NASCAR postpones remainder of Cup Series event at Michigan to Monday due to inclement weather

The remainder of the 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the site of the 24th event of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, has been postponed to Monday, August 19, and the coverage will resume at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network.

The news comes as the event, which was scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 18, endured and ultimately lost a daylong battle against Mother Nature, with on-track precipitation initially delaying the event’s start for more than two hours. The precipitation had also been present for the majority of the weekend and caused the event’s practice and qualifying sessions to be canceled, with the starting lineup determined through the NASCAR Rule Book.

Once the event commenced under green flag conditions at 4:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, it reached the conclusion of the first stage period that ended on Lap 45 and was won by the reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.

Prior to the start of the second stage period, however, the event was waved off from restarting under green flag conditions multiple times due to on-track precipitation slowly and steadily returning to the Michigan venue. After running select laps under caution, NASCAR then directed the field to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period on Lap 51 of 200.

With no signs of relief being detected within the forecast that would allow the event to reach the halfway mark before Sunday evening at 8:20 p.m. ET, which would be at Lap 100 or Lap 120 for the conclusion of the second stage period, the event’s postponement was announced just past 6 p.m. ET.

This season marks the second consecutive time that the Cup Series’ annual event at Michigan has been postponed to the following day after its initial scheduled date of Sunday. It also marks the third consecutive season where the event has been delayed due to on-track precipitation overall. A year ago, the Cup Michigan event was postponed from Sunday to Monday after completing 74 of 200 laps, where Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher would proceed to win the event.

Currently, Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion who is pursuing his first victory at Michigan, is the leader when the race resumes on Monday morning. Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastin, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano are all scored in the top 10, respectively. In addition, all 36 starters are scored on the lead lap.