Race To The Playoffs: Four races to go, four open postseason spots

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 13 different Cup winners, which is tied with the 1988, ‘00, ‘01, and ’21 seasons for the third-most winners through the first 22 races of a season in the Modern Era (1972-Present). With Shane Van Gisbergen not eligible for the postseason, 12 drivers have earned a spot in the Playoffs leaving just four positions still up for grabs as the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for race No. 23 of the year.

Just four races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and tensions are running high in the garage for the competitors that haven’t secured their spot in the postseason. Currently, the final four remaining transfer Playoff spots on points are occupied by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (13th, +182 points above the cutline), RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (14th, +151 points above the cutline), 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (15th, +54 points above the cutline), and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell (16th, +18 points above cutline).

Heading into Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, several former winners at the track will be looking to return to Victory Lane this weekend, especially those that are winless this season. Of that group, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick bolsters the most success at the two-mile track with wins in all three of NASCAR’s national series; including the series-most among active drivers (six) in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also has a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2003) and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011). Harvick and Kyle Busch are the only two active drivers with wins in all three NASCAR national series at Michigan.

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (two wins), Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (one win), Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (one win) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (one win) each have NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at Michigan International Speedway, and all four need a win this season to get into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. In last season’s Cup race, Keselowski finished 15th, Dillon finished 13th, Ty Gibbs finished 10th and Allmendinger did not compete in the event.

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola each have NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins at Michigan and are looking for their first wins of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. In last year’s Cup race, Almirola finished 34th due to an incident and Wallace finished runner-up to Kevin Harvick.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has one last shot at going back-to-back at Michigan

Needing a win to secure his spot in the Playoffs this season, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick revisits Michigan International Speedway with hopes of returning to Victory Lane this weekend and making it back-to-back victories at the two-mile facility. Harvick is one of 11 different drivers to win consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, and this weekend looks to get his second set of back-to-back wins, he earned his first in the consecutive Michigan races during the pandemic in 2020. With Harvick announcing his retirement at the end of the season, this will be his last run at the 2-mile track.

 

Drivers with consecutive wins at Michigan:

• Bobby Allison (1971 sweep),
• David Pearson (1972 sweep – 1973), (1974-1975),
• Cale Yarborough (1983 sweep),
• Bill Elliott (1985 sweep – 1986 sweep),
• Bobby Labonte (1995 sweep),
• Mark Martin (1997-1998),
• Ryan Newman (2003-2004),
• Greg Biffle (2004-2005), (2012-2013)
• Kyle Larson won three-straight at Michigan (2016-2017).
• Kevin Harvick (2019, 2020-1, 2020-2) – only driver to win in consecutive days at a single track.

 

The 47-year-old from Bakersfield, California, Harvick, is currently ranked 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff outlook, 182 points ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs in 17th – the first spot outside the postseason cutoff. In 22 starts this season, Harvick has put up one stage win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

Last season, Harvick only led the final 38 laps of the race after taking the lead coming off pit road during the final caution’s pitstops. He would hold on to win his sixth race at the track – most among active drivers. In total, Harvick has made 42 starts at the two-mile track, posting six wins (2010, 2018, 2019, 2020-1, 2020-2, 2022), including four of the last five races, 16 top fives and 22 top 10s. His average finish at Michigan is 10.952 – second best among active drivers.

Chase Elliott is 15/1 to win at Michigan, desperate and yes, 15/1

 

9 CHASE ELLIOTT   Age: 27 (Nov. 28, 1995)   Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia   Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia   Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson   Standings: 20th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1   Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Michigan International Speedway media center on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 11:45 a.m. local time. IRISH HILLS NUMBERS: Heading into this weekend, Chase Elliott holds the best all-time average finish (8.00) of NASCAR Cup Series drivers with more than two starts at Michigan International Speedway. He has placed inside the top 10 in 10 of his 12 career Cup starts there – tied with Martinsville Speedway for his most top 10s at a track. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has also collected three top-five finishes at the Irish Hills track – all of which are runner-up results – and has paced the field for 144 laps.      RUNNER-UP FINISHERS: Elliott is in good company as one of five drivers with the most runner-up finishes at Michigan before their first win at the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon also earned three second-place results before capturing his first win on the Irish Hills oval (1998). Elliott joins Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte in having three runner-up results without a win at the Brooklyn, Michigan, venue.    SOLID ON 2-MILERS: On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 20th Cup start on a 2-mile oval (Auto Club Speedway and Michigan). In his 19 previous Cup Series starts on this track length, Elliott has earned five top-five finishes – including four runner-up efforts – and 14 top-10s. In his most recent start at Auto Club earlier this season, the 27-year-old driver finished stage one in ninth and stage two in seventh before taking the checkered flag in the second position.     BUILDING CONSISTENCY: Over the last seven races in the 2023 season, Elliott holds the best average finish (8.56) and has earned the fourth-most points (215). He has three top-five finishes and four top-10s in that span, with a best finish of third coming at the Chicago Street Course. In addition, the 2020 Cup Series champion has completed 100% of the laps in those seven events, one of only four drivers to do so.     GUSTAFSON AT MICHIGAN: Alan Gustafson is set to call his 35th Michigan Cup Series race from atop the pit box on Sunday, just one day after his 48th birthday. In his previous 34 starts at the venue with five different drivers (Elliott, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Casey Mears), Gustafson has collected two wins (Martin in 2009 and Gordon in 2014), five top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and 370 laps led. For the 2014 victory, Gustafson’s team started from the pole position. Gordon’s qualifying lap that weekend of 206.558 mph still stands as the fastest-ever qualifying speed that did not occur at a superspeedway.     PLAYOFF OUTLOOK: With just four races left in the regular season, Elliott currently sits 20th in the driver point standings and is 40 points below the provisional cutline to advance to the Cup Series playoffs. Last weekend at Richmond Raceway, the 2020 Cup champion gained 16 points on the cutline and has been impressive on the four tracks coming up on the schedule. In addition to three runner-up results at Michigan, Elliott has a best finish of fourth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, two wins at Watkins Glen International and two second-place efforts at Daytona International Speedway. A victory would lock the driver of the No. 9 into the postseason. Stage points and strong finishes will also be key over the next four weekends to keep the five-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver in the hunt to point his way in.     GET UP AND GO: NAPA Auto Parts is back on board the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Michigan. The Atlanta-based company has been the primary partner for Elliott for all but three of his Cup starts on the 2-mile oval, including all three of his runner-up finishes. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet here. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Michigan: "Michigan (International Speedway) is an important race on the schedule with it being close to Detroit. It’s also a part of the country I really enjoy during the summer months and I’m looking forward to going up there. It would be great to go there this weekend, get a win for Team Chevy and lock ourselves into the playoffs." Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what the team can take from the strong run at Auto Club Speedway to use at Michigan this weekend: "Yeah, we had a really good run. Fontana's so rough. The track surfaces are so different. The shapes are similar, but the surface is different. I do think there's some things that we can use as general guidelines, but you can't fine tune it because the surfaces are just so much different. It does make me optimistic that we can have the same success this weekend." Gustafson, on what it takes to run well at Michigan: "Michigan, it’s an interesting balance between, it’s fast but your car still has to handle well and drive good, and you're just on the throttle for so long. So, having the car secure enough to run a lot of throttle through the corners is really the key."

Michigan’s Irish Hills welcomes the NASCAR Cup Series

Victory Lane has had a rotating door this season with 13 different NASCAR Cup Series winners through 22 races, and excluding Shane Van Gisbergen, who ineligible for the postseason, 12 of the winners have secured their spot in the Playoffs heading into this Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (August 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio); including last weekend’s Richmond Raceway winner Chris Buescher. With four races left in the regular season, each of these final starts are imperative for contenders to position themselves in a good place as the postseason approaches.

Challenging the competitors this week will be the massive Michigan International Speedway, which sits on more than 1,400 acres in the “Irish Hills” of southeastern Michigan. Ground-breaking for the facility took place on September 28, 1967 and the two-mile asphalt paved track with 18 degrees of banking in the turns was created – the only track with those dimensions on the schedule.

The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway was held on June 15, 1969, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Mercury at an average speed of 139.254 mph.

The NASCAR Cup Series events at Michigan International Speedway have been run at multiple different lengths. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan was 500 miles in length; the second was scheduled for 600 – but was shortened due to weather and only ran 330 miles. Michigan was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 – with the race distance being 402 miles. All other races have been scheduled for 400 miles, except for the two 2020 races during the pandemic that were 312 miles each and run on consecutive days.

Michigan International Speedway has hosted a total of 105 NASCAR Cup Series races producing 51 different pole winners and 39 different race winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in wins at Michigan with nine victories (1969, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 sweep, 1978). Kevin Harvick (2010, 2018, 2019, 2020-1, 2020-2, 2022) leads all active series drivers in wins at Michigan with six victories. Six of the 39 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Michigan are active this weekend.

 

Active Michigan Race Winners	Wins	Seasons
Kevin Harvick	6	2022, 2020 sweep, 2019, 2018, 2010
Joey Logano	3	2019, 2016, 2013
Kyle Larson	3	2017 sweep, 2016
Denny Hamlin	2	2011, 2010
Ryan Blaney	1	2021
Kyle Busch	1	2011

 

A total of 51 different drivers have qualified on the pole at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with 10 poles (1969, 1974 sweep, 1975, 1976, 1977 sweep, 1978 sweep and 1979). Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Michigan with four (2013, 2016 sweep, 2019). And seven of the 51 NASCAR Cup Series Michigan pole winners are active this weekend.

 

Active Michigan Pole Winners	Poles	Seasons
Joey Logano	4	2019, 2016 sweep, 2013
Brad Keselowski	2	2019, 2017
Bubba Wallace	1	2022
Denny Hamlin	1	2018
Kyle Larson	1	2017
Kevin Harvick	1	2014
JJ Yeley	1	2007

The NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity kicks off with practice on Saturday, August 5 at 12:35 p.m. ET directly followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 1:20 p.m. ET at Michigan International Speedway – both events can be viewed on the NBC Sports App at 12:30 p.m. ET.

The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more NASCAR Cup Series winners (22) than any other starting position at Michigan International Speedway: 21 winners from the pole and one from the first starting position due to qualifying being cancelled – 1985 (Bill Elliott). The most recent driver to win from the pole at Michigan was Joey Logano in 2019. The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Michigan is 32nd, by NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin in the spring of 2009.

 

Kyle Larson is last Chevy to win at Michigan, 7/1 to win this week

 

5 KYLE LARSON   Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)   Hometown: Elk Grove, California   Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina   Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels   Standings: 8th

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1   MICHIGAN MAN: Kyle Larson has a strong NASCAR Cup Series track record at Michigan International Speedway. The 31-year-old earned his first-ever Cup Series victory at the 2-mile track in 2016, a win that was part of a streak of three consecutive triumphs in the Irish Hills (and also the last three Cup wins for Chevrolet at this track). The moderately-banked D-shaped speedway is the winningest venue in the premier series for the 2021 Cup Series champion and he is tied for the second-most wins among active drivers there. In his 14 starts at Michigan, Larson has three victories, six top-five finishes, eight top-10s, led 220 laps and completed 2,570 of his 2,676 laps attempted (96%). UP FRONT IN THE GREAT LAKE STATE: The Elk Grove, California, native has a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes at Michigan. That is the third-longest streak among active drivers in the series. In that same span, he has an average finish of 4.33. In the last two Cup Series races at Michigan, Larson has run the most laps in the top five (261) and the second-most laps in the top 10 (330).  BACK & BETTER: Larson knows how to help his organization rebound from tough performances. In two of the last three races where a Hendrick Motorsports driver has not finished in the top 10, a driver from the Rick Hendrick-owned team won the next race. In April, Larson won at Martinsville Speedway after the organization was shutout of the top 10 in the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last year, he was victorious at Homestead-Miami Speedway after the organization did not score a top 10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  2-MILE KYLE: Larson has the third-most wins (five) on 2-mile tracks among active Cup Series drivers. Currently, the Cup Series schedule is home to two 2-mile tracks: Michigan and Auto Club Speedway. In addition to his three Michigan wins, Larson has two victories at Auto Club. His combined win total at the two tracks is tied for 11th-best among all drivers.  FOUR RACES REMAINING: With four races remaining in the 2023 regular season, Larson has earned the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team a spot in the playoffs for the third season in a row. He has won two points-paying races (Richmond Raceway and Martinsville) and the non points-paying All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He has claimed nine top-five finishes (the most of all drivers), 10 top-10s and three stage wins. Larson has led the third-most laps (622) in 2023, which is a category teammate William Byron (810) leads. He also has run the fourth-most laps in the top-five (2,078) and top 10 (3,285) and has the fifth-best average running position in the top series (12.29). In addition, Larson is tied with Byron for the best average starting position (9.77) this season.  FOUR TIRES FAST: Through 22 races, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com pit crew has the third-fastest four-tire average pit stop time (11.113 seconds). Their four-tire stop of 9.281 seconds on lap 93 at Nashville Superspeedway in June is the fourth-fastest four-tire stop of the season. The No. 5 team’s five-man pit crew consists of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer). Rod Cox is currently filling in for Teague, who is week-to-week as he rehabs a knee injury. EXTRACURRICULAR: In addition to his full-time Cup Series schedule, Larson often races dirt during the week. On Tuesday, Larson competed in the High Limit Sprint Car Series race at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Indiana. This is a series that he co-founded with brother-in-law Brad Sweet. The No. 57 sprint car driver finished in second at the checkered flag. For the full High Limit Series schedule, click here. SHOP HENDRICKCARS.COM THIS SUMMER: Does this summer’s travel plans have you considering upgrading your vehicle? Shop one of Hendrick Automotive Group's 95 dealerships nationwide. Customers can also shop from the convenience of their home selecting the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IS HIRING: Join 10,000+ others nationwide in working at Hendrick Automotive Group. The company is hiring technicians and other positions at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Individuals who are interested can apply at HendrickCars.com. Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the significance Michigan International Speedway has had in his career: "Our team is looking forward to running at Michigan (International Speedway) this weekend. My first ever NASCAR Cup Series win was at Michigan, so it’s certainly a special place to me. With only two 2-mile tracks on the schedule, our team is looking for redemption following Fontana (Auto Club Speedway). I’ve had two solid top-10 finishes with the No. 5 team in my last two starts, so I hope to be able to repeat that. The team has been putting in hard work at the shop to build a fast HendrickCars.com Chevy, so I’m eager to hit the track and give it our best." Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Michigan: "We are definitely looking forward to Michigan (International Speedway). It’s a super fast track. Lots of wide-open throttle time but your car also has to handle good. It’s (Michigan) got it’s own unique challenges but we have a lot of confidence in our engine shop. They have been giving us great engines and obviously that has a big impact at this track. We’ve got to do a good job of putting a good car under Kyle (Larson) and let him do his thing. Hopefully, we can go have a nice solid (race) day."