Rain at Michigan International Speedway Sunday (8/18) caused two-thirds of the FireKeepers Casino 400 to be run on Monday (8/19). That rain-delayed race was thrilling for two drivers for sure!
Stage one of the Cup Series race in Michigan was high-speed racing with only one incident. Denny Hamlin lost control and went for a spin to bring out the caution flag with eight laps remaining in the stage. It set up a three-lap shoot-out for the end of the stage. Ryan Blaney was able to come away with the win in stage one.
Rain began falling at the track a handful of laps into stage two. That caused NASCAR to issue the red flag and park the cars on pit road. When it became obvious that the rain would not allow the race to continue that day, NASCAR made the decision to postpone the race until Monday.
Kyle Larson had shown from the start of the race that he had a car that could contend for the win. He was one of 16 drivers that would exchange the lead 26 times in the race. He was also the driver to lead the most laps at 41 laps out front. However, near the end of stage two, Kyle would spin in the pack and collect six other cars in the process ending his day. Kyle Busch claimed the win in stage two under the yellow flag.
The final stage of the race again had plenty of side-by-side racing with drafting and passing at 200mph. There was also the scare of watching Corey LaJoie’s car flip upside down at those high speeds. His car slid a long way on the roof before hitting the grass, flipping again and landing on its wheels. Luckily, Corey was shaken but not badly injured in the incident.
The race became one of pit strategy to determine who would be near the front with a chance to win at the end. However, that was somewhat changed when an accident sent the race into a NASCAR overtime of a Green-White-Checkered finish. When the green flag waived there was another incident causing a second attempt at an overtime finish.
When the green flag waived for the second overtime re-start, Ty Gibbs pushed Tyler Reddick out to the lead. That was all Tyler needed to keep that advantage and win his second race of the 2024 season. It was Tyler’s seventh career Cup Series win.
William Byron was able to claim a runner-up finish with Ty Gibbs taking home third-place. See the complete race results for the FireKeepers Casino 400 here.
The win moved Tyler Reddick up a spot to the top of the point standings. Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin each moved up a spot as well to second and third respectively. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings after the race at Michigan International Speedway here.
With just two races remaining before the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin, every point is important. The next chance to add to the points and possibly get a win to get in is Saturday night, August 24th in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
