Michigan Preview FireKeepers Casino 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Michigan International Speedway Sunday, June 12 for the FireKeepers Casino 400. Kurt Busch is the defending spring race winner and one of the drivers to watch this weekend.

Five to Watch:

Kurt Busch is headed to Michigan with the victory at Pocono in his rearview mirror. The driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet has finished in the top 10 in the last eight Sprint Cup races, with a total of 12 top 10s in 14 starts this year. He has three wins at Michigan, 2 poles, 5 top fives and 10 top 10s. His average finish is 20.6 with a driver rating of 90.9. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is currently second in points.

Quote – “Michigan is a sister track to Pocono,” Busch said. “I hope we can back up our win there that we had in last year’s race. We worked our way from the back in a backup car all the way to the front right at the right time. We got the lead and then the rain came. A lot of luck is involved in this day and age. We’ve got to have it all if we are going to position ourselves to win. Tony Gibson (crew chief) continues to give 100 percent as well as everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing to keep plugging away. It’s good that we are second in points. It feels nice.”

Kevin Harvick is the current points leader with one win at Phoenix and three runner-up finishes this season in the No. 4 SHR Chevy. He has eight top fives, 13 top 10s, one pole and an average finish this year of 11.864, the fourth best. In the last six races at Michigan, Harvick has five runner-up finishes.

Quote – “I think we’ve finished second there five of our last six races. That second-place thing we have going on is a good thing and a bad thing,” Harvick explained. “I learned a long time ago that sometimes those things happen, so it’s better to be on a second-place streak than a 10^th-place streak. The good thing about the racetrack is that it has definitely aged and the groove has spread out over the last couple of races, so you have a lot more options than you did a few years ago when they repaved it. Every time we go back there, it gets a little more racy. When we go back, this time, there should be lots of room to race and you’ll see lots of speed. As we go through the restarts and traffic and different things, we’ll have to see how it all goes, but it should be interesting.”

Matt Kenseth has the top driver rating of 104.2 at the 2-mile track. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has three wins at Michigan, including the August 2015 event. He also has one pole, 14 top fives and 20 top 10. His average finish of 10.818 at this track is the second-best.

Quote – “There’s been a lot of changes at Michigan”, said Kenseth. They’ve paved it, they’ve changed the tire, we’ve had different aero packages there the last few races, so I think this weekend with this aero package you’re going to need to be good in traffic and versatile enough to move around. Hopefully, the higher lines are going to start to come in as the track ages a little bit. It’s such a moving target at Michigan. Last time we raced there we had those really big spoilers and that high drag aero package where the hardest thing was passing. It was really hard to maneuver or do anything for that matter whenever you were behind someone. I don’t think it’s going to be like that this weekend though with the less downforce, I actually think that it’s going to be easier to pass. I think that the main thing that we’re going to need to keep up on is the race track, the different lines, and finding where the most grip is.”

Martin Truex Jr. is coming off a dominating win at Charlotte two weeks ago in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. He has two top five and six top ten finishes as well as two poles this season. Truex finished third in both races at Michigan last year and has an average finish of 16.5 at the track. After a disappointing finish at Pocono last week, Truex is looking for a comeback at Michigan.

Quote – “We didn’t hit it right in Pocono and had a couple weird incidents on pit road that prevented us from making any kind of move,” said Truex, who was the defending champion of the Pocono event. “You take what is given to you and move on. And right now it’s all about Michigan. Michigan is one of those tracks where we feel we can do well and contend for the win. I have had success there, had a couple of runner-up finishes and ran well in last year’s races.”

Carl Edwards has the series-best average finish of 9.636 at Michigan. The JGR driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry also has two wins, nine top fives, 16 top 10s and one pole at the two-mile track. He has the third-best driver rating of 101.4 and the third-best average running position of 10.943.

Quote – “I’m really looking forward to this weekend,” Kenseth said. “We get to go to a big, fast racetrack that is the site of my first Cup Series start. It’ll be fun for a number of reasons. This new even lower downforce package which I think everybody in the garage is excited to run. I’ve learned from the test that the corner speeds were down and the straightaway speeds were up so there’s going to be a little more driving involved and a little more opportunity to move around and try different things from the cockpit. That’s what I love about racing these cars so that will be fun. I also look at this track as a real test of where we’re at as a team. It’s a very fast racetrack. It’s smooth. It’s a real test of the car and how you can work with your crew chief to get the car setup. It’s a good challenge. I’ve had a lot of success here as a driver. I know how much all the manufacturers put into this race because it’s near Detroit and that would make a win really special here. We’ve had fast Toyotas all year. We ran okay at Pocono last week, but we’re hoping to step it up here in Michigan. We’ve got Subway on the car. I’ve been eating Subway sandwiches all week, so I’m filled up. It would be great to put them in Victory Lane this weekend.”

Wild Card:

Chase Elliott currently leads the Rookie of the Year standings. Through 14 races, he has five top fives and 10 top 10s. He is tied with his teammate Johnson for the most top-10 finishes through the first 14 races of a rookie season. It is only a matter of time before he breaks through to victory lane.

Quote – “I’m really proud of our team and the work that everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has put in this year,” Elliott commented. “We had four really fast cars at Pocono and I hope that’s a good sign for races to come. We certainly had one of our best days of the year there. For us to be able to contend and lead laps all day and have a car that could fight for the lead the majority of the day I thought was great. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum to Michigan this weekend. Michigan is a fast track with a lot of character. I’m looking forward to getting back there.”

The Odds:

The current odds as of Thursday, June 9 are listed below. Racing enthusiasts can also visit http://www.gamesandcasino.com/reviews/bovada-casino.htm (Bovado) for more information.