Posted on 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.

RELATED: Cup Series schedule | How to get notified for 2025 schedule release

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 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.

RELATED: See running order after 51 laps

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 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.

RELATED: Leaderboard | At-track photos: Michigan

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 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.

RELATED: Leaderboard | At-track photos: Michigan

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.

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 at the time of the stoppage.

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 halted the action.

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

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.

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 by Cameron Richardson

Editor’s note: Projection updated after Saturday’s on-track action and lineup set by rulebook:

Ford has won nine consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, which is a big deal for the manufacturer with just three races left in the regular season and a handful of blue ovals seeking to grab one of the final four playoff spots.

Last season, Ford made up four of the top-10 finishers in the Irish Hills, with Chris Buescher snagging his second victory in a stretch that saw him win three of the last five races in the 2023 regular season. With Chris Buescher three points below the elimination line, can he go back-to-back at the 2-mile oval to guarantee a spot in the playoffs or will the top dogs dominate the show? Let’s take a deep dive into how Racing Insights sees Monday’s race playing out (11 a.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | Michigan schedule

Kyle Larson is still the betting favorite for Monday’s race, and for fair reason — he’s won three events at Michigan and has finished no worse than seventh in his last four events at the track. After initially giving the slight edge to Larson’s on-track rival Denny Hamlin, who has finished no worse than sixth at the 2-mile oval since 2019 and owns two victories at the facility, Racing Insights moved Larson to the top spot after Saturday’s brief on-track action.

Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and William Byron make up the projected top five, with Byron replacing Christopher Bell in the fifth spot. Reddick, Blaney and Bell had separate issues in last year’s event. Reddick had issues on pit road, Bell spun and wrecked early despite finishing 13th and Blaney had an on-track tilt with Corey LaJoie.

Monday will be pivotal for Larson, Reddick and Chase Elliott as the three are separated by just six points for the regular-season title. With Daytona and the grueling pressure cooker in the Southern 500 looming to close the regular season, Michigan offers the most opportunity for drivers to have control of their destiny. Last season, Larson was the only one of the three to finish in the top 5 and on the lead lap after Reddick’s woes and Elliott wrecking out early.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

BRAD KESELOWSKI: The 2012 Cup Series champion is winless in 26 starts at Michigan, but RFK Racing as a whole will be the team to watch this weekend as Buescher looks to finally break through in 2024. On top of Buescher’s thrilling victory in 2023, Keselowski finished fourth.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: After an engine failure early in the final stage at Richmond, Truex really needs a quality performance Monday to solidify his playoff position on points. He is a four-time runner-up at Michigan, including last year, but has yet to win at the 2-mile facility.

BUBBA WALLACE: Four top 10s in the last five races have put Wallace into the postseason picture by three points over both Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher. Bigger ovals have played into the No. 23 driver’s hands in his Cup career, and Michigan could be the place where Wallace snaps a 66-race winless drought. Eight drivers have snapped a winless streak of at least 41 races at Michigan.

TODD GILLILAND: Ford’s tendency to bring really fast cars to the manufacturer’s home track could mean a big weekend in store for Front Row Motorsports. With FRM now a Tier 1 organization under Ford and in a technical alliance with Team Penske, both the No. 34 of Michael McDowell and the No. 38 could have top-10 speed, or even race-winning speed on Monday.

ERIK JONES: Heading to his home state, Jones always seems to be an outside contender at Michigan. He owns two consecutive top 10s at the track, and a third could garner a massive boost of momentum before heading to Daytona and Darlington, where he’s won events at both.

MORE: How to get notified for 2025 schedule release

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.

FINISHCAR NUMBERDRIVER
15Kyle Larson
211Denny Hamlin
345Tyler Reddick
412Ryan Blaney
524William Byron
619Martin Truex Jr.
79Chase Elliott
86Brad Keselowski
923Bubba Wallace
1020Christopher Bell
1117Chris Buescher
121Ross Chastain
1354Ty Gibbs
1422Joey Logano
1548Alex Bowman
168Kyle Busch
1799Daniel Suárez
1843Erik Jones
1934Michael McDowell
2010Noah Gragson
217Corey LaJoie
222Austin Cindric
234Josh Berry
2414Chase Briscoe
253Austin Dillon
2677Carson Hocevar
2751Justin Haley
2847Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2938Todd Gilliland
3016AJ Allmendinger
3141Ryan Preece
3271Zane Smith
3342John Hunter Nemechek
3431Daniel Hemric
3521Harrison Burton
3615Cody Ware
Posted on by Zack Albert

The NASCAR Cup Series will return to Bowman Gray Stadium next year, revisiting a short track instrumental to its history for the season-opening Clash exhibition race.

The news was announced Saturday by Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer, during pre-race ceremonies at the historic quarter-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, that his great-grandfather – NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. – helped promote with founding official Alvin Hawkins. Earlier this year, NASCAR took over management of the municipal stadium’s racing operations from the Hawkins family, starting a new chapter for NASCAR’s longest-running weekly track.

The non-points event is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025 and will be broadcast live on FOX. The Clash had been held the last three seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a temporary quarter-mile track based on the design of Bowman Gray’s flat asphalt that rings its football field. The stadium was used as a proving ground for NASCAR’s Next Gen car at such a track, with a Goodyear tire test and feasibility study held in the months before the first running of The Clash in LA.

RELATED: Bowman Gray through the years | All-time Clash winners
SHOP: Clash 2025 gear for Bowman Gray’s return

To commemorate the return to Bowman Gray, NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports Films are producing a one-hour documentary titled The Madhouse: NASCAR’s Return to Bowman Gray Stadium that will premiere on FS1. The film will explore the rich and rollicking history of the venue while weaving a narrative that focuses on preparations for The Clash in 2025. More details on the documentary, including when fans will be able to watch on FS1, will be released at a later date.

“We’re going back to The Madhouse in Bowman Gray Stadium,” Kennedy said. “Bringing our Cup Series back there for the first time since the 1970s, it’s going to be another historic event. I’d say in a lot of ways, this is going to be an opportunity to celebrate our roots, our history and celebrate our NASCAR regional series.”

Bowman Gray Stadium hosted Cup Series points events from 1958-71, and its list of winners is a collection of NASCAR Hall of Famers – Richard and Lee Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison, Glen Wood, and Rex White, among them. Several current Cup Series drivers – including Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace — have competed in what is now called the ARCA Menards Series East. Kennedy savored a memorable victory in that circuit with his family at the stadium in 2013.

Bowman Gray Stadium has long held a special place in the France family’s collective hearts. The track has held weekly NASCAR events since the 1949 season, the same year the NASCAR Cup Series launched as the Strictly Stock division. Former NASCAR president Bill France Jr. met his future wife, Betty Jane Zachary, at the stadium in 1957. NASCAR executives Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy were on hand back in 2013 to cheer Ben Kennedy’s triumph at the quarter-mile oval.

MORE: How to get notified for 2025 schedule release

That same year, Ryan Preece won a race for the former NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Bowman Gray. The driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 41 Ford described the stadium’s atmosphere as “wild,” a nod to the energetic crowd that fills the horseshoe-shaped bleachers each week in the spring and summer for racing in four divisions, including the featured Modifieds. The track has earned the nickname “Madhouse,” as much for its enduring “Madhouse Scramble” lineup format as the rowdy setting.

“It’s the East Coast version of what they made at LA, so I’m all for it,” Preece said earlier this year at NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race. “I’m all for going to short tracks. I think it’s all about doing something different. As far as the fans being around there, all the way around the stadium, it’d be cool.”

The stadium is familiar with wintertime events in either NASCAR’s traditional preseason or offseason. For years, Bowman Gray hosted “Tobacco Bowl” modified and sportsman events near the New Year’s holiday.

The Clash was introduced in 1979 as a non-points invitational at Daytona International Speedway for the Cup Series’ pole winners from the previous season. The event has evolved through the years but served as host of the unofficial stock-car kickoff to Daytona’s Speedweeks up until the first Los Angeles event in 2022.

“This is the next evolution of The Clash for us,” Kennedy said. “One of the areas where we feel like there’s an opportunity for us to continue to switch it up and go to new markets and new venues is an exhibition race like The Clash.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Justin Allgaier used pit strategy and a fast No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to take the lead of Saturday’s Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway, with 16 laps of regulation remaining and then held off the field in two laps of overtime — before a caution came out to end the race.

Allgaier pitted for fuel seven laps later than the next six front-runners at the time, returned to the track and ultimately — methodically — picked each car off to claim the late lead. He took the white flag signaling one lap remaining and a few moments later one of the late-race leaders, Carson Kvapil, hit the wall in what became a chain reaction melee involving Chandler Smith and Kyle Sieg, whose car flipped end-over-end. Sieg was able to quickly climb out of his car and walk to the waiting medical crew.

Meanwhile, Allgaier took the yellow and checkered flags just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed, JGR’s John Hunter Nemechek, Our Motorsports’ Anthony Alfredo and JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

It’s the sixth consecutive top-10 finish in as many races for the 38-year-old Allgaier, who with the win — the 25th of his career — is now 10th on the Xfinity Series all-time win list moving ahead of his team owner, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.

A bright rainbow hung in the sky as the field sat on pit road just before the overtime restart as NASCAR track workers dried the famed 2-mile Michigan track after the second brief rain shower of the day.

Asked to rally again, Allgaier proved his muster, ultimately passing his teammate Sammy Smith on the restart and then holding off both JGR teammates Creed and defending race winner Nemechek for his second victory of the season.

“Just cannot say thank you enough to this team and all these guys standing right here,” Allgaier said. “It’s been an incredible week. We did not show up at [the last race in] Indianapolis like we wanted to and these guys have worked tirelessly through this break.

“It’s truly special, winning at Michigan.”

It was a record 11th runner-up finish for Creed — breaking a tie with current Cup Series driver and former Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett for most second-place finishes in the series without a win.

Trophy or not, it was a productive day for Creed, who started from pole position and also announced before the race that he signed a multi-year contract to drive for the new Haas Factory Team in Xfinity next season. He was among the seven race leaders, out front for 23 laps and his rally to runner-up was more impressive, considering he spun out while leading early in the race.

“This one might have frustrated me the most out of all of them so far,” Creed said. “I had a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra as fast as Xfinity internet today, and led the beginning, got spun there and rallied back.

“I was probably too conservative behind the 20 (Nemechek) trying to save fuel. I was a couple, few laps short on fuel there and the 7 (Allgaier) was in a little bit better spot, and once the 7 got around both of us, and the 88 (Kvapil), I know I needed to go. I probably set behind the 20 another two laps and then charged and was running the 7 down. Just had a really good car, but that caution for rain came at a bad time for us.”

MORE: Get notified for 2025 schedule release

Cup Series regular Noah Gragson, Matt DiBenedetto, Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Taylor Gray, Caesar Bacarella and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top 10. It marks only the third top 10 of Bacarella’s career.

With five regular season races remaining, Sammy Smith moves into 12th place in the championship standings, holding the final playoff position by a single point over Ryan Sieg, who won Stage 1 and finished 13th on Saturday.

Cole Custer finished an uncharacteristic 30th place after his Ford suffered damage in a mid-race accident. The defending series champion continues to lead the regular season championship, but his advantage has been trimmed now to only 12 points over Michigan race winner Allgaier.

The Xfinity Series moves to the famed Daytona International Speedway for Friday’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Allgaier is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Justin Allgaier as the winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

Alan Gustafson is in his 20th season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, and he’s about to mark another big, round milestone number this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

Gustafson will call the shots in his 700th Cup Series start atop the pit box in Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (11 a.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 49-year-old Hendrick Motorsports veteran has 39 Cup Series wins to his credit, spread among two NASCAR Hall of Famers (Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin) and two drivers destined to join them there (Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott).

“It’s been a huge part of my life, obviously, and yeah, something that has transpired over a long period of time,” Gustafson said. “It’s been super memorable, gone through a lot of circumstances, different things — good, bad, it’s been good.”

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Leaderboard entering Monday’s resumption

Part of the good side of his resume has been his nine-year term as crew chief for Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Chevrolet team. All 19 of Elliott’s Cup wins have come with Gustafson’s guidance, and the two celebrated the Cup Series championship together in 2020.

Gustafson was tapped to work with Elliott when he went full-time as a Cup Series rookie in 2016. The 28-year-0ld driver tipped his cap to the influence that Gustafson has had on his career.

“I’m not sure there’s anybody that’s impacted it more, honestly,” Elliott said before Saturday’s practice session at Michigan. “Just has always believed in me and just has never wavered in that regard. Man, that goes a long way, especially with somebody who has seen as much as he’s seen and has lived this deal as long as he has, so I’m grateful for our relationship, I’m grateful for our friendship. We have a really good working relationship as it pertains to just week to week, knowing what we expect of each other. We’ve been doing it together for a long time, and I think that that goes a really long way.

“I’m proud to have him, and I wouldn’t trade this time that we’ve had together for anything because the amount of experience and the things I’ve learned from him is hard to put a price tag on that. Hope that we can keep trucking for years to come.”

Gustafson came up through the local and regional ranks, and he joined Hendrick Motorsports in the chassis shop before taking on roles as a shock specialist and eventually a lead engineer. His ascended to a crew chief job with Hendrick’s No. 5 team in 2005, the rookie season for both him and Busch.

MORE: At-track photos | What to Watch: Michigan

Gustafson has since worked with the Nos. 24 and 9 teams. He says now that he’d tell his rookie self to simply roll with the uncertainties that are bound to arise.

“Just to relax and focus on what you can control and don’t really worry about the rest,” Gustafson said. “I think, just starting out, there’s so much unknown, so you’re super nervous about that, and you want to do everything perfectly, which is just impossible. So I think I would just tell myself to focus on what you can control and take it as it comes.”

Posted on by John Crane

BROOKLYN, Mich. — The looming NASCAR Cup Series contest at Michigan International Speedway not only acts as the third to last race before the regular season’s 2024 conclusion, it additionally marks another chapter in what has been an intense four-wide battle for the Regular Season Championship.

The current quartet — Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin — sits first through fourth, respectively, in the standings and is separated by 21 points heading into Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (11 a.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). And with 15 bonus points on the line for the regular-season victor, the battle is certainly worth investing in as a championship-contending driver.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule 

“I feel good,” Elliott said regarding his current positioning and confidence over the regular season’s final stretch. “I think a lot of it, I mean, let’s be honest, it’s gonna be who gets through Daytona next week, and I think everybody knows that, but that’s not to say that you just write off the other two. I think it’s gonna require a really good run this weekend, it’s gonna require a really good run in Darlington. Personally wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t take a win to get it done, so we’ll see.

“But certainly, taking it a week at a time is kind of how I’m looking at it. Try to get through Michigan, try to give ourselves a shot to win here, and we’ll see about Daytona when it comes.”

The Larson-Reddick-Elliott trio is currently separated by six points, the closest-ever margin at this point of the regular season. And while Hamlin might not possess the same single-digit honor, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has had a knack for winning at tracks left on the regular-season schedule in Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

MORE: How to get notified for 2025 schedule release

Larson, Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and the last driver to win at Michigan in a Chevrolet (2017), believes it’s anyone’s guess as to which driver can pull out all the stops and prevail over the others.

“At least two of the three tracks allow a lot of opportunity for us to be good and get some points,” Larson said, “but when you look at it, I mean, Denny’s really good at all these tracks, Tyler’s really good at all these tracks. Chase is really good at all these tracks. So I think it’s gonna come down to what team makes the least amount of mistakes over these next few races and can gain a lot of stage points, too. I think it’s really important.”

No driver, however, has gained as much ground as of late as Reddick, who has gained 59 points on first place over the last six Cup races.

To the No. 45 23XI driver, it’s all about maintaining balance between aggressiveness and gaining as many points as possible.

MORE: Michigan schedule | At-track photos

“We want to go out here and win races, but we don’t want to throw away a second or third-place finish, kind of like I did earlier in the year with racing against (Chris) Buescher,” Reddick said. ” … Just trying to keep that in mind. So I think it’s been good for me. In my past in NASCAR, I feel like when points have mattered and haven’t been buried in the standings and just only worried about wins, it’s been good for me as a driver. So it’s really cool that we’ve climbed out of the hole that we were in to start this year, and we’re now out there battling with those guys.”

And so the scene is set with the Irish Hills acting as the venue of choice. Elliott and Larson have each made double-digit starts at Michigan, with the No. 9 tallying 10 top 10s and the No. 5 driver amassing three Cup wins at the track. Reddick, meanwhile, has only raced in five Cup contests at the track and has yet to scoop up a top 10. Then, there’s the ever-steady Hamlin, who has two wins, 12 top fives and 18 top 10s in 33 Michigan starts, including six consecutive finishes inside the top five at the 2-mile oval. To say battle between contrasting track records at the track would be putting it mildly.

And a battle there certainly will be on Monday.

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Monday (11 a.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

RELATED: Starting lineup | Weekend schedule | At-track photos | Get notified for 2025 schedule release