BROOKLYN, Mich. — The NASCAR Cup Series makes its annual stop at Michigan Int’l Speedway with just three races remaining in the regular season. Here’s what to watch for:
Dillon Out Of The Playoffs
After controversially crashing Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to win last week’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, Austin Dillon is out of the Cup Series playoffs.
While the victory still stands, NASCAR stripped Dillon of his playoff eligibility and docked him and Richard Childress Racing 25 driver and owner points respectively. As Dillon dropped back to 31st in the championship standings, he’ll have to win one of the next three races to return to the playoff grid.
Additionally, his spotter, Brandon Benesch, was suspended for three races for encouraging Dillon to wreck both drivers on the radio. While RCR will appeal the team penalties, Benesch will begin serving his suspension this weekend. Veteran spotter Brett Griffin will fill in through the regular-season finale at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
According to Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition, NASCAR considered a variety of sanctions, including stripping Dillon of the win and a suspension. Ultimately, officials opted to rectify the ending of the race to the best of their ability.
The Bubble Grows Tighter
The playoff bubble quite literally couldn’t get any closer.
As it stands, Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain are tied for the final playoff spot on points with the tiebreaker favoring Chris Buescher. Chastain has lost ground over the last several weeks, mainly in part to three consecutive finishes outside the top 20 between Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. He did, however, score a top-five last week at Richmond.
Buescher has been up and down as of late, finishing no better than 11th but no worse than 22nd over the last four weeks. He’s the defending winner at Michigan – taking home a rain-delayed race that stretched into Monday last year.
Buescher owns the tiebreaker because of two second-place finishes, while Chastain’s best finish of the season is fourth.
Bubba Wallace sits 15th on the playoff grid at just three markers ahead. He’s recorded top fives in each of the last two races and had jumped from 15th to 12th in the overall championship standings.
Ty Gibbs is 14th on the playoff grid with an 18-point cushion, having finished 22nd or worse in each of the last three races. He won the pole and had one of the cars to beat at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month before suffering an engine failure that dropped him two spots in points.
Martin Truex Jr., who’s eighth in championship points, leads the winless drivers at 78 points above the cutline. He had an engine failure at Richmond last week and lost significant ground after coming into the race at +108.
Outside of those five drivers, nobody else can realistically point their way into the playoffs.
Four Drivers, 21 Points
Just 21 points separate four drivers for the regular-season title.
Kyle Larson continues to lead the way, pacing Tyler Reddick by five. He’s been in the top three in points since the Richmond spring race – and only dropped outside the top two after missing the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Reddick entered Richmond at third on the playoff grid but jumped up a spot after finishing third. He’s recorded results of sixth or better in each of the last six events.
Chase Elliott dropped a spot at the expense of Reddick but is still just six points behind Larson in third. Denny Hamlin is fourth at 21 points behind, finishing runner-up in two of the last three races after a stretch of five results outside the top 10.
Michigan Men
Two active drivers have found their way to victory three times in the Irish Hills.
Logano’s victories came in 2013, 2016 and 2019 – back when Michigan used to have two dates. Larson has also won thrice with his first victory coming back in 2016 with Chip Ganassi Racing. Each of his first three Cup Series victories were all at Michigan, including a sweep in 2017.
Hamlin has two victories at the two-mile oval but hasn’t been in victory lane since 2011. Outside of Buescher, Ryan Blaney (2021) and Kyle Busch (2011) also have victories.
Race Information
Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. According to published reports, it’s expected to be the final Cup race in the booth for play-by-play broadcaster Rick Allen before longtime NTT IndyCar Series voice Leigh Diffey takes over.
Stage breaks for the 200-lapper are at laps 45 and 120. The purse is $7,902,750.