over the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway, at least when intimidating clouds and steady showers weren’t.

But for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team, taking a gamble was another theme, and that gamble — in the form of a late-race two-tire pit stop — culminated with a much-needed fourth-place finish in Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

“Yeah, I mean, better for sure,” Busch said. “You know, up in the top 10 much of today, fighting for positions up in the top 10 much of the day. We can certainly have more speed if we had better balance. We just kept getting too tight off the corners, and that’s where we were losing our time. So there’s more potential in the setup being better and having more speed. So, just a good day overall for the Lucas Oil Chevrolet. And, you know, hope that next week, with Cheddar’s and Zone and the remaining races coming up, we can put ourselves in a position to win one.”

Minimal practice times, in addition to no qualifying, saw Busch begin Michigan’s contest in 13th. A sixth-place finish to conclude Stage 1 eventually held serve for the No. 8 once the red flag was waved to conclude Sunday’s action.

Fast forward to Monday, and the No. 8’s speed continued. Busch seized the lead on Lap 58 before the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. overtook him eight laps later. A handful of cautions — including a Lap 116 incident that collected multiple contenders — saw Busch push forward and claim the Stage 2 win, his first since Sonoma Raceway in June 2023.

Fuel strategy after Corey LaJoie’s flip on Lap 135 led to a gamble being in order, and for crew chief Randall Burnett, the remedy came in the form of a two-tire call during the following pit stop. The gamble saw Busch cycle to the race lead, but tire tightness prevented him from maintaining it.

“That gave us options to take two at the end,” Burnett told NASCAR.com. “And so that was our only way to jump back in front of them, which we ended up doing, coming out and taking the lead there, whatever through the cycle, just a little bit too tight on those two tires. Didn’t make a good enough adjustment to to get it freed up enough on those two tires. I kind of hoped to be able to hold those guys off. So overall, was a good day for our Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro, top five. Wanted to win, obviously. Tried to do everything we could strategy-wise to put ourselves in position to win, and at the end of the day was just a little too tight to be able to hold them off. So good day for ourselves.”

“A good pit strategy by Randall and the guys to keep our track position to keep us up front there on two tires at the end,” Busch said. “Wasn’t going to be ideal on those short restarts, but hung on OK and got a top five.”

From staying strong through weather delays to grinding out a fourth-place finish, Busch prevailed in more ways than one, even though the No. 8 team couldn’t cash in with a Victory Lane appearance. But with on-and-off on-track time due to Mother Nature, adversity netted a positive for a team still fighting for a berth in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.

And in circumstances like Michigan’s race weekend, resilience is key.

“You just got to be on your game,” Burnett told NASCAR.com. “Everybody comes in here. Everybody works hard. Everybody’s focused on the task at hand. And so, you know, weather holds you out, you just got to keep thinking about what you’re going do, and try to make the best decisions the next day, and that’s what we did.”

Up next for Busch will be Daytona International Speedway (Sat., 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), with Darlington Raceway coming soon after to conclude the regular-season campaign (Sept. 1, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

With a win likely required for the No. 8 team to crack the 16-driver postseason grid, perhaps momentum from Monday’s Michigan result will translate to even more prosperity in Florida.

Let’s wait and see.

“I think we could just kind of take the overall day and the chemistry and the results and try to move forward with it and better it,” Busch said. “The two coming up race tracks are entirely different than this one. So not much on on vehicle dynamics and setups and things like that, but just good momentum heading in the right direction.”

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Cameron Richardson

Huge playoff implications highlighted Monday’s matinee at Michigan International Speedway. Tyler Reddick had the fastest car in the closing laps and held off the field after two overtimes to score his second Cup victory of 2024 and overtake Kyle Larson for the regular-season points lead. Meanwhile, Larson, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Martin Truex Jr. were all involved in incidents that affected their respective playoff positions.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

With one point separating two drivers for the 16th playoff spot and a regular-season title still to be contested between multiple drivers, Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 ET, NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is going to be stressful for all teams. See who’s trending upward and who is going the wrong way after Michigan.

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 19th

Finished: 3rd

What happened: A nightmare summer may finally be over for the sophomore Cup driver as Gibbs stormed through the midpack of the field to be in contention for his first career victory in the closing stages. Despite two OT restarts, Gibbs kept the No. 54 out of harm’s way and scored his first top-10 result since Chicago in July.

What’s next: With a 39-point gap entering Daytona, there are still no guarantees, but the No. 54 team now has multiple options to either maximize stage points Saturday or go all-out for the win. However, Gibbs hasn’t scored a top 10 at the 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway in four Cup starts.

Logan Riely | Getty Images

2. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Started: 13th

Finished: 4th

What happened: An assertive call from crew chief Randall Burnett on the final pit cycle put Busch in the lead in the final 30 laps, but the two-time Cup champion eventually lost the lead to William Byron. However, a complete, incident-free day resulted in Busch’s first top five since Dover.

What’s next: A top five could pay off in huge momentum for the No. 8 team entering Daytona. RCR usually brings hot rods to Daytona and Busch had one of the fastest cars in the Daytona 500 in February. He’ll be one to watch Saturday night.

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

3. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 27th

Finished: 7th

What happened: The on-track improvements have shown for Smith and the No. 71 team this summer, and they’ve proved that a runner-up result at Nashville wasn’t a fluke. While Monday’s result was just the second top-10 finish of the year for Smith, the No. 71 has finished inside the top 20 in six of the last 10 races.

What’s next: Daytona is the ultimate wild card and of those well on the outside looking in, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Smith battling for the win among the top dogs of the sport. He finished 13th in the Daytona 500 back in February.

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 24th

Finished: 24th

What happened: It looked like Truex was on his way to a top-five result to take command of a postseason position on points. But a slide into the wall with six to go parachuted Truex to a 24th-place finish and a third consecutive result outside the top 20 and fifth of such in the last six races.

What’s next: With only two races left in the regular season, no one can kick Truex out of a playoff spot on wins with four spots still open, but the recent finishes for the No. 19 team shouldn’t have it feeling comfortable despite a 77-point cushion. Superspeedways have been the Achilles’ heel for Truex with not a single win. However, he’s finished the first races at Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega on the lead lap taking the checkered flag 15th, 12th and 11th, respectively.

Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

2. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Started: 7th

Finished: 25th

What happened: So close to another top-10 result was all for naught for the No. 1 team as Chastain spun during the first OT after a chain reaction that started with Alex Bowman slapping the wall down the backstretch. However, Chastain has now taken the 16th spot in the postseason by just one point over Wallace after the No. 23 driver was involved in a wreck in Stage 2.

What’s next: Chastain went for it all earlier in the Daytona 500 that ended in him and Austin Cindric spinning on the final lap battling for the crown-jewel win. Expect Chastain to bring the same assertiveness to the superspeedway but a more-measured approach as Darlington is a strong race track for the No. 1.

Logan Riely | Getty Images

3. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Started: 5th

Finished: 26th

What happened: Wallace secured seven stage points at Michigan, but this one will sting for the No. 23 camp after he was caught in a late Stage 2 wreck when Larson spun right in front of him. The damage was enough to take all the speed out of the McDonald’s Toyota and all Wallace could do was watch his teammate take the checkered flag instead.

What’s next: If Daytona was stressful for Wallace last year, then Saturday night is going to be a whole other level as he has to be ahead of the No. 1 to jump back into 16th in the postseason. Wallace’s capabilities on superspeedways are well-known, and if the No. 23 can avoid a potential attrition-filled race, it could mean a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

Logan Riely | Getty Images

Posted on August 19, 2024August 19, 2024 by Holly Cain

Certainly, the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway was not lacking in action or drama. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick claimed his second victory of the season — seventh of his career — while the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs standings shifted dramatically yet again in Monday’s weather-delayed double overtime finish to the race.

Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota pulled away from William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the second overtime restart — holding off Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs to claim the win by a slight .168-second and break a nine-race winning streak at the historic 2-mile track for Ford.

“Just great teammate and a fantastic push from Ty Gibbs, the Toyota racing family tries to take care of each other,” said Reddick, who immediately dedicated his win to longtime family friend and dirt late model racing legend Scott Bloomquist, who was killed in a plane accident days ago.

“The last couple days have been tough, but this really helps. This win goes to him [Bloomquist] and his family and friends, and all that meant a lot to him. It’s always tough when someone you care about passes away.

“We did a really good job today,” he said of the win. “I think we were the last car on the lead lap starting stage three today so good effort for us.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Byron, a three-race winner and the 2024 Daytona 500 champion, second-guessed the decision to start his Chevrolet alongside Reddick on the high side of the front row on that final restart after starting on the bottom lane previously.

“I will relive that restart and what lane to choose overnight for sure,” Byron said. “It seems like always as the leader you want to take the top, but I’ve gotten beat twice here by the bottom and I had the lead on the bottom barely over him.

“But he had a better car than us, he was a little bit faster. Second sucks, but really proud of the effort. I feel like we’ve been trying to put weeks together like this and this is a really good step.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch finished fourth and led 24 laps in the race, one of his better showings of the season. The two-time series champion still sits more than 100 points out of the playoff standings and is trying to extend a record 19-year winning streak in the series but Monday’s showing marks some positive momentum for the No. 8 team entering the final stretch of the regular season.

“Overall, just net positive on the weekend, being better on speed and up front and having a shot anyways, but we ran top 10 all day,” said Busch, whose win in Stage 2 marked his and the RCR team’s first stage win of the year.

“This is how we would expect to run, this how we want to run,” he added. “We want to run up front, have top-10s and have opportunities to excel.

“If I had to say, maybe an eighth, 10th-place car today and we got a fourth out of it. Good pit calls and making a couple good moves on the late restarts got us that. … good momentum rolling in the right direction and need to just keep that going.”

SHOP: Get geared up for the playoffs

RFK Racing teammates, owner-driver Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher were fifth and sixth place – the top finishing Fords. Keselowski was hoping to win at his home-state track for the first time in 28 starts there. For Buescher that sixth-place finish may have felt a little like a win after two days of dramatic ups and downs.

It improved his place in the championship standings to 15th out of the 16 drivers currently playoff eligible — now 16 points up on the cutoff line. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain moved into the 16th and final position — only a single point ahead of Reddick’s 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.

Chastain, who brought out a caution flag in the first overtime, had been 12 points to the good inside the playoff standings taking the first overtime green flag.

It was indicative of the non-stop action from Sunday’s green flag and red flags to Monday’s checkers. The race resumed Monday on Lap 52 and so did the aggression with 16 different race leaders and 26 lead changes in all.

On Sunday, polesitter, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin spun out while trying to pass Wallace for the lead early. His No. 11 JGR Toyota was largely undamaged despite a slide through the infield grass and he ultimately battled his way back up through the field Monday to secure an impressive ninth-place finish.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who led the Cup Series championship points standings coming into the race, was sidelined early after triggering a seven-car accident on Lap 116, after misjudging a pass on Wallace as well.

The 2023 Michigan winner Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland were all involved in the incident in varying degrees. Although Larson, Bell, Logano and Gilliland’s cars were sidelined, Buescher’s Mustang was able to continue with an assortment of challenges. His team called him in for two new tires on the final caution period and he was able to race back to that sixth-place finish.

MORE: Get notified for 2025 schedule release

Larson’s miscue had a major effect on the Regular Season Championship with race winner Reddick now taking the lead by 10 points over Chase Elliott, who led laps but finished 15th.

Hamlin’s race recovery moves him into third place, 28 points back and Larson has dropped to fourth place, 32 points behind Reddick with only two races remaining to decide who will earn the regular-season title and receive that all-important 15-point playoff bonus.

“Had an extremely fast car so hate I screwed that up for our team as well the others out there that got collected in it,” said Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “Just trying to get what I could, get some stage points and just lost it.”

Rookie Zane Smith finished seventh, followed by Daniel Suárez, Hamlin and rookie Carson Hocevar.

The Cup Series returns to competition in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Buescher is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Tyler Reddick as the winner. The Nos. 7, 17, 48, 54 and 99 will head to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further evaluation.

Posted on August 19, 2024August 19, 2024 by Staff Report

A host of contenders found midrace trouble in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race when a multicar crash erupted off Turn 4 at Michigan International Speedway.

Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet broke loose in the 116th of a scheduled 200 laps in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400. His slide collected cars driven by Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Todd Gilliland and Chase Briscoe as the field scattered.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

Logano, Larson, Bell and Gilliland were sidelined by the crash and finished 33rd through last in the 36-car field in that order. The wreck also forced Stage 2 to finish under the yellow flag, and Kyle Busch was the stage winner.

Larson unofficially fell out of the Cup Series points lead, relinquishing the top spot to eventual winner Tyler Reddick.

“Yeah, I just messed up,” Larson said after a check at the infield care center. “You try to get all you can on restarts. I was just trying to funnel myself up the race track. I didn’t want to get stuck on the bottom three-wide. Just got myself in an awkward aero spot and lost it. It’s unfortunate. I made a mistake and cost ourselves a lot of points today.”

The melee shook up the provisional Cup Series Playoffs picture, but Buescher had the best rebound among those on the postseason bubble. He came back to finish sixth and holds a 16-point edge over the elimination line. Ross Chastain, who lost a lap and finished 25th after an overtime spin, is just plus-one over Wallace, who finished 26th and ranks as the first driver out.

“Things happen in front but to me, I just feel like if you see an accident, start checking up,” said Buescher, who pitted when a yellow flag forced overtime, then rallied back for a top-10 result. “It seems like not a lot of people do that right now. It is just chaos when these yellows come out. That happened a little quicker than I really realized but it is still frustrating to be involved in that and take away the pace we had in this Mustang. It was just so good. I had such a fun time the first half of this race between yesterday and today and this is a heck of a recovery ultimately on the day.”

After the Michigan race, just two regular-season events remain — Saturday night at Daytona and the following week at Darlington — before the 16-driver playoff grid is set.

Other drivers collected in the Turn 4 tangle said that few evasive options existed.

“Yeah, I saw him spin,” Bell said, “and we were so bunched up that once one car gets sideways, there is not much that you can do.”

Logano was further back in the pack after a right-rear tire issue on Lap 108 dropped him from 14th place.

“We had that right-rear tire go flat right before that, which put us back there down a lap and then I think the 5 just spun out in front of me and kind of caused a big wad and a Daytona-type crash,” Logano said. “There was nowhere to really go. I couldn’t steer it left, so I just committed to maybe if I could slow it down enough, I could center-punch it, and it wouldn’t be that bad. That was my only option there. Unfortunately, we got knocked out a little early.”

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Press Release

In a beautifully illustrated, no-holds-barred nod to a colorful 76-year history, NASCAR Mavericks celebrates the innovators — and the innovations — that have formed the sport’s foundation since its 1948 debut. The celebration is big on the sport’s character — but more so on its characters, of which there are plenty.

Available Nov. 12, 2024, NASCAR Mavericks divides a comprehensive lineup of more than 60 stories by decades, starting with the original maverick — the sport’s founder, Bill France Sr. Written by NASCAR historian H.A. Branham and longtime motorsports journalist Holly Cain, those stories are rich with insights from individuals throughout motorsports — including some solid “mavericks.” The authors also source the memories of many top journalists who saw it all go down, first-hand.

NASCAR Mavericks has the ultimate “bookends” with three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart supplying the foreword and current star Ross Chastain the afterword.

Stewart and Chastain are also featured in the book, as are Brian France, the Busch Brothers, Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team and Jimmie Johnson’s longtime crew chief, Chad Knaus. Earlier decades highlight mavericks like Smokey Yunick, Curtis Turner, Louise Smith, Janet Guthrie and Wendell Scott. Across the pages, technology is showcased, some of which — surprise — was ruled illegal.

The combination of detailed photography and entertaining tales makes NASCAR Mavericks a perfect follow-up to last year’s NASCAR 75 Years. Once again, it’s a book for every NASCAR fan.

Posted on August 18, 2024August 19, 2024 by John Crane

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Weather eventually prevailed Sunday evening at Michigan International Speedway as rain delayed the start and ultimately postponed the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series race, 51 laps into the 200-mile event.

Two cautions waved over the opening quarter of the FireKeepers Casino 400. However, all 36 Cup machines remained active, with none going to the garage and retiring from the contest.

Chase Elliott, pilot of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is the race leader, with Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top five. Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano complete the current top 10, in that order.

Although the race didn’t reach its conclusion at its scheduled time, there were a handful of takeaways from the opening 51 laps. Let’s give each a look.

Editor’s note: The race will resume Monday at 11 a.m. ET, on USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.

POSITIONING ALREADY APPARENT

Stage 1 concluded with Ryan Blaney capturing Stage 1 after a late-stage shootout. However, the surprise came from Bubba Wallace, who looked to be the looming victor after the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota slingshotted his way to the race lead ahead of Larson and Hamlin on Lap 35. The No. 23 instead opted to pit, choosing Stage 2 positioning over stage points.

For Wallace, the move could be a gamble of sorts. After all, Wallace came into the Michigan weekend only three points ahead of the elimination line. But for the 30-year-old Alabama native, the long-term benefits could find the 23XI camp on solid footing to perhaps conquer the Irish Hills and find Victory Lane, which would clinch a playoff berth outright.

MORE: Weather delays Cup Series race at Michigan

This wasn’t the only battle. For Elliott and the No. 9, the opportunity to amass more cushion in the regular-season standings also arose. Among Elliott, Larson, Reddick and Hamlin — the four drivers currently battling it out for the Regular Season Championship — the No. 9 was the only driver to collect stage points, earning nine with his runner-up result.

Will this positioning pay off? Let’s see.

TOYOTA’S TALE OF TWO EXTREMES

Wallace’s thrilling move in Stage 1 has already been discussed. But what about Hamlin, who was also contending for the race lead during the maneuver? Unfortunately for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, near-disaster struck not even a handful of laps later. After racing side-by-side with Larson for second, Hamlin got loose and spun out on the frontstretch, eventually resulting in a 22nd-place finish in Stage 1.

A thrilling high for one Toyota camp in Wallace was counteracted with a gasping low for Hamlin. But with plenty of racing to go — and with a steady track record at Michigan, to boot — there is time to rectify the situation. Plenty.

WHAT DOES FORD HAVE IN STORE?

As it currently stands, only two Ford drivers — Briscoe and Logano — are running inside the top 10 at Michigan. Three Fords collected stage points after the conclusion of the opening stage, with Blaney winning the stage and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

Ford’s Michigan history runs deep, and as victors of the last nine Cup races at the 2-mile facility dating back to 2018, perhaps the manufacturer has another hearty run in store in the final 149 laps.

Posted on August 18, 2024August 18, 2024 by Staff Report

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race has been postponed to a Monday finish by rain at Michigan International Speedway.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 is set to resume Monday at 11 a.m. ET, to be broadcast on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.

Two waves of rain showers delayed the start of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 by nearly 2 1/2 hours, and 51 of a scheduled 200 laps were complete when wet weather struck the 2-mile track again.

Chase Elliott was scored as the race leader, having led four laps in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.

Denny Hamlin started from the pole position, but dropped back when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spun off Turn 4 as he ran second in the 38th lap. Hamlin recovered after a slide through the infield grass and was listed as 17th in the 36-car field.

Ryan Blaney led eight laps and earned the Stage 1 win. He pitted during the stage intermission, handing the lead to Elliott. The race did not go back to green-flag conditions in Stage 2, when an approaching shower soaked the track.

Kyle Larson led a race-best 34 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He was scored seventh when the event was scrubbed to a Monday finish.

It’s the second consecutive day that wet weather has disrupted the Michigan schedule. Rain interrupted Cup Series practice and washed out Busch Light Pole qualifying, forcing the starting grid to be set by performance metrics. Rain also caused delays to Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, which was won by Justin Allgaier in overtime.

MORE: Get notified for 2025 schedule release

It’s also the second straight year that Michigan’s Cup Series race was forced to finish on Monday. In 2023, rain stopped the race with 74 of 200 laps complete, and Chris Buescher drove the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford to victory a day later.

Ford is striving for its 10th straight Cup Series victory at Michigan. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota are competing for the Michigan Heritage Trophy, awarded to the winning manufacturer each year at the 2-mile track.

Posted on August 18, 2024August 18, 2024 by Staff Report

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race has been delayed by rain for a second time at Michigan International Speedway.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 was scheduled for a 2:36 p.m. ET green flag, but precipitation at the 2-mile track placed the start on hold. After two waves of showers, the race went green at 4:55 p.m. ET, but another downpour soaked the track and forced another delay with 51 of a scheduled 200 laps complete.

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The race was moved to a Monday finish at 11 a.m. ET (USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Chase Elliott was scored as the race leader in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet when the event was halted. Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.

Kyle Larson led a race-best 34 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He was scored seventh at the red flag.

MORE: Get notified for 2025 schedule release