FireKeepers Casino 400 finish postponed to Monday
BROOKLYN, Mich. — The NASCAR Cup Series’ FireKeepers Casino 400 will finish Monday at Michigan International Speedway due to rain.
The race will restart Monday at 11 a.m ET on USA, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The 36-car field completed 51 of 200 laps Sunday.
FireKeepers Casino 400 recap (so far)
Kyle Larson took the lead from polesitter Denny Hamlin with a bold, three-wide move entering turn three on the first lap. Larson held the lead for 34 laps until Bubba Wallace made a bold, three-wide move himself as Larson and Hamlin raced side-by-side for the lead.
Hamlin tried rallying back to the lead but spun exiting turn four on lap 39. That brought out the first caution, setting up a restart with 42 laps complete — with three to go in the stage.
Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton stayed out and led the field to the restart. Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano were the first seven drivers on new tires, in eighth through 14th.
Blaney, who stayed out, won stage one. Elliott, who pitted, finished second.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 45): Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain
Blaney, Byron, Buescher and Keselowski pitted during the stage break. Daniel Suarez, who finished 11th in stage one, also pitted.
The race was about to go green to start stage two when rain came and washed the remainder of the race to Monday.
FireKeepers Casino 400 Running Order
With 51 of 200 laps complete:
- Chase Elliott (four laps led)
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Bubba Wallace (led five laps)
- Alex Bowman
- Tyler Reddick
- Kyle Busch
- Kyle Larson (led 34 laps)
- Ross Chastain
- Chase Briscoe
- Joey Logano
- Christopher Bell
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Corey LaJoie
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Todd Gilliland
- Denny Hamlin
- Daniel Hemric
- Cody Ware
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Austin Cindric
- Michael McDowell
- Ryan Preece
- Ryan Blaney (led eight laps)
- Chris Buescher
- Zane Smith
- William Byron
- Austin Dillon
- Daniel Suarez
- Brad Keselowski
- Ty Gibbs
- Erik Jones
- Harrison Burton
- Carson Hocevar
- Justin Haley
- Josh Berry
Berry received the free pass during the first caution and is back on the lead lap.
Not the first time for Michigan…
Last year, drivers completed 74 laps Sunday before rain hit. They ran the final 126 laps the following day, ending with Chris Buescher going to victory lane.
Over the last 21 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, including 2024, rain has affected 10 of the last 38 Michigan races.
Postponed races
Four times in the last 21 seasons has rain pushed some or all of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan to another day, including 2023 and 2024.
In 2007, rain pushed the August race from Sunday to Monday and then to Tuesday when Kurt Busch took the checkered flag, finally.
Mother Nature was a little kinder to the June 2019 race. Rain pushed the race to Monday when Joey Logano brought Team Penske to another rain-delayed win at Michigan.
Races with caution(s) for rain
2021 was the first time Michigan had just one date. And lo and behold, there was a caution for rain in that race.
With 20 laps to go, a caution fell for rain, putting William Byron in the clutches of eventual winner Ryan Blaney.
2009 and 2010 races ran to completion despite at least one caution coming out for rain in each time.
In 2010, rain slowed the race for six laps after a caution on lap 61. The year before, only seven laps ran before a four-lap caution for rain. On lap 146, another caution fell for rain — this time for seven laps.
Kevin Harvick won in 2010 while Brian Vickers won on a fuel-mileage gamble in 2009.
Rain-shortened races
Three cautions fell for rain in the rain-shortened June races in 2006 and 2015.
In 2006, two cautions fell for rain — on lap 11 for seven laps and lap 55 for four laps — before the third caution for rain ended the race on lap 129. Kasey Kahne went to victory lane after all of that.
In 2015, three of the race’s five cautions were for rain. Kurt Busch won that day when rain brought the house down on lap 138.
Three years later, in June 2018, rain fell under a caution for a two-car wreck. After 133 laps, Clint Bowyer was the winner over then-Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Harvick and Busch.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com