FireKeepers Casino 400: Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Mich. – August 19, 2024
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG
START: 23RD STAGE ONE: 27TH STAGE TWO: 30TH FINISH: 28TH POINTS: 19TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 28th in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway Monday afternoon, concluding an extended weekend in the Irish Hills due to inclement weather disruptions. Cindric started 23rd on Sunday after Saturday’s time trials were canceled. The driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang provided his first bit of feedback under caution on Lap 38, informing the team that the car “freed up after the first 10 laps and then stabilized.” He pitted for four tires, fuel and a small adjustment and restarted 23rd on Lap 42. As rain loomed, Stage 1 came to a close and the No. 2 finished 27th. A fierce band of rain moved in over the two-mile track, ultimately leading to the postponement of the remainder of the race to Monday morning. Shortly after returning to green-flag racing, Cindric got into the wall on Lap 81, sustaining slight damage to his Discount Tire Ford Mustang. He pressed forward until crew chief Brian Wilson called him to pit road for two right-side tires and fuel, electing to wait until later to fully assess the damage. A caution for debris late in the segment allowed the 25-year-old driver to return to pit road for a four-tire service, and an additional time for the team to diagnose and put the damage repair plan into action. Cindric was scored 30th as Stage 2 finished under caution. Following a fuel-only stop under the break, Cindric restarted 29th for the final segment, eventually gaining one position in the running order before the checkered flag flew.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, it was a bit of a frustrating day at Michigan because I felt like it was going to be a good opportunity for us. I felt like we had a top-10 car with the Discount Tire Ford Mustang, but we just had to get there. We had solid track position at times but I got in the wall and got some damage. The team did a great job trying to work on the car, but that was on me just losing the back of the car.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/DUTCH BOY FORD MUSTANG
START: 8TH STAGE ONE: 1ST STAGE TWO: 10TH FINISH: 18TH POINTS: 5TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney settled for an 18th-place finish Monday afternoon following a weather-impacted weekend for the Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway. After rain impacted the start of the 400-mile event Sunday afternoon, Blaney battled inside the top-10 for the opening run before making his way up to fifth on the leaderboard by the time of the first caution on lap 38. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler made the call to leave Blaney on track while several of the leaders hit pit road, allowing the No. 12 to assume the lead as the field lined up to take the green with three laps to go in Stage 1. Blaney powered his way to the front from the outside lane on the restart and went on to take the green-and-white checkered flag for his third stage win of the season. A second band of rain made its way to the track prior to the start of Stage 2 as officials waved off the restart before the race was suspended on lap 52 and scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Monday. Under clear skies Monday morning, Blaney took the green flag from 24th and quickly made his way up the leaderboard over the course of the long, green flag run. Hassler opted to run long during the pit cycle, allowing Blaney to take the lead on lap 94 before the Menards/Dutch Boy Ford hit pit road with 20 to go in the stage for four tires and a round of adjustments. Blaney rejoined the field without losing a lap and the caution came out shortly after on lap 109 while scored 13th. Hassler called in a two-tire stop under yellow as Blaney was third off pit road and lined up to restart ninth as a handful of the leaders stayed out to go after the stage win. After taking the green with three to go in the segment, a multi-car incident in the middle of the pack unraveled off of turn four to bring the stage to an end under caution with Blaney scored 10th. Blaney cycled to fourth in the running order after staying on track during the stage caution and battled inside the top-five during the ensuing run. A scheduled four tire stop under green with 37 laps remaining resulted in Blaney cycling to eighth on the leaderboard with 11 to go before the caution flag flew with just six laps left, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. A single-car incident on the backstretch during the first attempt brought the field back together one last time and Blaney lined up from the outside of row four. After taking the white flag, Blaney found himself on the outside of a three-wide battle into turn one when the No. 9 slid up a made contact with the left front, causing him to lose his momentum before taking the checkered flag 18th.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “The finish doesn’t show the type of day we had, for sure. We had a solid Menards/Dutch Boy Ford all weekend and executed our strategy in both stages to gain some ground points-wise. We’re looking forward to getting to Daytona and building some more momentum heading into the final stretch.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 14TH STAGE ONE: 16TH STAGE TWO: 29TH FINISH: 33RD POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was involved in a multi-car incident in the closing laps of Stage 2 that brought the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford’s day to an early end at Michigan International Speedway, resulting in a 33rd-place finish Monday. The green flag waved on the FireKeepers Casino 400 Sunday afternoon after rain delayed the original start time as Logano maintained his starting position of 14th for a majority of the opening stage. Following a caution on lap 38, Logano took the green flag from 14th with three laps to go in the stage before coming away with a 16th-place result. After staying out during the stage break, rainfall again approached the track as the Stage 2 restart was waived off and cars were brought down pit road on lap 52, ultimately delaying the remainder of the race until Monday morning. When the action resumed at the two-mile oval shortly after 11 a.m., Logano worked his way into the top-10 despite a tight-handling condition in the corners. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call to run long during the green flag cycle before bringing Logano down pit road on lap 95 while running second for four tires, fuel, and a round of adjustments. Just over 10 laps into the ensuing run, Logano had a right rear tire go down off of turn two and the caution came out shortly after. However, Logano was penalized for too fast entering on pit road and went a lap down as a result. On the opening lap of the following restart – with Logano starting at the tail-end of the field – the No. 5 spun in front of the pack in turn four to set off a multi-car incident as the No. 22 suffered front-end damage while trying to check up. After Logano brought the Shell-Pennzoil Ford to pit road, the 22-team found terminal damage to the radiator to bring their day to an abrupt end.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “We had that right-rear tire go flat right before [the wreck], which put us back there down a lap and then I think [Kyle Larson] just spun out in front of me and kind of caused a big wad and a Daytona-type crash. There was nowhere to really go. I couldn’t steer it left, so I just committed to maybe if I could slow it down enough, I could center punch it, and it wouldn’t be that bad. That was my only option there. Unfortunately, we got knocked out a little early. We were fighting for probably a top-10. We weren’t that great. If there were more wrecks we could maybe have ended up with a top-five but we will move on.”
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Saturday, August 24, for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
