NASCAR heads to Michigan with 3 regular season races left

Following another thrilling Richmond Raceway NASCAR Cup Series event, the points battle for the Regular Season Championship has tightened with four drivers within 21 points of the standings lead with just three races to go in the regular season.

Hendrick Motorsport’s Kyle Larson is currently atop the Cup driver standings, up five points on 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick in second, and six points ahead of his HMS teammate Chase Elliott in third. Reddick has moved into second following Richmond and posting his sixth straight top-10 finish and ninth in his last 10 races. Lurking in the tire tracks of the three front runners is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, just 21 points back from Larson and within striking distance.

All four will look to maximize their points this weekend at Michigan International Speedway to better their chances at taking home the prestigious NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship trophy, and the 15 bonus Playoff points that come with it following the regular season finale at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 1.

Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates, Larson and Elliott, are each looking to become just the third driver since the inception of the Regular Season Championship in 2017 to win multiple regular season titles; joining Kyle Busch (2018, 2019) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017, 2023).

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin are looking to add their names to the list and become the sixth different driver to win a Regular Season Championship in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Regular Season Championship Clinch Scenarios:

Kyle Larson (or whoever’s first in points) needs to be up by the corresponding number after the race to clinch:

Michigan – 120 or 121 points, depending on tie-break

Daytona – 60 or 61 points, depending on tie-break

Darlington – 0 or 1 point, depending on tie-break

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff outlook shaken up following win penalty

Following the penalty issued by NASCAR on Wednesday, August 14, Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon’s Richmond Raceway win no longer grants him a spot in the Playoffs and he loses 50 points in the driver standings. As a result, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff outlook is shaken up and now with just three races left in the regular season and four postseason spots still available, we know at least one driver will get in on points, making every point earned all season long that much more valuable.

Thus far this year, 12 drivers have earned a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of their wins – Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric.

The four drivers currently holding the final four Playoff spots on points are Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver and 2017 series champion Martin Truex Jr. in 13th, (+78 points above the postseason cut line), his JGR teammate Ty Gibbs in 14th (+18 points), Bubba Wallace in 15th (+3 points) and Chris Buescher (+0 – is tied with Ross Chastain but currently owns the tiebreaker) in the 16th and final Playoff position.

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain is tied in points with Buscher in 16^th but is still the first driver outside the Playoffs cut line in 17th due to the tiebreaker. Next in the Playoff outlook is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in 18th, 99 points behind Buescher.

Clinch Scenarios for Michigan International Speedway

Just three races left in a wild 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and only four spots are still up for grabs in the 16-driver Playoff field as the highest form of stock car racing rolls into Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Below is the breakdown of the Playoff clinch scenarios for this weekend at Michigan.

Already Clinched

The following 12 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric.

Can Clinch Via Points

The following driver could clinch by being 111 points above the 3rd winless driver in the standings, if Ty Gibbs wins.

• Martin Truex Jr.: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Bubba Wallace or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 111 points above the 2nd winless driver in the standings.

• Martin Truex Jr.: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

• Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Harrison Burton

Michigan’s Irish Hills prepares for a red hot NASCAR Cup Series

With fired-up competitors and loads of drama permeating the NASCAR Cup Series following Richmond, the most action-packed racing series in the world heads to Michigan International Speedway for this Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (August 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). With only three races left in the regular season, the pressure has reached a boiling point, and the competitors know time is running out if they want to make the Playoffs.

Challenging the drivers and teams this week will be the massive Michigan International Speedway, which sits on more than 1,400 acres in the “Irish Hills” of southeastern Michigan. Ground-breaking for the facility took place on September 28, 1967 and the two-mile asphalt paved track with 18 degrees of banking in the turns was created – the only track with those dimensions on the schedule.

The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway was held on June 15, 1969, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Mercury at an average speed of 139.254 mph.

The NASCAR Cup Series events at Michigan International Speedway have been run at multiple different lengths. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan was 500 miles in length; the second was scheduled for 600 – but was shortened due to weather and only ran 330 miles. Michigan was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 – with the race distance being 402 miles. All other races have been scheduled for 400 miles, except for the two 2020 races during the pandemic that were 312 miles each and run on consecutive days.

Michigan International Speedway has hosted a total of 106 NASCAR Cup Series races producing 52 different pole winners and 40 different race winners. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is the most recent pole winner and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher is the defending race winner.

All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Michigan International Speedway will get underway with practice on Saturday, August 17 at 12:30 p.m. ET followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying. Both events will be on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Top 10 is where you want to start at Michigan

Qualifying is important each weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series, but even more so some weekends, like this weekend at Michigan International Speedway where 74.5% of the wins all-time at the two-mile track have come from starting positions inside the top-10. Only seven wins have come from a starting position outside the top-20.

A total of 24 different starting positions on the grid have resulted in victories in the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway. The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (22) than any other starting position at Michigan International Speedway: 21 from the pole and one from the first starting position due to qualifying being cancelled – 1985 (Bill Elliott). The most recent win from the pole at Michigan was June 2019 (Joey Logano).

A total of 52 different drivers have qualified on the pole at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with 10 poles (1969, 1974 sweep, 1975, 1976, 1977 sweep, 1978 sweep and 1979). Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Michigan with four (2013, 2016 sweep, 2019).

This weekend, six of the 52 NASCAR Cup Series Michigan pole winners are active this weekend.

Of the six active Cup Michigan pole winners, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is the only one to post his first career pole at the 2-mile track (2022). Wallace is one of eight drivers to post their first Cup Series pole at Michigan International Speedway, along with Marcos Ambrose (2012), JJ Yeley (2007), Jeff Burton (1996), Bobby Hamilton (1996), Rusty Wallace (1987), Ron Bouchard (1981) and Pete Hamilton (1970).

Michigan Men: Those that have hoisted a Cup trophy in Victory Lane at Michigan

When it comes to wins at Michigan, nobody has spent more time in Victory Lane than NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, who leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at the 2-mile track with nine (1969, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 sweep, 1978).

This weekend, Joey Logano (2013, 2016, 2019) and Kyle Larson (2016, 2017 sweep) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in wins at Michigan with three wins each.

Of the six former Cup Michigan winners, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch are the only two still looking for their first wins of season and currently do not have a spot in the 2024 Playoffs. 

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher returns to Michigan to defend last season’s win

Needing a win to secure his spot in the Playoffs this season, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher returns to Michigan International Speedway with hopes of making his way back to Victory Lane this weekend and scoring back-to-back victories at the two-mile facility. If Buescher accomplishes the feat, he will become the 11th different driver to win consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway.

Drivers with consecutive Cup Series wins at Michigan International Speedway:

• Bobby Allison (1971 sweep),
• David Pearson (1972 sweep – 1973), (1974-1975),
• Cale Yarborough (1983 sweep),
• Bill Elliott (1985 sweep – 1986 sweep),
• Bobby Labonte (1995 sweep),
• Mark Martin (1997-1998),
• Ryan Newman (2003-2004),
• Greg Biffle (2004-2005), (2012-2013)
• Kyle Larson won three-straight at Michigan (2016-2017).
• Kevin Harvick (2019, 2020-1, 2020-2) – only driver to win in consecutive days at a single track.

The 31-year-old driver from Prosper, Texas is currently ranked 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff outlook, tied in points with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in 17th the first spot outside the postseason cutoff. Buescher holds the tiebreaker of higher finish with two runners-up (Phoenix and Kansas). In 23 NASCAR Cup Series starts this season, Buescher has put up two stage wins, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Buescher is looking to make the Cup Playoffs for the third time in his career (2016, 2023). 

Keselowski & Jones chasing home track success this weekend at Michigan

RFK Racing’s owner/driver Brad Keselowski from Rochester Hills and Legacy Motor Club’s driver Erik Jones from Byron are returning to the great state of Michigan this weekend to compete at their home track – Michigan International Speedway. And both drivers are looking for their first NASCAR Cup Series win at the 2-mile track.

A total of 102 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Michigan, and 10 of the 102 (9.8%) have won at least one race in a NASCAR national series.

Michigan drivers have combined to win 164 NASCAR national series races, led by RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, who has won a combined 76 NASCAR national series races – nearly half of the state’s total.

Next to Martin Truex Jr.’s 33 winless starts at Michigan, Brad Keselowski has made the second-most starts among active drivers at Michigan without a trip to Victory Lane at 26. But in his 26 previous starts, he has put up eight top fives and 14 top 10s; including three runner-up finishes (2012, 2018, 2020).

Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones has the third-most combined NASCAR national series wins by a driver from Michigan with 19 victories, behind only Keselowski with 75 and Jack Sprague (Spring Lake) with 29.

The 28-year-old, from Byron, Jones, has made 11 Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway posting one top five (third in 2017) and three top 10s. He finished eighth in 2022 and 10th in 2023.