Multiple cars going to NASCAR R&D Center after Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Four cars that raced Sunday and Monday at Michigan International Speedway will go back to the NASCAR R&D Center for inspection.
Ty Gibbs – Finished third (led two laps)
Gibbs started 19th and finished there in stage one, even as strategies shuffled the running order around.
Come Monday, it was obvious Gibbs’ car liked the sunnier conditions better. He restarted 30th and made up 16 spots in the 54 laps of green-flag racing that followed.
Needing some stage points to fend off Ross Chastain and other competitors on the bubble, Gibbs stayed out and restarted behind Chastain. The call worked as Gibbs finished third in the stage, behind Chastain, only allowing him to gain one point.
In the final stage, Gibbs stayed out. He challenged William Byron at times but ultimately settled in the top-3 until lap 160 when he pitted to round out a 59-lap run on fuel (made possible partially because of 20 caution laps).
After everybody made their stops in the final stage, Gibbs sat third. In overtime, he was a big help for Tyler Reddick, who went to victory lane while Gibbs finished third.
“I feel like we definitely were in contention for sure. I needed to get up sooner off of two to clear the 24. Just missed it by a little bit. After that, it takes a lap to get momentum,” Gibbs said. “It definitely is good to have a good points day. Definitely wish we could have won and locked ourselves in but thankful to be here and thankful to have a good day.”
Chris Buescher – Finished sixth
Buescher started 18th but showed early on that he had speed. Just before the first caution fell on lap 39, he jumped to ninth. After staying out and getting a strong restart on lap 43, he gained seven more spots and was in second.
At the end of stage two a few laps later, Buescher ended up in fifth – bagging six important stage points to pad his advantage on the cutline.
A lack of track position was no problem for Buescher in stage two. During a race-high 54-lap green-flag run, he methodically moved from 24th to 10th before another late-stage caution fell.
This time, Buescher stayed out. But that was almost a grave mistake.
Kyle Larson spun in front of a big group of cars, including Buescher, setting off a multi-car wreck. As Buescher tried avoiding, Todd Gilliland rammed into him, sending him spinning and causing damage.
Buescher was behind the 8-ball again. But again, he worked his way from 25th to 19th during an 11-lap run that preceded a caution on lap 139. Under caution, he jumped to 10th on a two-tire call and then to seventh 14 laps after the restart.
When all the strategies sorted themselves out, Buescher was 14th. He had another chance when he pitted for tires during a caution that fell with six laps to go for Martin Truex Jr.’s incident in turn four.
Buescher passed his fair share of cars in the overtime restarts and finished sixth in one of his better showings recently.
“It was a good strategy call. it was a good move to do something different. Our chance at winning went away when we got damage on all four corners of our car in that wreck. Our balance went away but we passed a ton of cars on that pit call. What a way to salvage what could’ve been a bad day,” he said.
Daniel Suarez – Finished eighth (led seven laps)
MORE: Suárez shows more signs of life as playoffs approach
Alex Bowman – Finished 27th, one lap down
Bowman started 22nd and had a similar rally as Buescher, jumping to 15th before the first caution. The Hendrick Motorsports driver finished 11th in stage one but ran inside the top-10 throughout stage two. Again, in stage two, he finished 11th, just missing out on bonus points.
10th-15th was about where Bowman ran all day until the first overtime attempt when contact put him in the wall and onto pit road for repairs. 27th, one lap down was all he could show for the day.
Corey LaJoie’s car will also go back to the R&D Center – but under different circumstances.
MORE: NASCAR to further evaluate Corey LaJoie’s car after bizarre flip
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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