The Cup Series traveled north to Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400. Chris Buescher, for the second straight week, took home the checkered flag. This is the 30-year-old’s fourth career win, and second of the season. This is the 9th straight year Ford has won at Michigan.
In what’s become a common trend as of late, rain was the issue this weekend in the Irish Hills. After getting to lap 74, light precipitation turned to a heavy downpour, halted some fantastic racing. Tyler Reddick led as the red flag flew on Sunday.
Resuming the next day on Monday, Bubba Wallace inherited the lead after pit stops, and spent 21 laps out front. Wallace was passed by Martin Truex Jr, who led 47 laps at the helm until a late race pit stop.
In the final pit cycle, Chris Buescher claimed the lead, notably gapping Truex Jr, by six seconds on track. After executing a 9.8-second pit stop, Truex Jr, gained time and was in striking range of Buescher with the laps winding down.
Swerving low and high, while using every lane and all factors of aerodynamics, Buescher held the lead. A late push by MTJ wasn’t enough to cap off what was shaping up to be another Monday Massacre from the 43-year-old.
This win was the first for the organization at Michigan since Greg Biffle in 2013. In addition, this is the first time the #17 team has won consecutive races since Matt Kenseth did so at Daytona and Auto Club, back in the first two races of the 2009 season.
Prior to the completion of today’s race, the biggest storyline was the struggles of Hendrick Motorsports, notably wrecking out three entries; Chase Elliott (P: 36th), William Byron (P: 35th), and Alex Bowman (P: 33rd). The lone finishing HMS entry was Kyle Larson in fifth.
One of the biggest hits on the two-day affair for HMS was Elliott, who entered the weekend 20th in points and fell to 21st, 55 points off the cut. Teammate Alex Bowman is now -44 points back, and 20th in the standings.
Both drivers are looking to make their way into the playoffs after some early-season injuries hampered their efforts. This mediocre Michigan run puts both drivers in almost certain must-win situations with three races left until the playoffs.
With three weeks remaining, Bubba Wallace finished 18th after spending several laps up front and added to his points cushion above the cutline in 15th, 54 points to the good.
Rookie Ty Gibbs, in a weekend that showcased his best-ever Cup qualifying position at 3rd, finished 11th and is now 16th, three points above Michael McDowell, who’s 17th in points.
Daniel Suarez finished inside the top 10 and is now 18th in the standings, five points behind Ty Gibbs.
A.J. Allmendinger finished 26th, but stayed ahead of the Hendrick teammates of Elliott and Bowman and holds onto 19th, 24 points back.
This weekend, now turned Monday in Michigan, was special. After losing Auto Club, fans were left with a bittersweet taste of two-mile oval shaped tracks. Luckily, Michigan is still around once a year in August.
After showing speeds over 200 mph all weekend long, a perfectly aging surface gave drivers and teams a challenge, but fans pure entertainment. 2023’s Michigan race should be considered a top-3 race on the season, if not the best through 22 previous race weekends.
Till next time, the Brooklyn, Michigan track has carried on the legacy in two-mile high speed races, and provided an excellent squeal to the final Auto Club race. Although we’ll have to wait until next season, Michigan should never be touched, and remain on the NASCAR schedule for years to come.
As the summer fades away, the regular season starts as well. Three races remain, as in reality two spots are up for grabs. Kevin Harvick (+180) and Brad Keselowski (+168), are essentially locked in on points with a decent finish next weekend— after recording eighth, and fourth place finishes in today’s race.
Now done with intermediate tracks until September, two road courses and one superspeedway remain.
The final stretch starts with the Indianapolis Road Course, in a weekend that could be the final for the Roval layout barring 2024 schedule changes. But in reality, road racing in NASCAR brings new faces to the sport, which will showcase Australian SuperCar drivers Brodie Kostecki and Chicago Street Course winner Shane Van Gisbergen. Along with this, Formula 1 star Jenson Button and endurance racer Kamui Kobayashi fill out the 39 car field.
As time runs thin, desperation to make the 2023 playoff field ramps up. The chaos of Indy could produce a surprise winner or seal the playoff hopes of some drivers.
We’ll see who upholds the tradition of kissing the bricks in Indianapolis next weekend.
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The Slow Restart 