The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Michigan this week for another high-speed race on an intermediate track. No more gimmicks with the “option tire” to help manufacture good racing. The race Sunday comes down to which driver can hold down the throttle the longest and navigate his way through traffic (the way racing should be). It should be fun to watch. The FireKeepers Casino 400 can be seen Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
The practice session Saturday was a mess. First, it was scheduled to be two groups on the track for 20-minutes. Then NASCAR changed it to one group for 40-minutes because of the threat of rain in the area. The cars finally got on the track for four minutes before it started to mist. Finally, the cars got back on the track with 25-minutes left in practice. The drivers got about 15-minutes of practice before the mist returned and the red flag was waived. We did get enough practice time to see which drivers had single-lap speed and five-lap average speed. I am just not sure we learned much with all of the start and stopping in practice.
*Qualifying was canceled because of rain.
Here is my starting lineup for the FireKeepers Casino 400 …
KYLE LARSON (4): Larson has been the best driver in the Cup Series on the large intermediate tracks this year. He won at Las Vegas, Kansas and Indianapolis. Larson posted the 3rd-fastest speed in practice, with the 2nd-fastest long-run speed. It looks like Larson has a car that can get to Victory Lane Sunday.
CHRIS BUESCHER (6): Buescher won this race last year and it looks like the No. 17 team brought another fast car to the track this weekend. Buescher posted the 9th-fastest speed in practice, but he starts deep in the field since qualifying was washed out. I am not worried about his starting position. Buescher is at the cut-line for the playoffs, so he needs as many points as possible or a win at Michigan. This should be a good race to play the No. 17 car in your Driver Group Game lineup.
BUBBA WALLACE (8): I rolled the dice with Wallace last week and he rewarded me with a fourth-place finish. Can Wallace finish back-to-back races in the top-five? He led 22 laps and finished 2nd in the Gen-7 car at Michigan in 2022. The No. 43 car has speed again this week. I will roll the dice with Wallace in the FireKeepers Casino 400.
CARSON HOCEVAR (9): The options in Group C are not great this weekend, but Hocavar should have a decent chance to finish in the top-15. Hocevar posted the eighth-fastest speed in practice and he starts 11th in the race Sunday. Some of his best races this year have been on the high-speed intermediate tracks, so I will take a chance with Hocevar Sunday at Michigan.
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