1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Michigan and finished ninth in the FireKeepers Casino 400. An early slide through the glass hurt Hamlin’s chances of earning his first win at Michigan since 2011.
“My No. 11 Toyota was primarily sponsored by Yahoo,” Hamlin said, “and primarily powered by a ‘search engine.’”
2. Tyler Reddick: Reddick assumed the lead on Lap 188 and led the rest of the way to capture the FireKeepers Casino 400, his second win of the year.
“Of course,” Reddick said, “NASCAR threw a caution when Martin Truex Jr. hit the wall with six laps to go. Truex had the car totally under control, so it didn’t even need to be a caution. If you heard me cursing over my team’s radio, I’ll give you a family-friendly translation: ‘Ba da ba ba baaa, I’m not loving it.’”
3. Kyle Larson: Larson’s day at Michigan ended when he got loose on Lap 115, triggering an accident that collected several cars. Larson finished 34th.
“As they say,” Larson said, “you can’t spell ‘aerodynamics’ without ‘damn.’ Now, I’m going to do something Austin Dillon would not, and apologize to all the drivers I wrecked.”
4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fifth at Michigan.
“I’m from Michigan,” Keselowski said, “so I know the fans wanted to see me win. And I hear they also wanted to see Jim Harbaugh as my crew chief, just so they can find out who he’d choose as his ‘spotter.’”
5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 1 and finished 18th in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.
“Were there two cars sponsored by Overstock?” Blaney said. “They might as well be sponsored by ‘Overkill.’”
6. Christopher Bell: Bell was collected on Lap 115 when Kyle Larson lost control and collected several cars. The damage ended Bell’s day and he finished 35th.
“Speeds at Michigan were upwards of 200 miles per hour,” Bell said, “which is approximately what Austin Dillon was doing when he ran into Joey Logano at Richmond.”
7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 15th at Michigan.
“That’s just a mediocre result,” Elliott said. “And not really a reason for a celebration down at the Dawsonville Pool Room. But those people don’t need a ‘cue’ to consume alcohol.”
8. William Byron: Byron took the runner-up spot at Michigan and is now 7th in the points standings.
“That was a crazy wreck by Corey LaJoie,” Byron said. “He flipped and slid on his roof for a pretty good distance. ‘Upside down’ is the operative phrase for that team, because LaJoie was ‘upside down’ on the track, and Spire Motorsports is ‘upside down’ on loans.”
9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex saw a solid finish evaporate when he got loose and smacked the wall on Lap 194. He finished 24th.
“I think NASCAR made the right decision to take the win away from Austin Dillon,” Truex said. “NASCAR could have wimped out and done nothing. So, as it stands, only Austin Dillon is ‘chicken s$#t.’”
10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fourth at Michigan.
“My brother Kurt was arrested on August 14th on DWI and reckless driving charges in Iredell County,” Busch said. “I can certainly relate. Look, I’ve been there, and by ‘been there,’ I mean ‘in court, pleading guilty.’”
Amid the loss of his racing hero Scott Bloomquist earlier in the week, Tyler Reddick rose to the occasion on two overtime attempts to win the rain-postponed FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Monday, August 19.
The two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led 15 of 206 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row based on a metric formula per the NASCAR Rule Book after the event’s qualifying session was canceled due to persistent precipitation. Despite running towards the front during the event’s early stages on Sunday, he along with most of the front-runners pitted early as part of strategic call and sacrificed the first round of stage points. He then cycled his way back to fifth place before the event was delayed and eventually postponed to Monday morning due to the on-track precipitation continuing for the remainder of Sunday.
At the event’s resumption on Monday, Reddick got shuffled back towards the top-20 mark. Despite the rough start, he kept his No. 45 McDonald’s/23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE intact as a host of his fellow competitors, including teammate Bubba Wallace, would encounter on-track incidents that spoiled their early strong starts. With pit strategies also ensuing, Reddick, who methodically carved his way back to the front, assumed the lead with 12 laps remaining following the event’s latest round of green flag pit stops.
Despite having his advantage stalled twice amid two late on-track incidents that sent the event into overtime twice, the Californian refused to surrender as he fended off William Byron during the latest overtime shootout to grab his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season and assume the lead in the regular-season standings.
With on-track qualifying that was set to occur on Saturday, August 17, being canceled due to weather, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a metric formula from the NASCAR Rule Book. As a result, Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with 23XI Racing competitor Tyler Reddick.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced amid a delay period that spanned more than two hours due to on-track precipitation, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick dueled for the lead through the first two turns as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes. Then as Hamlin and Reddick continued to duel for the lead in front of the packed field through the backstretch, Kyle Larson, who started in fourth place, gained a draft and made a three-wide pass beneath both Reddick and Hamlin to move into the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. The early advantage would allow Larson to rocket his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead as he led the first lap while Reddick and Hamlin were being challenged by Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell for top-three spots.
Over the next four laps and with a majority of the field running in a single-file line, Larson stabilized his early advantage as he was out in front of the field by as high as four-tenths of a second. Behind, Hamlin was scored in second place ahead of Reddick and Elliott while Bell settled in fifth ahead of Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Larson retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, the latter of which started to close in on Larson in his No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE. Reddick, Elliott and Bell followed suit in the top five while Wallace, Byron, Blaney, Austin Dillon and Chastain were scored in the top 10. Behind, Chris Buescher occupied 11th place ahead of Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano while Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric trailed in the top 20 ahead of Ty Gibbs, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Erik Jones and AJ Allmendinger. Meanwhile, rookie Josh Berry, who started 16th, had plummeted to 36th place, dead last.
Ten laps later, Larson continued to lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Hamlin while third-place Reddick trailed the lead by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s teammate, trailed in fourth place by a second as he was followed by Elliott while Bell, Byron, Blaney, Buescher and Chastain were mired in the top 10 ahead of Austin Dillon, Suarez, Keselowski, Logano and Truex.
Another five laps later, a two-competitor battle for the lead between Larson and Hamlin became a four-competitor battle for the lead as 23XI Racing’s Reddick and Wallace cut their deficit to four-tenths and seven-tenths of a second while Larson retained the lead by within a tenth of a second over Hamlin. With fifth-place Elliott continuing to trail by more than a second, teammate Larson continued to fend off Hamlin’s repeated attacks through the turns and straightaways to lead by a narrow margin while Berry, who was still mired in 36th place, dead last, was lapped.
At the Lap 30 mark, Larson stabilized his lead to two-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Wallace moved his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE past teammate Reddick’s No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE for third place. Behind, Bell overtook Elliott for fifth place as Blaney, Byron, Buescher and Chastain continued to trail in the top 10 ahead of Suarez, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Truex and Logano.
Then on Lap 34, Wallace gained a strong run and executed a three-wide pass beneath both Hamlin and Larson through the frontstretch to assume the lead entering Turn 1. As Wallace started to pull away, Hamlin, who managed to overtake Larson for the runner-up spot, proceeded to try to keep track of Wallace while Reddick started to challenge Larson for third place.
On Lap 37, the event’s first caution period flew when Hamlin, who closed in on Wallace in his bid for the lead through Turns 3 and 4, slowly slid up the track, got loose and spun his No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE from the top to the bottom of the track and through the infield grass before he managed to brake his car and keep it from going back across the track and continued without sustaining any significant damage.
During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Wallace pitted for service while the rest led by Blaney, who assumed the race lead, and including Byron, Buescher, Suarez, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton remained on the track.
With the event restarting with three laps remaining in the first stage period, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Blaney muscled ahead from the outside lane as he was followed by Buescher and Byron. As the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for spots through the backstretch, Blaney retained the lead for the following lap ahead of Buescher and Byron while Elliott started to close in in his bid for the runner-up spot.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Blaney fended off the competition amid a bevy of jostling for spots to capture his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Elliott muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in second place ahead of teammate Byron, Wallace and Buescher while Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain were scored in the top 10. By then, all 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, some led by the leader Blaney and including Byron, Buescher, Keselowski, Suarez, Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton, all of whom remained on the track during the previous caution period, pitted for their first service of the day while the rest led by the new leader Elliott remained on the track.
Then after having the start of the second stage period waved off multiple times due to on-track precipitation steadily returning to the Michigan circuit, the field led by Elliott was directed back to pit road and placed in a red flag period on Lap 51.
With the rain delay period occurring beyond 6 p.m. ET and no sight of relief being detected before the day’s darkness scheduled at 8:20 p.m. ET, NASCAR postponed the remainder of the event to Monday, August 19. By then, Elliott was still scored the leader while Truex, Wallace, Bowman, Reddick, Kyle Busch, Larson, Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Logano were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Nearing 11 a.m. ET on Monday and with the weather clear from Sunday’s precipitation, the red flag lifted and the field led by Elliott returned under a cautious pace. During the pace laps, Hamlin spent time in his pit stall to have his car inspected due to Sunday’s spin as he dropped to the rear of the field.
The second stage period started on Lap 55 as Elliott and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott received a shove from Wallace on the outside lane to emerge ahead by a slight margin before Busch fought back from the inside lane. As the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch while Reddick slipped out of the top-10 mark, Elliott retained the lead from Busch, Wallace and Truex while Chase Briscoe followed suit in fifth.
Then on Lap 57 and with a variety of on-track battles ensuing around the field, Busch executed a move beneath Elliott and proceeded to slide in front of Elliott to lead for the first time in his No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. With Busch leading, Elliott retained second while Briscoe overtook Wallace and Truex for third place as Bell and Chastain joined the battle. With Wallace, Briscoe, Truex, Bell, Larson and Chastain all battling for third place amid the draft, Busch retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Elliott, who settled behind Busch’s rear bumper, by Lap 60.
Six laps later, Truex, who navigated his way past Wallace and Elliott to move up to second earlier, drew his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE into a side-by-side battle with Busch for the lead through the frontstretch before he muscled ahead of Busch with the top spot entering Turn 1. Behind, Elliott overtook Busch for the runner-up spot and proceeded to track Truex for the lead while both Wallace and Larson started to close in on the top-three leaders. With Wallace overtaking Busch for third place shortly after, Truex led the Lap 70 mark by two-tenths of a second over Elliott.
By Lap 80, Truex stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Elliott while Wallace, Larson and Busch all trailed in the top five within two seconds. In the process, Bell, Byron, Chastain, Logano and Bowman followed suit in the top 10. With Austin Cindric scrubbing the outside wall entering the frontstretch, but continuing while battling Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for a top-20 spot, the race remained under green flag conditions.
Four laps later, Wallace pitted his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE for four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel under green. Teammate Reddick, who was mired within the top 15 amid his rough start to the second stage period, would also pit before Larson pitted during the following lap. Elliott would then pit his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green along with Noah Gragson by Lap 87 before Chastain, Bowman, Corey LaJoie, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece followed suit during the next three laps. Amid the pit stops, Truex retained the lead by the Lap 90 mark.
Just past the Lap 90 mark, Busch and Byron pitted their respective Chevrolets after running towards the front before the leader Truex and teammate Bell pitted on Lap 92. AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Josh Berry and Todd Gilliland would also pit their respective entries while Blaney cycled into the lead ahead of teammate Logano, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Daniel Hemric. Logano and Hemric would then pit on Lap 95 as Blaney retained the lead. Meanwhile and with more competitors pitting under green, Larson, the first competitor with fresh tires, cycled his way up to ninth place while Wallace, Truex, Elliott, Chastain, Byron and Busch followed suit.
At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Blaney, who pitted during the first stage break period on Sunday and continued to stretch his fuel tank as far as possible, pitted under green along with rookie Carson Hocevar as Ty Gibbs cycled into the lead. With Gibbs leading, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Larson and Truex were in the top five while Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Chastain and Byron were running in the top 10. Austin Dillon would then pit during the following lap along with the leader Gibbs as Keselowski cycled into the lead. Keselowski would then pit from the lead by Lap 103 along with Hamlin, which allowed Larson to cycle back into the lead on four fresh tires and fuel.
On Lap 106, a brief side-by-side battle for the lead ignited between Larson and Truex, with the latter attempting to surge ahead from the inside lane, but the former was able to muscle back ahead from the outside lane.
Then on Lap 109, during which Larson maintained a steady advantage over Truex amid a brief side-by-side challenge, the caution flew due to a right-rear tire carcass coming off of Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse as Logano was limping his car below the apron to pit road from Turn 4. In the process, AJ Allmendinger spun his No. 16 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch with a flat left-rear tire before he came to rest below the apron entering Turn 1 and would need a wrecker to have his car towed back to pit road due to the driver flat-spotting all tires. The tire issues for both Allmendinger and Logano occurred after Gilliland limped his Ford to pit road as he too had a flat right-rear tire.
During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Larson returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Ross Chastain remained on the track.
With the race restarting with five laps remaining in the second stage period, where Chastain and Busch occupied the front row, the two leaders dueled for the lead through the first two turns before Busch rocketed ahead of Chastain and maintained the lead while the field behind fanned out. Shortly after, the caution returned when Larson, who was running in ninth place and trying to carve his way back to the front, slid up the track, got sideways and spun in between Turns 3 and 4, where his car slid up towards the outside wall and was hit by Wallace while more names including Buescher, Bell, Briscoe, Logano and Gilliland all wrecked in Turn 4, with Larson sustaining the most damage to the front end of his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and taking him out of contention. Bell, Gilliland and Logano would also be eliminated from further competition while Wallace and Buescher, two Playoff bubble drivers, continued.
The multi-car incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 120 to conclude under caution as Kyle Busch captured his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Chastain settled in second ahead of Gibbs, Byron and Austin Dillon while Keselowski, Truex, Erik Jones, Blaney and Cody Ware were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, select names led by Chastain pitted while the rest led by the leader Busch remained on the track.
With 75 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Busch and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Busch and Byron dueled for the lead for a full lap as Keselowski, Gibbs, Blaney and Austin Dillon followed suit. With Busch leading the following lap, Byron then would muscle his No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead by the first two turns and he would lead the next lap period as the field behind fanned out and jostled for late spots around the corners and straightaways.
With less than 70 laps remaining, Ty Gibbs, who carved his way into second place earlier, started to ignite his challenge for the lead on Byron, though the latter retained the top spot by a tenth of a second through the turns and straightaways. Byron would proceed to stabilize his advantage to less than three-tenths of a second over Gibbs with 65 laps remaining while Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Blaney followed suit in the top five.
Just then, the caution returned when Corey LaJoie, who gained a strong draft on Noah Gragson while battling for a top-20 spot, made light contact with Gragson that sent LaJoie spinning sideways before his No. 7 Garner Trucking Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 went airborne and landed upside-down, where the car slid on its roof through the backstretch’s infield and even hit the infield wall before flipping once and coming to rest on all four wheels towards the infield grass. Amid the wild wreck, LaJoie, who slid on his side before flipping over once at the conclusion of Talladega Superspeedway event in April, emerged uninjured. During the caution period, some led by Busch pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period with 59 laps remaining featured Byron and Keselowski, who moved up to restart on the front row amid the choose rule, dueling for the lead in close-quarters racing through the first two turns before Elliott made a bold move beneath both to move into the lead entering the backstretch. With the field fanning out to multiple lanes through the backstretch, Elliott maintained the lead ahead of teammate Byron while Keselowski, Gibbs and Reddick were up in the top five.
With 50 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by six-tenths of a second over Keselowski followed by Gibbs, Reddick and Byron as Blaney, Truex, Busch, Buescher and Suarez trailed in the top 10. Behind, Chastain was scored in 11th place ahead of Bowman, Hocevar, Gragson and Austin Dillon while Erik Jones, Hamlin, Stenhouse, rookie Zane Smith and Preece occupied the top-20 spots ahead of Burton, Berry, Cody Ware, Hemric, McDowell and Wallace, all of whom were scored on the lead lap.
Four laps later, Byron peeled off the track from a top-five spot to pit his No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for enough fuel to reach the event’s scheduled distance. Another two laps later, Truex pitted under green before Bowman would pit his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 not long after. In the process, Gibbs started to close in on Elliott for the lead while third-place Reddick tried to close in.
With 40 laps remaining, Reddick, who overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot, proceeded to overtake Elliott for the lead. With Reddick leading, Gibbs and Keselowski pitted their respective entries under green before the leader Reddick, Elliott and Blaney pitted under green with 38 laps remaining. Amid the pit stops, Busch cycled his way into the lead and he would proceed to lead with 35 laps remaining while Chastain, Buscher, Suarez, Hocevar and Austin Dillon were scored in the top six. A lap later, however, Busch pitted from the lead under green, where he only opted for two fresh tires, as Suarez cycled into the lead, where the latter would continue to lead with 30 laps remaining.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Hocevar was leading ahead of Stenhouse, Burton, Preece and Erik Jones while Berry, Gragson, Hemric, Cody Ware and McDowell were scored in the top 10. With the top-10 competitors on the track needing to pit, Busch, the first competitor who recently pitted, was trying to fend off Reddick for 11th place and the eventual lead while Byron, Elliott, Gibbs, Truex and Keselowski followed suit.
Not long after, the leader Hocevar along with Gragson and Preece pitted under green as both Reddick and Byron overtook Busch on the track. By then, Suarez had pitted a few laps earlier as Stenhouse assumed the lead. Stenhouse would then pit from the lead as Burton cycled into the lead, where he would lead with 20 laps remaining.
Then with 16 laps remaining, Burton surrendered the lead to pit his No. 21 Motocraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green. By then, Hemric and Ware had pitted as Berry, the lone competitor who has yet to pit, cycled into the lead. Once Berry pitted his No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green with 13 laps remaining, Reddick cycled his No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE into the lead, where he was leading by less than two seconds over Byron.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Reddick was out in front by two seconds over Byron while Gibbs, Truex and Busch trailed in the top five ahead of Keselowski, Elliott, Blaney, Hamlin and McDowell. Meanwhile, Chastain, Hocevar, Buescher, Zane Smith and Austin Dillon trailed in the top 15 ahead of Suarez, Stenhouse, Burton, Erik Jones and Berry.
Four laps later, the caution flew when Truex, who was running in fourth place, had an incident in Turn 4, as Reddick’s steady advantage over Byron evaporated. During the caution period, some led by Buescher pitted while the rest, including Reddick and the front-runners, remained on the track. Amid the caution period, the event was sent into overtime.
The start of the first overtime period did not last long as Chastain, who was racing close towards the top-10 mark, got loose amid stacked conditions and spun in front of Zane Smith before he continued to spin through the infield backstretch and came to rest within the infield grass. Chastain’s spin occurred after Bowman had smacked the backstretch’s outside wall. Despite Chastain continuing and the rest of the field avoiding him, the event was sent into a second overtime attempt as Byron, who despite was told was low on fuel, emerged with the lead over Reddick from the inside lane.
The start of the second overtime attempt featured Byron and Reddick dueling for the lead until Reddick, who this time restarted on the inside lane and beneath Byron, muscled ahead entering the backstretch after he received a draft from Ty Gibbs. With Reddick leading, Byron then tried to use the draft to gain a run and overtake Reddick entering Turn 3, but Reddick retained the top spot as Gibbs closed in from third place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick remained as the leader by a narrow margin over Byron and Gibbs. Reddick then created a small gap between himself and Byron through the first two turns before entering the backstretch. With Byron closing back in through Turns 3 and 4, he was not able to get to Reddick’s rear bumper entering the frontstretch as Reddick proceeded to claim the checkered flag by a tenth of a second over Byron.
With the victory, Tyler Reddick notched his seventh career win in the NASCAR Cup Series level, his first at Michigan and his second of the 2024 season, with his previous victory occurring at Talladega Superspeedway in April. As a result, he became the sixth competitor to notch multiple victories of the 2024 season while also delivering the second victory for 23XI Racing and the eighth for Toyota nameplate. With Reddick delivering Toyota’s first Cup victory at Michigan since 2015, he snapped Ford’s nine-race winning streak at the manufacturer’s backyard in the Irish Hills that starts in 2018.
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.
During his victory celebrations, Reddick, who is the new leader in the regular-season standings, dedicated his win to Scott Bloomquist, a dirt track and late models legend who was a mentor to Reddick and died in a plane accident three days ago.
“Just great teammate and fantastic push by Ty Gibbs [on the last restart],” Reddick said on USA Network. “That’s what it’s all about. The Toyota Racing family tries to take care of each other. It’s been really cool, but I can’t help it but sit here in Victory Lane and think of Scott Bloomquist. [He was a] Huge mentor to me and incredible role model and legend of dirt racing and motorsports. The last couple of days have been tough and this [win] really helps it and so, this win, I think, should go for him and his family, his friends and all that meant a lot to him…We did a really, really good job today and rebounded from [a bad restart earlier]. I think we were one of the last cars on the lead lap [during the] start of Stage 3, so great effort for us.”
William Byron had enough fuel to finish in second place and rally from finishing outside the top 10 during his last two races while Ty Gibbs rallied from a three-race slump to finish in third place for his sixth top-five result of the season and to remain above the top-16 cutline in the Playoff standings by 39 points in his efforts to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.
I’ll relive that restart and what lane to choose overnight, for sure,” Byron, who ended up losing the lead and the race overall from restarting on the outside lane during the final overtime attempt, said. “It seems like always as the leader, you want to take the top [lane], but I’ve gotten beat twice here by the bottom [lane] and I have the lead on the bottom barely over [Reddick]. He had a better can than us. He was a little bit faster. Second sucks, but really proud of the effort, though. I feel like I’ve been trying to put weeks together like this and this is really good step. Everyone did a great job on the team. Strategy was awesome, car was awesome all day and really proud of the team.”
“I feel like we definitely were in contention [for the win], for sure,” Gibbs added. “I needed to get up sooner off of [Turn] 2 to clear [Byron]. Just missed it by a little bit. Then after that, it takes a lap to get wound back up after you lose momentum. I appreciate my guys bring me a great car. Definitely a little frustrating, but we’ll take it. It’s a good day and thanks to everybody that helps my program out.”
Kyle Busch, who led 24 laps and won the second stage period, finished in fourth place for his first top-five finish since finishing fourth at Dover Motor Speedway in April, though he remains 93 points below the top-16 cutline, while Michigan native Brad Keselowski finished in the top five on the track.
Chris Buescher, rookie Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin and rookie Carson Hocevar completed the top 10 in the final running order. The sixth-place run was enough for Buescher to remain above the top-16 cutline by 16 points.
Notably, Chase Elliott finished 15th after leading 29 laps, Austin Dillon ended up 17th ahead of Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. fell back to 24th, though he remains above the top-16 cutline by 77 points. In addition, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace finished 25th and 26th, respectively. As a result, Chastain holds sole possession of the 16th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs by a single point over Wallace with two regular-season events remaining on the schedule.
There were 26 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 41 laps. In addition, 24 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 24th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Tyler Reddick leads the regular-season standings by 10 points over Chase Elliott, 28 over Denny Hamlin and 32 over Kyle Larson in his pursuit for his first Cup Series Regular Season Championship.
Results.
1. Tyler Reddick, 15 laps led
2. William Byron, 20 laps led
3. Ty Gibbs, two laps led
4. Kyle Busch, 24 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Brad Keselowski, two laps led
6. Chris Buescher
7. Zane Smith
8. Daniel Suarez, seven laps led
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Carson Hocevar
11. Ryan Preece
12. Noah Gragson
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps led
14. Harrison Burton, five laps led
15. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led
16. Erik Jones
17. Austin Dillon
18. Ryan Blaney, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner
19. Michael McDowell
20. Justin Haley
21. Cody Ware
22. Josh Berry, four laps led
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Martin Truex Jr., 28 laps led
25. Ross Chastain, one lap down, four laps led
26. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, five laps led
27. Alex Bowman, one lap down
28. Austin Cindric, two laps down
29. John Hunter Nemechek, four laps down
30. AJ Allmendinger, six laps down
31. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Suspension
32. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident
33. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident
34. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, 41 laps led
35. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident
36. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 24, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
With two regular-season events remaining on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Kyle Busch rallied from a difficult summer stretch to maintain his Playoff qualification hopes by achieving a strong top-five result in the form of a fourth-place finish in the rain-postponed FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Monday, August 19.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, rolled off the starting grid in 13th place based on a random draw after the event’s qualifying session was canceled and determined through a metric formula from the NASCAR Rule Book. Through early mixed strategies, Busch, who initially was battling within the top 15 and 20 marks, netted five stage points at the conclusion of the first stage period by finishing in sixth place. Then just as he was set to restart inside the top 10 for the start of the second stage period, the event was delayed and postponed to Monday due to a steady increase of precipitation that canceled the remainder of on-track actions on Sunday.
Returning back to action on Monday, Busch moved up to restart alongside the leader Chase Elliott as part of the Choose Rule for the start of the second stage period on Lap 55. It would then only take two laps for the Las Vegas native to move his No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead, where he officially led for the first time on Lap 58. He would lead the next seven laps before he was overtaken by Martin Truex Jr.
While continuing to run towards the front throughout the second stage period, Busch, who was among a handful of competitors to remain on the track as part of a strategic call before a five-lap shootout to conclude the second stage period, would emerge ahead of Ross Chastain and retain the lead for a full lap before the caution returned for a multi-car wreck in Turn 4. With the second stage period officially concluding under caution, Busch proceeded to capture his first elusive stage victory of the 2024 season and grab both 10 stage points and a Playoff point towards his efforts to make the Playoffs.
As the race proceeded into the final stage period, Busch, who kept his car intact, pitted under green from inside the top 10 with less than 35 laps remaining amid a late cycle of green flag pit stops. With crew chief Randall Burnett opting for a two-tire pit call to give Busch an on-track advantage, the pit call initially worked to their advantage as Busch emerged as the highest-running competitor on the track who recently pitted. In the closing laps, however, he was overtaken by eventual winner Tyler Reddick and William Byron on the track.
Amid two overtime shootouts, Busch, who restarted in sixth place during the latest shootout, steered his way to a fourth-place finish for his third top-five result of the 2024 season, his first since finishing fourth at Dover Motor Speedway in late April and his 10th in 36 Cup starts overall at Michigan.
With the top-five finish, Busch, who came into Michigan 122 points below the top-16 cutline towards the Playoff standings, is 97 points behind with two regular-season events remaining on the 2024 schedule as he strives to make the Cup Series Playoffs for the 17th time in his career and second in a row driving for Richard Childress Racing.
“I wish I came out [of pit road] with about an eight-second lead. That might’ve helped a little bit,” Busch said on USA Network. “Overall, just net positive on the weekend and being better speed and upfront and having a shot anyways, but we ran top 10 all day. So really good call by [crew chief] Randall [Burnett] and the guys to get us that two tires, get us that more track position and just try to hold [the leaders] off as best we could. Overall, net good day.”
While Busch continues to pursue his first race victory of the 2024 season, which would extend his current race-winning streak to 20 consecutive seasons, the top-five result left him both pleased and optimistic about the recent competitiveness being generated from Richard Childress Racing that would enable Busch and his No. 8 Chevrolet team to win one or both of the remaining regular-season events on the schedule and automatically qualify for the 2024 Playoffs.
“This is how we would expect to run, this is how we want to run,” Busch added. “We want to run up front, top 10s and have opportunities to excel. Good pit calls helped us to be able to do that and just making a couple good moves on those late restarts right there that got us that. Nothing can translate from today into Daytona or Darlington set-up wise, vehicle dynamics, that sort of stuff, but good momentum rolling in the right direction. Just keep that going.”
Kyle Busch’s quest to make the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues next Saturday, August 24, at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, with the event’s broadcast time to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The remainder of the 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the site of the 24th event of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, has been postponed to Monday, August 19, and the coverage will resume at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network.
The news comes as the event, which was scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 18, endured and ultimately lost a daylong battle against Mother Nature, with on-track precipitation initially delaying the event’s start for more than two hours. The precipitation had also been present for the majority of the weekend and caused the event’s practice and qualifying sessions to be canceled, with the starting lineup determined through the NASCAR Rule Book.
Once the event commenced under green flag conditions at 4:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, it reached the conclusion of the first stage period that ended on Lap 45 and was won by the reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.
Prior to the start of the second stage period, however, the event was waved off from restarting under green flag conditions multiple times due to on-track precipitation slowly and steadily returning to the Michigan venue. After running select laps under caution, NASCAR then directed the field to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period on Lap 51 of 200.
With no signs of relief being detected within the forecast that would allow the event to reach the halfway mark before Sunday evening at 8:20 p.m. ET, which would be at Lap 100 or Lap 120 for the conclusion of the second stage period, the event’s postponement was announced just past 6 p.m. ET.
This season marks the second consecutive time that the Cup Series’ annual event at Michigan has been postponed to the following day after its initial scheduled date of Sunday. It also marks the third consecutive season where the event has been delayed due to on-track precipitation overall. A year ago, the Cup Michigan event was postponed from Sunday to Monday after completing 74 of 200 laps, where Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher would proceed to win the event.
Currently, Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion who is pursuing his first victory at Michigan, is the leader when the race resumes on Monday morning. Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastin, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano are all scored in the top 10, respectively. In addition, all 36 starters are scored on the lead lap.
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.
The 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway is set to resume on Monday, August 19, at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network.
Kaulig Racing took to social media to reveal that veteran AJ Allmendinger will be returning to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time competitor with the organization in 2025.
The news comes as the 42-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, is currently competing on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig after spending the previous season in the Cup Series with the organization. Through 20 scheduled starts this season, Allmendinger has recorded three top-five results, 10 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.9, where he is ranked in sixth place in the regular-season standings. In addition to his full-time Xfinity role, Allmendinger has made 10 starts in Kaulig’s No. 16 “all-star” entry, where his best results are three sixth-place results, including this year’s 66th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Allmendinger, a former Champ Car competitor, made his Cup Series debut with Red Bull Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2007. Since then, he has made a total of 440 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series from 2007 to 2023, with his previous starts coming with Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Team Penske, Phoenix Racing, JTG Daugherty Racing and Kaulig Racing, which he began making Cup starts with the latter organization in 2021.
Throughout the 440 starts at the Cup Series level, Allmendinger notched his first career victory at Watkins Glen International in 2014, which also marked the first victory for JTG-Daugherty Racing, and went on to qualify for his first Cup Series Playoffs before settling in a career-best 13th place in the final standings. Seven years later, the Californian capitalized on an overtime shootout to score his second victory and the first for Kaulig Racing in the Cup level at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course as a part-time competitor. This past October, he piloted Kaulig’s No. 16 entry to his third and latest Cup victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
In addition to having three Cup Series victories within his resume, Allmendinger has accumulated four poles, 20 top-five results, 78 top-10 results, 635 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.7 in NASCAR’s premier series. He has also made 14 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series and won 17 races in the Xfinity Series, 15 of which came while driving for Kaulig between 2019 and 2023.
With Allmendinger set to be elevated back to full-time Cup racing in 2025 in the No. 16 Chevrolet entry, the rest of Kaulig’s racing program for next season, including the Xfinity Series teams and the No. 31 Cup Series entry that is currently being piloted by Daniel Hemric, have yet to be determined.
For this upcoming weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Allmendinger is set to pull double duty between the Xfinity and Cup Series divisions for the 10th time this season and his 11th Cup start of the 2024 season. In 22 previous Cup starts at Michigan, Allmendinger’s best results are a pair of 11th-place finishes, which occurred in June 2010 and August 2011. He recorded an Xfinity victory at Michigan in August 2021 with Kaulig Racing in a season where he notched a career-high five victories, made the Championship 4 round and finished in a career-best fourth place in the final drivers’ standings.
With his plans for next season set, AJ Allmendinger’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign continues this Saturday, August 17, at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250, where the event’s broadcast time will commence at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Allmendinger will then make his 11th of select Cup starts the following day, August 18, for the FireKeepers Casino 400 which will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are working hard to put on a strong performance this weekend as NASCAR’s Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, the home track of Ford Motor Company.
More than any other race on the schedule, Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 is looked on as a manufacturer vs. manufacturer contest, since the Michigan track is not only home to Ford, but also to the other domestic auto makers.
Jeremy Bullins, crew chief of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang Dark Horse, said the fast, two-mile Michigan oval is the perfect place for a manufacturer’s duel.
“Michigan is one of the most fun intermediate-sized tracks we race at as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “It’s got so many lane options that you can move around and race around each other.
“It’s still very hard to pass, and track position is huge, but it’s also been a place where you can stay out or put two tires on and hang on to the track position you gain.”
Bullins said having several good options on pit stops makes the race somewhat unpredictable.
“I think that’s good for the racing,” he said.
But the most important aspect of the race for him and the rest of the No. 21 team is making Ford and Motorcraft/Quick Lane proud.
“Racing in the backyard of Ford Motor Company we definitely want to be fast and have a good weekend with our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang,” he said.
Practice for the FireKeepers Casino 400 is set for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. Eastern Time and will be followed by qualifying at 1:20.
Sunday’s 200-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Stage breaks are planned for Lap 45 and 120.
USA Network will carry the TV coverage all weekend.
About Motorcraft® Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford Dealers and Lincoln Retailers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com. *See your dealer for limited-warranty details.
About Quick Lane® Tire & Auto Center Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change and maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator and electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension and steering, wheel alignment, belts and hoses, lamps and bulbs and wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com. *See your dealer for limited-warranty details.”
About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The company does that through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough EVs along with embedded software that defines exceptional digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, Ford is pursuing mobility solutions through Ford Next, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 177,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.
About Ford Performance Ford Performance is based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for Ford’s performance vehicle development and major racing operations globally, including NASCAR, IMSA, SRO British GT, FIA World Rally Championship, Supercars Championship, World of Outlaws, Ultra4, SCORE-International, FIA Rally-Raid, Formula Drift, NHRA, Rebelle Rally, Thailand Super Series and our latest commitment in Formula 1 with RedBull Ford Powertrains. Ford Performance also maintains a constantly evolving fleet of electric performance demonstrators to showcase the limits of electrification technology. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit Performance.Ford.com or follow @FordPerformance on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.
Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.
The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Michigan International Speedway this weekend with only three races to go in the Cup Series regular season and six to go in the Xfinity Series.
The ARCA Menards Series will get the racing action started Friday evening with the Henry Ford Health 200.
Six active Cup Series drivers have previous wins at the 2-mile track: Joey Logano – 3 Kyle Larson – 3 Denny Hamlin – 2 Chris Buescher – 1 Kyle Busch – 1 Ryan Blaney – 1
Only two previous Xfinity Series winners are competing at Michigan – AJ Allmendinger (2021) and John Hunter Nemechek (2023). But it’s much more likely that we will see a new driver in Victory Lane as there have been 13 different drivers in Victory Lane, dating back to 2010.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is off and returns to competition on August 25 at Milwaukee Mile Speedway.
Friday, Aug. 16 1:30 – 2:15 p.m.: ARCA Practice/All Entries/No TV 2:30 – 2:50 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying/All Entries/No TV – Canceled due to rain Impound/Timed/20 Minutes
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Practice (NBC Sports App) All Entries/Group 1 and 2 – 15 Minutes Each Group 4:10 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying (NBC Sports App) Impound/All Entries/Single Vehicle /1 Lap
6 p.m. — ARCA Henry Ford Health 200 race 100 laps, 200 miles FS1, FloRacing, MRN, SiriusXM
Saturday, Aug. 17 12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice Group A & B/20 Minutes Each Group USA/MRN/SiriusXM
1:20: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) Group A & B: Single Vehicle /1 Lap /2 Rounds USA/MRN/SiriusXM
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 race Stages 30/60/125 Laps = 250 Miles Purse: $1,367,917 USA/MRN/SiriusXM
Sunday, Aug. 18 2:30 p.m.: Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 race Stages 45/120/200 Laps = 400 Miles Defending Race Winner: Chris Buescher Purse: $7,902,750 USA/MRN/SiriusXM
NASCAR released the highly anticipated penalty report following this weekend’s Craftsman Truck & Cup Series actions at Richmond Raceway including the controversial finish during Sunday’s Cup event.
Per the report, Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday’s Cook Out 400, has been stripped of his Playoff eligibility he initially achieved by winning the race. The penalty is a result of how the 2018 Daytona 500 champion from Welcome, North Carolina, claimed the victory, where he bumped and sent the leader Joey Logano for a spin through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Dillon then veered dead left and sent Denny Hamlin, who was trying to overtake both, into the frontstretch’s outside wall and proceeded to claim the checkered flag for the victory, all during an overtime shootout.
The on-track actions Dillon made were ones he chose to perform as last-resort actions to both win and race his way into the Playoffs, as he evoked while celebrating the victory on the frontstretch despite receiving harsh criticism from his fellow competitors, including Logano and Hamlin, and eventually leading to NASCAR emphasizing that Dillon crossed the line upon a three-day review.
In addition to having his Playoff eligibility revoked, Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team were docked 25 driver/owner points. As a result, Dillon, who jumped from 32nd to a guaranteed top-16 result in the standings, is strapped back in 31st place in the regular-season standings.
“I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, said. “So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed.”
While Dillon received no race suspensions amid his actions, Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was assessed a three-race suspension, beginning this weekend at Michigan, due to his concise vocalization of encouraging Dillon to “wreck him” in reference to Denny Hamlin approaching the finish line. Despite the phrase “wreck him” being heard through the in-car audio, team owner Richard Childress and Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander denied hearing the audio phrase while defending Dillon’s move.
“If you look at at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver’s ear, in this case, we just felt like we’ve all listened to the audio,” Sawyer added. “We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that’s not what we need spotters doing. That’s not what we need [from a] crew chief sitting on the box. They’re a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they’re supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know.”
Nonetheless, Dillon is still credited as the official winner of last Sunday’s event at Richmond. He is also eligible to reclaim his 2024 Playoff eligibility status if he were to win any one of the remaining three regular-season events on the schedule, beginning this upcoming Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
In addition, Joey Logano, who ended up in 19th place after getting hit and spun by Dillon, has also been penalized with a $50,000 fine for violating NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct policy. Logano’s penalty is a result of the 2018 Cup Series champion getting his damaged car sideways while nursing it through pit road following the checkered flag and nearly sideswiped several personnel, including officials, Dillon’s crew and family members near Dillon’s pit box while venting his frustration. Immediately after parking his car, a NASCAR official angrily confronted Logano inside of his cockpit for his actions before the confrontation simmered as Logano angrily exited his car and proceeded to call out Dillon for his actions to the media.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Some of this, we’ve got some work to do on our side,” Sawyer said while referencing Logano’s actions that led to the penalty. “There was a lot of people on pit road, and there always is. We have our officials out there. The drivers need to understand that. Totally understand the emotion — I get it, I’ve been there a few years back. But you have to respect the fact that we do have people on pit road. Our officials will be there, security will be there. We’ll do a better job on our side to make sure that families and young children and sponsors and of that nature are not on the hot side.”
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who ended up in the runner-up spot despite getting wrecked by Dillon approaching the finish line and was quick to criticize NASCAR for not taking immediate action to penalize competitors for wrecking one another for victories, was not penalized.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
With Dillon currently bumped out of the 2024 Cup Series Playoff field, Chris Buescher, who exited Richmond three points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs, is now above the cutline on a tie-breaker against Ross Chastain. In addition, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace have each been elevated one spot up in the Playoff field.
Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond, which served as the 2024 regular-season finale and was won by Ty Majeski, did not generate any team penalties.
With the Craftsman Truck Series entering an off-week period, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action following a four-week absence at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 this upcoming Saturday, August 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Cup Series also returns to action at Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
A significant milestone mark is in the making for Brian Wilson, crew chief for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Wilson will call his 100th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A second-generation race engineer from Detroit, Michigan, Wilson grew up competing in go-karts. While working on his mechanical engineering degree at North Carolina State University, he was also a part-time worker for 10-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel’s racing team. After earning his degree, he worked as Kimmel’s full-time shock specialist.
In 2004, Wilson joined Team Penske and worked on the No. 77 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge team that was competing in the NASCAR Cup Series division with Brendan Gaughan. Two years later, he became a shock specialist for Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team driven by Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champion. By 2007, Wilson was a race engineer for the Penske organization. After spending the 2009 Cup season with Penske’s No. 12 Dodge team piloted by David Stremme, Wilson worked alongside crew chief Paul Wolfe and Brad Keselowski in the 2010 Xfinity Series season. During the season, Keselowski notched six victories and achieved the first NASCAR championship for team owner Roger Penske and the Penske organization.
Wilson remained with Keselowski and Wolfe as the trio was assigned to Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team in 2011. Their on-track success from the previous Xfinity season continued as Keselowski scored three victories, made the 2011 Cup Playoffs and finished in fifth place in the final standings. A year later, Keselowski achieved five victories and won the 2012 Cup championship, thus giving Roger Penske his first NASCAR Cup title.
In 2016, Wilson made his debut as a crew chief, where he spent a majority of the season leading Penske’s No. 22 “all-star” program that was shared between Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. At Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, Wilson notched his first career victory as a crew chief with Logano. He would return as a part-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 entry in 2017 with driving duties split between Sam Hornish Jr., Blaney and Logano, the latter of whom Wilson won with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From 2018 to 2021, Wilson would add 18 Xfinity victories to his resume and capture the 2020 series championship with Austin Cindric.
During the 2017 season, Wilson made his inaugural appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Auto Club Speedway, where he navigated Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford Fusion team to a runner-up result. He would return for three additional events throughout the season, all with the No. 2 team, as Keselowski finished in the top seven in all events.
Five years later, Wilson was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team that was set to be piloted by rookie Harrison Burton. Amid an early rollover wreck during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Wilson and Burton would record a season-best third place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 22.8 before settling in 27th place in the final standings. Wilson would remain paired with Burton through the first 26-scheduled events of the 2023 season, where the duo notched two top-10 results before he reunited with Team Penske and paired with Cindric and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team as part of a Penske-Wood Brothers alliance swap as Jeremy Bullins returned atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers team. For the final 10 races of the 2023 season, Wilson and Cindric notched two top-10 results before settling in 24th place in the final standings, seven spots ahead of Burton.
Remaining paired with Cindric for the 2024 season, Wilson and Cindric only notched a single top-five result through 14 scheduled events. Then at World Wide Technology Raceway in June, Wilson notched his first career win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief after Cindric capitalized on teammate Ryan Blaney running out of fuel on the final lap to score his second Cup career victory, snapping an 85-race winless drought and be guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Playoffs. The duo have since recorded an additional top-10 result in the form of a seventh-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway over their next eight events following the Gateway victory.
Through 99 previous Cup events, Wilson has achieved one victory, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results while working with two different competitors as he strives to add a Cup Series championship to his resume.
“It’s definitely been a journey, depends on how far back you want me to go,” Wilson, said during a Team Penske pre-race media coverage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 19, said. “As a crew chief, it’s been great. I’ve learned a lot. Obviously, I’ve had a chance to work with both Austin [Cindric] and Harrison [Burton. Really enjoyed working with both of them. I’ve learned a lot. It’s a tough level of competition. I love it. You have to be on your toes every week, so I think that’s the biggest thing. Just figuring out what it takes to compete at this level. It was great to get a win [at Gateway].”
Brian Wilson is scheduled to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
The upcoming FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway is set to mark crew chief Alan Gustafson’s 24th NASCAR Cup Series event atop the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pit box of the 2024 season. It will also mark a significant milestone achievement for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at Michigan, Gustafson will call his 700th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Ormond Beach, Florida, Gustafson was working on go-karts piloted by Casey Yunick, grandson of legendary car mechanic and designer Smokey Yunick, at eight years old. As a mechanic, he worked his way up to late models, legend cars and the Sports Cars Club of America region. After graduating from Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, Gustafson was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University when he decided to relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursue a career in motorsports racing.
In 1996, Gustafson joined Gary Moore’s Goody’s Dash Series team as a crew chief for Jimmy Foster. A year later, he became a crew chief for Addington Racing’s NASCAR Truck Series before making the jump to the Xfinity Series to work as an engineer for Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Another two years later, Gustafson, who was working for Jimmy Foster, was recruited by former NASCAR championship-winning crew chief Gary DeHart to work in Hendrick Motorsports’ chassis department. By 2000, he was working as a full-time shock specialist for HMS’ No. 5 Chevrolet team piloted by two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte before being named lead engineer for the No. 5 team another two years later.
Entering the 2005 Cup season, Gustafson was named crew chief for the No. 5 Chevrolet team set to be piloted by Kyle Busch, who entered the season as a 2005 Cup rookie candidate. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Gustafson achieved his first two NASCAR victories as a crew chief, the first at Auto Club Speedway in September and the second at Phoenix Raceway in November with Busch. The duo went on to achieve a pole, nine top-five results and 13 top-10 results, with Busch claiming the 2005 Rookie-of-the-Year title despite finishing 20th in the final standings.
Over the next two seasons, Gustafson remained as crew chief for Busch and the No. 5 team in the Cup circuit, where Busch achieved one victory apiece, made the Playoffs during both seasons and achieved a fifth-place result in the final standings in 2007. By then, Gustafson surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief.
In 2008, Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS’ No. 5 Chevrolet team piloted by Casey Mears, the reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner, who replaced Busch as Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing for the upcoming season. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Gustafson and Mears only achieved one top-five result and six top-10 results before finishing in 20th place in the final standings.
The 2009 Cup season was a competitive season for Gustafson, who was paired with veteran driver Mark Martin as Martin returned to full-time Cup competition for the first time since 2005 and as the successor of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It took the first eight scheduled races of the 2009 season for Gustafson to return to Victory Lane in the Cup circuit after Martin achieved a dominant win at Phoenix in April, which snapped Martin’s 97-race winless drought and a 74-race winless drought for Gustafson. The momentum continued for the driver, crew chief and the No. 5 team as they won at Darlington Raceway in May, Michigan International Speedway in June and Chicagoland Speedway in July. Martin and Gustafson then achieved a fifth victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, which commenced the 2009 Cup Playoffs. They ended up as the championship runner-up to teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus by 141 points. Nonetheless, they earned a total of five victories, seven poles, 14 top-five results and 21 top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule.
Compared to the 2009 season, however, Martin and Gustafson were unable to pursue another shot at a championship in 2010 as they missed the Playoffs, went winless and only achieved a pole, seven top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing in 13th place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 200 Cup starts as a crew chief.
For the 2011 season, Gustafson, who remained at HMS, transitioned from the No. 5 team to the No. 24 team as he was paired with four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon. Following a 28th-place run in the Daytona 500, Gustafson notched his first victory with Gordon at Phoenix in February, where Gordon rallied from an early wreck to dominate and fend off Kyle Busch to snap a 66-race winless drought. Gordon and Gustafson went on to achieve victories at Pocono Raceway in June and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September along with a pole, 13 top-five results, 18 top-10 results and a spot in the 2011 Cup Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.
From 2012 to 2013, Gordon, Gustafson and the No. 24 team achieved a total of three victories, four poles, 19 top-five results and 35 top-10 results, with a best points result of sixth place in 2013. Then in 2014, the duo recorded four victories throughout the 36-race schedule, including the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, which marked Gustafson’s first crown-jewel victory in NASCAR. Having earned three poles, 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results along with the victories, Gordon and Gustafson were poised to contend for the title until a late run-in and brawl with Brad Keselowski ended their hopes for a championship prior to the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, thus relegating them back to sixth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 300 starts in the Cup Series.
In 2015, which marked Gordon’s 23rd and final full-time season as a NASCAR competitor, Gordon and Gustafson commenced the season by winning the pole position for the 57th running of the Daytona 500. They then rallied from a bumpy regular-season stretch to make the Playoffs and earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead following a sentimental victory at Martinsville Speedway in November, with Gordon earning one final opportunity to win his fifth title. During the finale, however, Gordon settled in sixth place on the track and third place in the final standings. Along with the Martinsville victory, Gordon and Gustafson achieved four poles, five top-five results and 21 top-10 results.
Following Gordon’s retirement, Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS’ No. 24 Chevrolet team piloted by Chase Elliott, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion and the successor of the No. 24 entry. In their first run together, Elliott secured the pole position for the upcoming Daytona 500, thus becoming the youngest competitor to win the pole for the 500. Elliott, however, finished 37th after being involved in an early accident. Despite the slow start, Elliott and Gustafson managed to record two poles, 10 top-five results and 17 top-10 results. While they qualified for the 2016 Cup Playoffs, the duo were eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12 and went on to finish in 10th place in the final standings. By the end of the season, Elliott captured the 2016 Cup Rookie of the Year title. In addition, Gustafson surpassed 400 Cup starts as a crew chief.
In 2017, Gustafson commenced the season by making history as he became the first crew chief since Ernie Elliott to achieve three consecutive Daytona 500 poles, with Chase Elliott zooming to his second consecutive 500 pole. After winning the first of two Can-Am Duel events at Daytona, Elliott and Gustafson were in striking position of winning the 500 until Elliott fell back to 14th after running out of fuel with two laps remaining. Despite several opportunities presented for Elliott, Gustafson and the No. 24 team to win, they endured a second winless season. Nonetheless, they earned 12 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a Playoff spot before being eliminated from title contention prior to the finale and ending up in fifth place in the final standings. During the season, Gustafson was suspended for the Cup Playoff event at New Hampshire in September stemming from an L1-level post-race penalty report during the previous event at Chicagoland Speedway.
Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS and Elliott in 2018, with Elliott piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the new season. During the season, Gustafson was suspended for two races (Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway in April) stemming from an illegal rear window penalty report at Texas Motor Speedway the previous week. Nonetheless, Gustafson returned to Victory Lane in the Cup Series in nearly three seasons after Elliott achieved his first elusive Cup victory at Watkins Glen International in August. Earning a one-way ticket to the Playoffs, Elliott and Gustafson won at Dover International Speedway and at Kansas Speedway in October before finishing in sixth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 500 Cup career starts as a crew chief.
After a winless start through the first nine events of the 2019 season, Elliott and Gustafson achieved their first victory of the year at Talladega Superspeedway in April. They went on to win at Watkins Glen in August and at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in September before making the Playoffs and settling in 10th place in the final standings.
The 2020 Cup season was a season to remember for Gustafson, who commenced the season with two victories with Elliott throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the Playoffs, Elliott went on to win at the Charlotte Roval in October and at Martinsville Speedway in November, which earned Elliott, Gustafson and the No. 9 Chevrolet team a spot in the Championship Round finale at Phoenix Raceway. During the finale, Elliott rallied from starting at the rear of the field to lead a race-high 153 of 312 and capture the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship along with the finale victory. The championship was a first for Gustafson in his 16th season as a crew chief along with the first for Elliott and the 13th overall for Hendrick Motorsports.
Commencing the 2021 season as the reigning champions, Gustafson and Elliott recorded their first elusive victory of the season during the series’ inaugural, rain-shortened event at Circuit of the Americas in May. They went on to win at Road America in July and record 15 top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch amid Gustafson being suspended for Watkins Glen in August due to the No. 9 entry failing pre-race inspection twice before qualifying for the 2021 Cup Playoffs. With four top-10 results during nine Playoff events, Gustafson and Elliott were able to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 and receive an opportunity to defend their series title. During the finale at Phoenix, however, Elliott finished fifth on the track and ended up in fourth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson had surpassed 600 events as a Cup crew chief.
In 2022, Gustafson and Elliott achieved their first victory of the season at Dover in May. They went on to win at Nashville Superspeedway in June, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway in July before securing their seventh consecutive berth to the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, the duo rallied from a rough start in the Rounds of 16 and 12 by winning at Talladega in October and transferring to the Round of 8. They were also able to accumulate enough points to transfer to the Championship 4 round for a third consecutive season. Their aim for a second Cup title, however, came to an end when Elliott was involved in a late-race incident with title rival Ross Chastain and ended 28th on the track. This, in turn, kept him in fourth place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.
The 2023 season was a difficult season for both Gustafson and Elliott that started with the duo finishing 38th in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the closing laps of the second stage. Despite rallying during the following weekend at Auto Club Speedway by finishing second to Kyle Busch, Elliott was then absent for the following Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after injuring his leg while snowboarding in Colorado. With Elliott absent, JR Motorsports’ Xfinity Series competitor Josh Berry and sportscar racer Jordan Taylor piloted the No. 9 HMS entry over the next six races. Then in March, all four Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs, including Gustafson, were issued a four-race suspension and a combined $400,000 fine as a result of NASCAR confiscating and noting issues to the hood louvers on all four HMS entries during the Phoenix weekend. The organization was also docked 100 owner points and 10 Playoff points between the four entries, but following an appeal process during the final week of March, the points were reinstated while the fines and suspensions remained intact. With Gustafson serving his four-race suspension, lead engineer Tom Gray filled in as an interim crew chief for the No. 9 HMS entry.
After returning atop the No. 9 pit box along with Elliott at Martinsville in April, Gustafson navigated the No. 9 team to nine top-10 results for the final 18 regular-season events. The results, however, were not enough for Elliott, who was suspended from racing at World Wide Technology Raceway due to intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin during the previous event at Charlotte during the 18-race stretch, to garner enough points to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked the first time the duo did not make the postseason bid for the title since being paired together. With five recorded top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, Gustafson and Elliott concluded the 2023 season in 17th place in the final standings.
Striving for redemption, Gustafson and Elliott commenced the 2024 campaign with three top-10 results and six top-15 results through eight scheduled events. Then at Texas in April, the duo snapped a one-year winless drought and returned to Victory Lane after Elliott survived two overtime shootouts to claim the victory under caution and guarantee himself and the No. 9 team a spot into the Playoffs. Since the Texas victory, the No. 9 team recorded eight top-10 results over a 14-race span and they currently sit in third place in this year’s regular-season standings while trailing the points lead by six points.
Through 699 previous Cup events, Gustafson has achieved one championship, 39 victories, 34 poles, 201 top-five results and 349 top-10 results while working with seven different competitors.
Alan Gustafson is scheduled to call his 700th Cup Series event as a crew chief this upcoming Sunday, August 18, at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
