Michigan 101: Betting odds, Goodyear tires, track facts and more

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Zach Sturniolo

After two weeks of adding in some right-hand turns, NASCAR returns to its oval roots at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday for the Firekeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

After a 2020 doubleheader saw Kevin Harvick sweep the Irish Hills away, the 2-mile D-shaped oval returns to the Cup Series’ schedule for just one race this season, the first time Michigan will host only one Cup race since 1973.

With history to revisit and a future to preview, let’s look ahead to this weekend’s action:

PLACES, EVERYBODY

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green flag Sunday, courtesy of the qualifying metric used to set the starting lineup. That metric, used at all tracks returning to the Cup schedule this season, factors in finishing position from the most recent race (50%), points position (35%) and fastest race lap (15%).

Behind Larson and Elliott sit Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto in Row 2. Check out the rest of the starting lineup for Sunday’s race here.

‘RESIN’-ING WITH THE TRACK

NASCAR has opted to use resin on the racing surface this weekend at Michigan in addition to dragging tires along the asphalt surface, a departure from its past attempts of using PJ1 traction compound to widen the racing groove on the track’s smooth but wide turns.

The resin being used this weekend is the same that was applied on Nashville Superspeedway’s concrete surface for its mid-June races. NASCAR Executive Vice President of Competition Scott Miller joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday to discuss the advantages of using the resin over PJ1.

“It doesn’t have a sticky, glue-like component to it,” Miller said of the resin. “What it does is it accelerates the rubber going down with the tire dragging; it actually binds to the track much better. And what we liked about Nashville is it was super consistent, from the bottom to the top, where PJ1 sometimes it becomes a more dominant lane – a little bit too dominant lane – and sometimes it doesn’t work so good.

“There’s weather conditions and timing and the amount of traffic, all figure really heavily into how PJ1 performs, but it seems like the resin was much more consistent and something that we just really wanted to take a good look at another race track, and Michigan was a great candidate for that.”

NASCAR HISTORY IN THE IRISH HILLS

– Michigan International Speedway opened for its first NASCAR races in 1969 and saw NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and David Pearson respectively win that year’s pair of events.

– Land developer Larry LoPatin created the racetrack with help from track designer Charles Moneypenny, who also designed Daytona International Speedway.

– LoPatin owned the short-lived American Raceways Inc. (ARI), which included tracks in Michigan, Atlanta and Texas. ARI went bankrupt in 1973 and fell into receivership, leading to Roger Penkse’s purchase of the facility that year.

– Penske owned the facility for 25 years and launched seating capacity from 25,000 to over 125,000 before selling the track to International Speedway Corporation in 1999.

– The track was most recently repaved in 2012, a process that consisted of removing the top two inches of the existing pavement and placing two lifts of asphalt – each 1.5 inches thick – as a leveling course and a final wearing course. About 646,000-square feet of asphalt was removed and another 22,000 tons of new asphalt went in its place.

– In June 2013, Michigan International Speedway announced the creation of a Manufacturer’s Trophy, an ode to the spirit of the automobile and its importance to the racetrack. Inspired by the Stanley Cup, the award recognizes the winning manufacturer after each Cup Series win at MIS.

– Sunday marks the 104th NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan.

Source: Racing Insights

RELATED: Memorable moments at Michigan

GOODYEAR TIRES

This weekend’s right-side tires will be new to Michigan but familiar to all Cup Series teams.

Goodyear will utilize the same right-side tire that has previously been run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway since 2020. The change to this tire aligns Michigan with the other three tracks in how smooth and fast the surface is, which this tire compound is built for.

“Once the schedule firmed up in 2020, we were able to make a change to the right-side tread compound at those three tracks to introduce a little more wear and add some grip at the same time,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said in a press release. “Michigan moves to that right-side for this race, but at least Cup teams have had several races on this right-side tire code already and will know what to expect.”

The left-side tire this weekend remains the same from one year ago.

RULES PACKAGE

As NASCAR shifts back to a large oval track, teams will utilize the high-downforce, lower-horsepower package at Michigan.

This weekend marks the first race since the July 11 contest at Atlanta Motor Speedway that the 550-horsepower package will be used. This package features taller spoilers and longer splitters to increase drag and downforce to encourage closer racing.

MICHIGAN STORY LINES

– Kevin Harvick has won four of the last five races at Michigan, including each of the last three.

– Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive wins at Michigan, claiming four in a row from 1985-86.

– Ford has won each of the last six races at MIS, the longest winning streak by one manufacturer at Michigan.

– Twice in the last nine Michigan races, a driver has won three consecutive races: Kyle Larson (2016-17) and Kevin Harvick (2019-20).

– In seven of the last 11 Michigan contests, the race winner led at least 90 laps.

– While the second stage ran caution-free in both races last year, stage three has seen three or more cautions in each of the last four Michigan races.

– Michigan races have gone to overtime seven times, including twice in the last four races.

– Fourteen drivers have combined to win the 24 races run this year.

– AJ Allmendinger, who won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last week, will not compete this weekend.

– Kyle Larson claimed the points lead from Denny Hamlin following last week’s race, marking the first time since week two of the season that Hamlin isn’t atop the standings.

Source: Racing Insights

BETTING ODDS FOR THE FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400

Kevin Harvick may be the most recent dominator at Michigan, but Kyle Larson is the current favorite on BetMGM with 3-1 odds.

Larson has won three times at Michigan, his most at any track, and Michigan is the only track at which he has multiple wins. Behind Larson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex are all listed at 7-1 odds while Harvick trails them at 8-1 odds.

If you’re looking for a sleeper, take a look at Bubba Wallace. His season stats don’t bode much confidence with just one top-10 – a fifth-place finish at the second of two races at Pocono Raceway – but Wallace has decent history at Michigan, winning a Truck Series race here in 2017 and earning a ninth-place finish in the first Michigan race in 2020.

RELATED: Odds for Michigan | NASCAR BetCenter

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts. It’s not too late to join in on the competition.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Kyle Larson (939), Denny Hamlin (927) and Chase Elliott (796).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Ben Rhodes kicked off 2021 with back-to-back victories at Daytona International Speedway. First, he captured the checkered flag in the season opener on the classic oval track. Then, he parked his No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota in Victory Lane yet again after conquering the road-course layout.

Since then, Rhodes has not hoisted a trophy. Instead, he has posted three top-five and nine top-10 finishes – giving him five and 11, respectively, overall. All but two of the top-10 results came in the first 10 races. In the last five events, Rhodes has finished 15th or worse three times.

“Whoa, there’s a fire,” Rhodes said Tuesday during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Media Day. “We got to put that fire out. I don’t know. I need to call my crew chief, though, because them are some stats.

“I’ll tell you, we talked about it. We talked about it last week. We were honestly trying a few new things, so that was some of the bad finishes. … Drivers blame it on other things, so I’m going to blame it on something else.”

Rhodes and his team did indeed have the benefit of being able to attempt new or different setups and whatnot without any major repercussions because they were already guaranteed a spot in the playoffs thanks to their early wins. Rhodes enters the Round of 10, which begins Friday with the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM), ranked third in the 10-driver field. He has 19 bonus points.

Of the three first-round tracks – Gateway, Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway – Rhodes has won at one before (Darlington in 2020). Otherwise, he was runner-up at Gateway in 2016 and fifth at Bristol in 2017.

Rhodes is looking at the postseason as a complete restart, and he told crew chief Rich Lushes, who he met two weeks before the 2021 season began, to also treat it that way.

“I said, ‘So I’m just going to disappear, you’re going to act like you don’t know me, and we’re just going to do everything over again. You’ll just have zero feedback from me because however you set them up at the beginning of the year was awesome,’” Rhodes said. “And that’s where we left it. I was halfway joking around, but then also pretty serious. Like just go what you know how to do, which is setting up race trucks.”

Not the worst idea considering how well the newness of their first-year relationship paid off at Daytona.

It also helps how calm Rhodes has remained, crediting his playoff history for the lack of stress despite the lack of recent wins. This year marks Rhodes’ fourth postseason trip, with the others having been 2017-18 and 2020. His best overall finish was fifth in 2017, and he’s already tracking a better outcome in 2021 – his two wins and average finish (8.9) are currently career highs.

“Ship’s not sinking,” Rhodes said. “There’s no holes in it. It seems to be pretty solid. It’s made of metal. And we’re just going to keep on floating on.”

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Jerry Bonkowski

It’s rare that you won’t find a smile on Kenny Wallace’s face. The veteran racer is one of the funniest and most happy-go-lucky persons you’ll ever meet.

That’s why it’s no wonder that six years after his final race in NASCAR, Wallace remains a fan favorite as one of the last old-time barnstorming drivers, racing from coast to coast primarily in his dirt modified car.

RELATED: Kenny Wallace career stats

In fact, the man nicknamed “Herman” (after an old-time cartoon character) is racing more now than he did in his NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity days, logging tens of thousands of miles driving from track to track and competing in 75 to 100 races each year.

As his 58th birthday approaches on Aug. 23, Wallace spent time talking about his life, his racing career and what the future holds.

Along the way, Wallace showed why he’s still the king of the one-liner.

“People ask me all the time, ‘How are you so happy?’” he quipped. “I tell them it’s a lot of work. It’s not easy being Kenny Wallace.”

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Even though he wasn’t blessed with the kind of talent that older brother and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty was, Kenneth Lee Wallace still enjoyed a long NASCAR career — 904 starts across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series.

When asked what he considers the biggest highlight of his NASCAR career, Wallace said, “It’s pretty simple: making it to the Cup and Xfinity Series and being very competitive. I had something like (a combined) 200 top 10s. That tells me I was competitive.

“The lowlight was not getting what I wanted out of the Cup Series. When you count to (904), it’s an observed number. I think that’s my highlight, literally staying around and being worthy enough to run (904) NASCAR races. To me, that’s like an out-of-body experience, like how the hell did I do that?”

While he’s been asked countless times about comparisons with Rusty, Kenny has learned to embrace the differences in a positive fashion.

“There were plenty of jokes made about how better Rusty was than me and (middle brother) Mike,” Kenny said. “It hurt like hell when they did it, but the older I got, it’s true and it’s funny. I remember one joke where someone once said, ‘Mike and Kenny sit in the back seat while Rusty drives.’

“I’m a fan of the late comic, Joan Rivers. One thing I learned from her is, ‘Never be afraid to make fun of yourself. After all, you might be missing out on the greatest joke of the decade.’ But here’s the opposite of that: Rusty Wallace is damn good and he’s a Hall of Famer and he’s my brother and I love him. I’m so proud of him.”

Kenny readily admits he never won a single Cup race, and earned just three runner-up finishes and overall, six top-five showings in 344 starts.

While he would have liked better results in Cup, he’s still proud of what he achieved in his Xfinity career: nine wins and 66 top-five finishes in 547 starts, with the topper being falling just short of Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte for the 1991 championship.

In a sense, Wallace became the every-man type of driver fans could identify with, a blue-collar guy from Arnold, Missouri (just south of St. Louis), who maximized the talent he had.

That’s why he was so popular both during and after his NASCAR career. Even today, he has nearly 340,000 Twitter followers and countless more on other forms of social media.

“I almost feel like I represent that person that just didn’t get everything they wanted,” Wallace said. “People told me all the time I sucked at NASCAR. They were being vicious. It wasn’t that I sucked, it’s just that I wasn’t that great, and that’s 99.9 percent of America. There’s only one Tiger Woods or Jeff Gordon and the rest of us are just here.”

But Wallace became quite successful and popular as a TV broadcaster for Speed TV and later FOX Sports. He’s even become an in-demand motivational speaker. Diagnosed hyperactive as a child, he learned how to channel his energy into the kind of persona that fans loved.

“I think everyone can relate to me because I’m brutally honest,” Wallace said. “I think I represent people. I have people come up to me right now, guys I race with, they feel that if I quit, it will make dirt racing less important. They come to the races when I’m there because there’s more of a spotlight on that race, and if I quit racing, then it won’t mean as much anymore.”

*****************************

Which leads us to one of the most significant conundrum’s of Wallace’s life.

After well over 40 years of racing, Kenny is thinking about hanging it up after next season or 2023.

“Sometimes, I lay in bed and think to myself why do I push the issue to race so much,” he said. “I really believe it was the way I was born. It’s no secret I was diagnosed hyperactive by a therapist. I was very unruly in grade school. I wasn’t mean, but I couldn’t calm down. For me to stay in my house is very hard. I feel like if I’m not doing something, I’m very, very bored.

“Someone once asked me, ‘Are you still racing because you didn’t get what you wanted out of NASCAR?’ I said absolutely not whatsoever, even though my Cup career wasn’t the greatest. But that’s not why I race so much. I race because I love racing. I truly don’t like golf, I really don’t. I don’t know how people golf. It’s hot, the ball never goes where you want it, and I go to so many foursomes to raise money (for charity) and by the ninth hole, I’m just done.

“I truly love the process of what I do, working on the car, stopping at truck stops, loading the car, trying to figure the chassis out and number one, I love driving the car, competing. Sometimes, people around me ask why doesn’t Rusty or Jeff Gordon still race? But then, why does Tony Stewart and Bill Elliott still race? When our NASCAR career is over, we look for something to replace it, and that’s what I did — (barnstorming) replaced what I loved.”

Yet with Kenny’s upcoming birthday, the physical wear and tear are definitely impacting him.

“It’s a big deal,” Wallace said. “I’ll go all day long, race at night, drive part of the way, sleep for three or four hours, get back at it and do it all over again the next night. Yes, It’s completely exhausting, I should not be doing it (from a health perspective) and I’m kind of split down the middle: I’m kind of looking forward to (continuing racing) but I know it’s going to take a toll on me.”

But one thing keeps tempering the thoughts of calling it quits.

“I have to start running bad first,” he chuckled. “The issue I have right now is I’m running too good. I’m 58 years old and I’m setting track records against these 20-year-old kids, I’m winning heat races, I’m driving violently fast. We’re getting the job done. That’s the hard part for me right now, how do you quit when you’re racing these young kids and you’re outrunning them?”

Wallace is also having pushback about quitting from several of his closest friends, including 10-time off-road champ Walker Evans and drag racing legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme.

“I told them I’m thinking about racing one more year and then quitting,” Wallace said. “They both said, ‘Absolutely not.’ Walker Evans won his last championship at the age of 61. And Snake quit at 54 as a driver, but he stayed as an owner. …

“The bottom line is this: there’s no way in hell I’m going to do what Kenny Schrader (66 years old) or Red Farmer (88 years old) do. I love life, I love doing things, I want to go to Europe, I want to do other things and I just can’t, I just can’t take that (racing) away. My wife doesn’t want me to quit racing because she knows me better than anybody. If I quit racing, I have to have something to do.”

*****************************

But there’s one guy who is pushing Kenny to hang up his fire suit. And of course, Kenny can’t help but crack a joke about it.

“Rusty wants me to quit because he wants a friend, he wants me to hang out with him,” Kenny said with a laugh.

When asked how much Rusty is going to pay him to hang out with him, Kenny again laughed, but then said soberly, “I probably owe my brother Rusty $10 million. He spent millions on me, he loves me, he’s a guy that’s tough love. He moved me out of St. Louis to North Carolina, literally started my (Xfinity) career, built a shop for me, owned Wallace Racing. Me, my wife and three daughters owe Rusty my life.”

Being the brother of a Hall of Famer can be intimidating to some, but not to Kenny. It took a conversation with Prudhomme to make him understand why.

“When Snake told me they were showing me more on TV because I was having good finishes (in the Xfinity Series), I said I wish I had the talent Rusty had,” Kenny recalled. “What Snake said back to me changed my life.

“He looked me in the eyeballs and said, ‘Your brother Rusty is damn good. You can’t change that you’re Kenny Wallace.’ When I looked at myself in the mirror later that night, when I realized Don Prudhomme said I was Kenny Wallace, that changed my whole outlook on my career. I can’t help who I am. I am who I am and I’m Kenny Wallace.”

***********************************************

The Kenny Wallace file:

* Age: 57 (turns 58 on Aug. 23)

* Hometown: Arnold, Mo.

* Personal: Has been married to wife Kim for 37 years. The couple has three daughters: Brooke, Brandy and Brittany.

* Notable: Made 904 career starts across all three premier series in his NASCAR career (16th overall of all NASCAR drivers). … Youngest of the three racing Wallace brothers: NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty is the eldest (65 years old), followed by Mike (62) and Kenny (turns 58 on Aug. 23). … Kenny won Rookie of the Year honors in the American Speed Association in 1986 and in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) in 1989, the same year older brother Rusty won his only Cup championship. … Three-time Most Popular Driver in the Xfinity Series. … Was heavily influenced by the late Dale Earnhardt. Wallace’s first-ever NASCAR start was in 1988 when he drove for Earnhardt’s Xfinity team. (He would then spend the next three seasons driving for Rusty’s team.) Kenny finished second to Earnhardt in the latter’s 76th and final win of his Cup career in 2000 (at Talladega). It was one of three runner-up finishes Wallace had in his Cup career.

Career highlights:

* NASCAR Cup career: 344 starts, 0 wins, 6 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes. Also 3 poles. Best season finish: 22nd (1999).

* NASCAR Xfinity Series career: 547 starts, 9 wins, 66 top-five and 173 top-10 finishes. Also 10 poles. Best season finish: second (1991).

* NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career: 13 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-five and 4 top-10 finishes.

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is writing a number of Where Are They Now? stories this year for NASCAR.com. Check out stories he’s already done on Trevor Bayne, Ken Schrader, Shawna Robinson, Sam Hornish Jr., Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya. Also, follow Jerry on Twitter @JerryBonkowski and @TheRacingBeat, as well as The Racing Beat podcast, available on most podcast platforms.

Posted on August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 by Staff Report

Corey LaJoie will miss this weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway due to COVID-19 protocols, Spire Motorsports announced Thursday afternoon.

“Due to COVID-19 protocols, Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be unavailable to participate in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Firekeepers Casino 400 and will not travel to Michigan International Speedway,” the team said in a statement.

LaJoie, currently 29th in Cup Series points with one top 10 on the season, will miss Sunday’s penultimate regular-season race (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Josh Berry, who was just announced as the full-time driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series for 2022, will fill in for LaJoie in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

Berry also filled in for Spire Motorsports when driver Justin Haley was forced to miss a weekend of racing at Dover International Speedway earlier this year.

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

At a NASCAR Awards ceremony at the Wynn Las Vegas a few years back, Todd Fuhrman recalls a conversation with Fox Sports executives, who were dubious about stock car racing’s prospects as a sport fans enjoy gambling on.

“They kind of joked, ‘Nobody really bets NASCAR,’” Fuhrman remembers the network execs saying. “I said, ‘Well, I’ve actually been betting it for a couple of years,’ and kind of walked them through a variety of ways that you could bet the sport. It really piqued their interest.”

At the time, Fuhrman had already been involved with the network as its lead sports betting analyst, and that conversation led to Fox Sports’ “first foray into integrating gambling content,” he says, presenting betting information on NASCAR Race Hub.

As legal sports betting has expanded, of course, this sort of integration has become common.

These days, Fuhrman focuses on his “Bet The Board” podcast, as well his work for CBS Sports HQ. He’s also hosting a series of tutorials for NASCAR.com designed to help educate race fans about betting on the sport.

From his office in Las Vegas this week, we caught up over the phone with Fuhrman, who worked as an oddsmaker at Caesars and then as a consultant for Don Best – a company whose odds feeds are relied on by bookmakers and bettors alike – before transitioning to media around 2013-14. We discussed how he developed an affection for NASCAR, the potential he sees for racing as a betting sport, and the challenges media face in this new legal environment.

Here are excerpts from our call:

NASCAR.com: Why did you make the transition from oddsmaking to media?

Fuhrman: I just felt it was the right time and right place, kind of seeing the way the industry was going, that there was going to be an appetite for gambling content. And the way to do it was to convey it from a position of operating not just as a sports bettor, but also someone who has spent time working for larger casino operations. (It) felt like a great opportunity to work with some pretty good organizations that were thinking outside the box well before it was the in-vogue thing to do.

NASCAR.com: Tell me about your interest in NASCAR. When did you start watching it and when did you start betting it?

Fuhrman: It’s funny, the two kind of coincided. I never grew up in and around NASCAR. In the Chicago suburbs, let’s not kid ourselves, NASCAR wasn’t exactly a sport that any of my friends or family watched on a week-in-week-out basis. So it wasn’t until I moved out here and saw some of the sharp guys that were betting NASCAR with us while I was behind the counter at Caesars that piqued my interest. I got connected with a buddy, who come to find out, had bet it pretty seriously. I really developed a love affair with the sport as a result.

It’s got to be 10-plus years now, I don’t know the exact timeline. I’ve really found myself not just as a bettor, but also as a fan of the sport, and it’s one that I follow arguably as closely as I do the NFL and college football, something that I probably never would have said 15-plus years ago before I moved out here.

RELATED: Learn about NASCAR

NASCAR.com: It’s an interesting sport from a betting perspective because it’s a small percentage of overall handle but there is a niche of people who are really into it – sharp guys and recreational bettors alike. How do you see it in the betting ecosystem, and what do you see as the potential for growth?

Fuhrman: I do think there is ample opportunity to try and grow the sport and create some awareness. The biggest challenge that’ll come is that NASCAR, in conjunction with its partners, have to be cognizant of not creating that ‘sharks versus minnows’ type approach, because if you only have sharper sports bettors that are betting NASCAR and we can’t attract the recreational bettors, it’s going to create a real challenge, where books are always playing uphill.

I have to give NASCAR a ton of credit for the work you’ve done (writer’s note: Jeez, thanks Todd, I’m blushing), helping me do the tutorials to make it more accessible for fans who may not have otherwise been aware of the myriad of betting options that are available for NASCAR, making it easier for the common fan to try and get involved and just to know what’s out there.

It’s a sport that’s got a ton of potential. And when you look at the creative, different betting markets that are out there, in-play options and a variety of other things, there’ll be significant upside from a betting standpoint and to increase viewership on the sport.

NASCAR.com: Do you think Fox and NBC are doing a good job integrating sports betting content into race broadcasts?

Fuhrman: Yeah, I think both of them are. Everyone is trying to figure out the best way to do it because you don’t want to alienate your core audience and have too much gambling content. So when you look at the way the last couple of seasons have gone, where at least they’ll address the odds on some of their pre-race coverage, that goes a long way.

The one thing that I personally would like to see would be in-race, live odds at the end of various stages, or even when you have longer delays, whether it be under yellow or for example, the red flag that came up for Indy (during last Sunday’s road course race) …. Even if guys in the booth, the former drivers and some of the personalities that cover it, aren’t that familiar with what the implied probabilities are and the math behind it, it can still foster some in-depth and different discussions that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to include in your telecast years ago, when gambling kind of had that stigma and was so much more taboo.

NASCAR.com: Balancing the betting content for people that want it and not turning off some core fans is a challenge that’s certainly not unique to NASCAR. Every sport is dealing with that now.

Fuhrman: Yeah, I agree completely. When we look at some of the second-screen viewing opportunities that are out there, everyone wants to try and get more gambling content out there, but it’s got to be a delicate balance. I wish I had the perfect solution for the networks to integrate it.

So it’s as much a tinkering process as anything else to figure out, ‘Okay, here’s what we think our audience can relate to. Here’s what they respond to favorably. Here’s what they respond to in a negative manner, and we’re going to continue to experiment with the recipe for developing that secret sauce that may take one season, it may take five seasons before we get there and go, hey, this is a blueprint we know works. Here’s what we’re going to use, and we’re going to allow everybody else to kind of play catch up.’

NASCAR.com: How does NASCAR fit into your overall betting portfolio?

Fuhrman: It used to be a bigger portion. It represents an opportunity, but at the same time, some of the markets aren’t quite as accessible in Nevada as they are in some of the other jurisdictions out there. Live betting isn’t a component that we can even come close to accessing; if it is, that’s new to me out here (in Vegas). And when you look at some of the matchup offerings that are there, you have a select couple of books that are more than happy to do that.

But we know limits are lower, and you understand it’s kind of a niche market. So you take advantage when you can with the opportunities that present themselves, but it doesn’t become one of the sports that can serve as a standalone for most professional bettors if you’re betting into some of the regulated markets.

NASCAR.com: For sure, that’s something I noticed. There are a lot more NASCAR markets with the BetMGMs, Barstools, DraftKings, FanDuels of the world than there are at the Westgate (Las Vegas SuperBook), for example.

Fuhrman: Yeah, and that’s a big question. As you see popularity around NASCAR continue to grow, I think you’ll see more oddsmakers and some of the tech providers allocate larger resources to it. But while it’s just a niche sport right now, it’s all about return, and there are only so many hours in a day for the more talented oddsmakers, even the ones that have a passion for it, to really sit there and try and match with some of the sharper bettors, knowing the betting handle just doesn’t rival the amount of time commitment it takes to try and build up some of those markets.

We’ll have more from Fuhrman in our NASCAR Playoff preview in two weeks.

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Staff Report

All but two playoff spots have been spoken for as the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for the penultimate race of the regular season, the Firekeepers Casino 400, at Michigan International Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin became the most recent driver to clinch and did so on points following Indianapolis.

Already Clinched

The following 14 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola.

Can Clinch Via Points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the third winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from Denny Hamlin.

Kevin Harvick: Would clinch with 44 points.

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone this weekend: Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Corey Lajoie and Anthony Alfredo.

Larson could clinch regular-season title this weekend

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson has opened up his points lead over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in second in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season driver standings by 22 points and has a chance this weekend at Michigan International Speedway to clinch the Regular Season Championship.

Larson needs to be at least 61 points ahead of the driver ranked second in the regular-season driver standings at the conclusion of the race at Michigan.

It will be tough for Larson to accumulate that many points on Hamlin this weekend at Michigan because both have run well at the 2-mile track. Larson has made 12 series starts at Michigan posting three wins (2016, 2017 sweep), five top fives and six top 10s. His average finish is 12.4 — fourth-best among active drivers. Hamlin has made 30 series starts at Michigan putting up two wins (2010, 2011), nine top fives and 15 top 10s. His average finish is 13.1 — sixth-best among active drivers.

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Chase Elliott may be known as a road-course ace, but the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver’s best track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit is actually Michigan International Speedway.

That’s right, Elliott has thrived on the 2-mile oval in Brooklyn, Michigan, averaging a 7.7 career finish. That’s his best mark among tracks with more than five starts and his top overall on a non-road course.

MICHIGAN: Weekend schedule | Paint schemes | Starting lineup

TRACK	STARTS	AVERAGE FINISH
Circuit of The Americas	1	1.0
Road America	1	1.0
Charlotte Roval	3	2.7
Indy Road Course	1	4.0
Watkins Glen	5	6.0
Michigan	10	7.7

That 7.7 average finish is No. 1 among all active drivers — no stipulation here. Kevin Harvick falls in second at 11.1 in 40 starts, followed by Joey Logano in third at 11.7 in 24 starts.

Better yet, Elliott’s mark tops the all-time Michigan leaderboard. There are technically three drivers with a better average finish, but they have two or fewer starts.

DRIVER	STARTS	AVERAGE FINISH
Gary Bettenhausen	1	4.0
Sam Sommers	2	6.0
Fred Lorenzen	1	7.0
Chase Elliott	10	7.7
Carl Edwards	25	9.4
Cale Yarborough	36	9.6

Another all-time record Elliott has matched: most runner-up finishes at Michigan before first win there. He’s tied with Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Martin Truex Jr. at three second-place results. Gordon is the only one — so far — who eventually made it to Victory Lane, and he did so in his 12th start and then went on to win two more times. Labonte never pulled off the accomplishment in 55 starts, and Truex is still trying to with 30 attempts already notched.

The fact Elliott has not won at Michigan makes his average finish that much more impressive from a consistency standpoint. He has led laps in just four events for a total of 76 laps out front; that’s not all that many when compared to the 1,855 laps run. He has never won a stage, either. (Stage racing was introduced in 2017.)

But in his 10 Michigan starts, Elliott has three top fives and nine top 10s. His worst finish was 20th in 2019. Last year, Elliott placed in the top 10 in both of the doubleheader races — seventh and ninth. He was one of seven to do so. The others were Truex, Logano, Kevin Harvick (swept the weekend), Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch.

Seven of Elliott’s 13 career wins came on a road course, including his two victories this season (Circuit of The Americas and Road America). His oval wins were at Dover International Speedway (1 mile), Kansas Speedway (1.5 miles), Talladega Superspeedway (2.66 miles), Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5), Martinsville Speedway (.526 miles) and Phoenix Raceway (1 mile). A reminder: Michigan is 2 miles long.

BetMGM has Elliott at 7-1 odds to win Sunday — the second favorite. The No. 9 car will line up second for the green flag.

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Zack Albert

Two teenaged drivers provide an interesting wrinkle to this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series postseason field, with both Carson Hocevar and Chandler Smith getting their first taste of the elimination-style playoffs format.

Hocevar and Smith are the only two first-timers on the 10-driver playoff grid, meaning there’s at least a surface-level experience deficit when it comes to chasing a series title. Does it matter? The answer for both isn’t a clear yes or no, but yes and no.

“I definitely think there is an experience gap especially for me and the 42 (Hocevar), the other rookie driver,” said Smith, the 19-year-old pilot of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota. “If you look at all of the other drivers in the playoffs and how many starts that they have compared to us. Look at all of the overall experience and practice they have in the Truck Series compared to myself, so yes, there is a very big experience gap but there is no excuse for it. I feel like we are more than capable of going to win this championship.”

Hocevar, the 18-year-old in Niece Motorsports’ No. 42 Chevrolet, said much the same in Tuesday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Media Day, but with a slight additional flourish.

“I mean, I guess it matters but I think we’ve outran a lot of them or most of them a few times this year,” Hocevar said. “So that’s not to say we can’t do it again and do it weekly, so that’s our plan. There’s not a race track in the playoffs besides Talladega (Superspeedway) that I haven’t been to, so that’ll be big. My experience level is at least closer. I’ll at least have something to kind of lean on for my own experience going into these races.”

Their quest to disrupt the closing seven-race stretch begins with Friday’s Toyota 200 presented by CK Power (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. They’ll have to make those gains from the lower end of the playoff spectrum with Hocevar entering as the eighth seed and Smith tied for ninth.

MORE: Camping World Trucks standings

The two have parallels, both in their seasons and their Truck Series careers to date. Each drove in partial schedules the previous two seasons before joining the circuit full time this year. Both Hocevar and Smith enter the playoffs with three top-five finishes and five top 10s in 2021, and though Smith has a significant edge over his fellow rookie in laps led (165 to 24), both have had real opportunities along the way to notch a breakthrough win.

A common boon to their playoff hopes is a solid support system. Smith has a veteran teammate in John Hunter Nemechek, the series points leader, but also possesses one of the more hands-on team owners in the garage in Kyle Busch. Busch went a victorious 5-for-5 in his partial Truck Series driving schedule this season, but his impact on the ownership side has been that of a teacher who expects great things from his young prospects.

“Kyle is a great mentor, team owner for sure, and a great friend,” Smith said. “He has always been there to help me in anything I’ve ever asked him to. He’s always given me loads of advice when I needed it. I definitely lean on him a lot. I couldn’t ask for a better team owner.”

Hocevar has his own foundation in Al Niece’s camp, with Ryan Truex as a current teammate and Ross Chastain as a former team driver before his rise to full-time Cup Series duty this year. Hocevar’s team has thought enough of his performance that it announced Tuesday he would return to the organization full time in 2022.

Hocevar’s rookie campaign has been a learning experience, with a blend of factors aiding his push into the playoffs.

“It’s been a mixture of things. I wouldn’t say I’ve been learning it on my own,” Hocevar said. “Everybody at Niece, they’ve done this song and dance in 2019 and leaning on Ross, but a lot behind the wheel, you’ve just got to learn on your own. You can only get spoon-fed so much. You’ve gotta take what the race track’s giving you and what the race truck’s giving you on that day and adapt and roll with it, and I think we’ve done that.”

Posted on August 18, 2021August 19, 2021 by Staff Report

Team Penske has swapped spotters between Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, a team spokesman confirmed to NASCAR.com. The change will begin Sunday at Michigan International Speedway and carry through the remainder of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

MICHIGAN: Weekend schedule | Paint schemes | Starting lineup

Coleman Pressley will now spot for Logano and the No. 22 Ford crew, while TJ Majors moves over to Keselowski and the No. 2 squad.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports first reported the news.

Logano and Keselowski are guaranteed spots in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs, which will begin in two weeks, by virtue of victories. Logano won the inaugural race on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track. Keselowski took the checkered flag in April at Talladega Superspeedway.

Keselowski has plans to leave Team Penske at the end of the competitive year for Roush Fenway Racing in a driver-owner role. Logano will return to Penske in 2022 for his 10th season with the organization.

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued a penalty Wednesday to the No. 12 Team Penske Ford team for a lug-nut violation last weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

RELATED: Cup Series standings

Ryan Blaney drove the No. 12 entry to a second-place finish in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at The Brickyard, but officials found a single unsecured lug nut in a post-race check. That violation of Section 10.9.10.4 (Tires and Wheels) in the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book has resulted in a $10,000 fine to Todd Gordon, crew chief of team owner Roger Penske’s No. 12.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, officials suspended RSS Racing crew chief Shane Wilson for four races for a safety violation at IMS. The penalty report states that the No. 39 RSS team was cited under Sections 12.5.2.5.a (Safety) and 10.9.8.l (Crew Members/Servicing) — the last of which states: “A safety violation may be imposed for any action or omission by a Competitor or vehicle that creates an unsafe environment or poses a threat to the safety of the Competitors, as determined by NASCAR.”

According to an updated entry list, Kevin Starland — listed as the team’s competition director on the most recent NASCAR event rosters — is scheduled to step in as crew chief for the No. 39 and driver Ryan Sieg for Saturday’s New Holland 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) at Michigan International Speedway. Starland began the season as the No. 39 team’s crew chief, but was replaced by Wilson, starting in May at Darlington Raceway.