Of all of NASCAR’s big tracks – Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta – there’s one that’s consistently faster than all the rest.
In the Next Gen era, Michigan International Speedway has seen an average pole lap in qualifying at over 192 mph, a full 10 mph faster than Daytona with the restrictor plates. The 2-mile Michigan track is the perfect setup for speed, with long straights and enough banking to carry speed through the corners.
Even this is slower than performance of the last generation car, which regularly saw qualifying speeds over 200 mph up until 2018, but it’s plenty fast enough: In last year’s race, Corey Lajoie tagged Noah Gragson down the backstretch and turned sideways before inexplicably going airborne and flipping upside down. That’s the clearest demonstration of the real speed and intensity at this track even today.
Expect the same in Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, airing at 2 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Odds via BetMGM
+525 – Kyle Larson
+600 – Denny Hamlin
+650 – Ryan Blaney
+800 – William Byron
+850 – Tyler Reddick
+1000 – Christopher Bell
+1400 – Ross Chastain
+1600 – Joey Logano
+2000 – Chase Elliott
+2000 – Carson Hocevar
Austin Dillon said that the sense of speed at the track is immediately apparent from a driver’s perspective.
“Michigan is one of those places where you definitely feel the speed as soon as you get there,” he described. “Drafting plays a big role. You’re always trying to make moves and get big runs when you can.
“Getting to the pit road can be tricky because you’re coming in so fast, and it’s key to entering and exiting without any penalties. Michigan provides long green flag runs, and it’s hard to make up a lap there.”
It’s a consistent feeling, Chase Elliott added. Even as the car has changed and speeds have fluctuated through the years, the track surface has remained largely consistent.
“It’s always good to go to Michigan and have a good run. It’s certainly changed a lot over the years, just with how the cars have changed. But the race track itself is the most consistent place I’ve ever seen for a racetrack that has those hard winters. It just doesn’t seem to get old, which is kind of crazy,” Elliott described.
The track conditions include limited tire wear, creating those long green flag runs that Dillon alluded to as drivers and teams stretch fuel to their advantage, with little falloff meaning the speeds stay high throughout. Especially late in a tire run, that means the cars are on edge at the high speeds.
One driver who always looks forward to this type of racing is Kyle Larson, the odds-on favorite, who actually scored his first-ever Cup Series win at Michigan. While he’s now at 32 wins and still going strong, Michigan remains special.
“I always love going to Michigan. It’s the track I got my first NASCAR Cup Series win at. I’ve had quite a bit of success there and I think it’s a track that Hendrick Motorsports is usually strong at,” Larson said.
But Larson had another focus too. Michigan is the historic home of American auto manufacturing, and both Ford and Chevrolet want to pick up the trophy in their backyards. (Toyota, equally, would like to steal it for the California-based TRD.)
“With it being in Chevrolet’s backyard, we all want to be the one to get them that win,” Larson said. “Hopefully we can this weekend.”
Since 2013, the track has awarded the Michigan Heritage Trophy. Chevrolet has earned it six times, but not since 2017. Ford had a streak of nine consecutive wins between 2018 and 2023 before Toyota most recently stole it in 2024 with defending winner Tyler Reddick.
With three wins at Michigan, Larson is tied for the most among active drivers with Joey Logano, another perennial contender at Michigan. Logano is consistently fast at the fast tracks, whether superspeedways or big ovals like this one.
If you’re looking for a dark horse, Carson Hocevar has to be it. Although, at this point, can he even be a dark horse? In his sophomore season, he’s picked up two second-place finishes, and came oh-so-close to that first win in the Coke 600 (NASCAR’s longest and most grueling race, of all places) before his engine blew up in the final stages of the race.
In his debut start at Michigan last season, Hocevar started 11th and finished 10th, a strong performance for a rookie. He’ll be hoping for more this time.
One thing entirely new for this year is the In-Season Challenge bracket challenge. Drivers will be hunting for a $1 million prize over five races (coinciding with TNT’s portion of the coverage), but the three races beforehand, starting at Michigan, seed the brackets.
How exactly is it seeded? The top 32 drivers in points as of last race qualified, and then a driver’s best finish over any of the next three races determines their overall seed. For drivers with the same best finish, the tiebreakers are the next-best finishes in the other two races, and in the event that is the same then the drivers’ points positions.
It’s certainly a complicated new experiment, but NASCAR is hoping that the bracket (originally the brainchild of Denny Hamlin before being picked up by Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dirty Mo Media as a lighthearted fan activity that has now been adopted by NASCAR officially) will churn up interest for the middle of the season and give drivers a reason to race hard.
For Michigan, practice and qualifying will start from 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, airing on Amazon Prime, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Truck Series Returns to Michigan
It’s been four years since the Craftsman Truck Series has raced at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway, with the last event happening during the pandemic.
Since then, no current series full-timers have won at the track. Saturday’s DQS Solutions & Staffing 200 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics, airing at 12 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, is a chance to get that win.
The last four races in the series have seen a variety of winners: Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar moonlighting as well as series regulars Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, and Rajah Caruth.
It’s Heim who certainly has the momentum on his side. He has four wins this season (Chandler Smith, with two, is the next-highest on the win column) and leads in the standings by 122 points over Daniel Hemric in second and 125 points over Smith in third.
But, as has become the norm this year, the Truck field will have to face some Cup Series talent. Ross Chastain will be driving the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports and Carson Hocevar will be driving the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports.
Additionally, now-part-time Cup driver Corey Lajoie will make the first of nine starts this season in the No. 07 for Spire Motorsports. With thirteen races remaining in total for the season, it’s not quite a full-time end to the season, but it’s close.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the seat and chasing some Craftsman Truck Series wins,” Lajoie said when the announcement was made. “I put in a lot of work in the early days to help shape Spire Motorsports, and I still have some friends that have been there since day one, so it’ll be good to see them.
“The No. 07 team has been bringing some fast trucks to the track this year and are looking for a spot in the owner’s playoffs. It’ll be nice to have some consistency with the team to get acclimated to these vehicles, chase some wins and hopefully, a Truck Series owner’s championship.”
Practice and qualifying will start from 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, airing on FS1.
