The conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway has been postponed to Monday, August 7, due to ongoing inclement weather that delayed the start of the racing event and has hindered hopes of the event being concluded on Sunday, August 6.
The green flag for the event on Sunday was initially set to wave at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network until on-track precipitation stalled the planned start for more than 90 minutes. NASCAR, though, was able to have the competitors fire the engines at 4:05 once the weather cleared and the field led by pole-sitter Christopher Bell and front-row starter Ross Chastain commenced the event under green at 4:12.
By Lap 73, however, NASCAR drew a caution amid reports of rain reoccurring around the speedway and the field led by Tyler Reddick was directed to pit road and placed in red flag period on Lap 74 of 200, 26 laps shy of the halfway distance and 46 laps shy of the second stage’s conclusion. With the ongoing precipitation along with heavy fog increasing steadily as the delay expanded beyond an hour, NASCAR made the decision to resume the remainder of the event for the following day.
Currently, Tyler Reddick, who assumed the lead on Lap 70, is the leader followed by Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones while Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin are scored in the top 10. In addition, 32 of 37 starters are scored on the lead lap while a handful of big names that include Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Josh Berry, who is filling in as an interim competitor for Legacy Motor Club in place of the suspended Noah Gragson, are out of the event amid early on-track incidents. In addition, the event has been mired with six caution periods and nine lead changes for seven different leaders.
The remainder of the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway will resume on Monday, August 7, at noon ET on USA Network.
