Michigan 101: Trends to watch, Goodyear tire info, interactive ways to follow race
It’s August, which means the precipice of the postseason push and Cup Series teams going for it all to lock their way into the 16-driver field. Two road courses and a superspeedway will close out the regular season, but before that will be Monday’s resumption of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Noon ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Check out trends to watch, important info on Goodyear tires and interactive ways to follow all the action.
RELATED: See paint schemes for Michigan | Betting favorites for Sunday’s Cup race
FORD’S FORTE ⭐️
The blue ovals have captured just three checkered flags so far in 2023, with wins from Joey Logano (Atlanta-spring), Ryan Blaney (Coke 600) and Chris Buescher (Richmond-summer).
However, momentum could be leaning in favor of the manufacturer after winning last Sunday at Richmond while leading 201 of the 400 laps and heading to a track where Ford has won the last eight races.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has won five of those races in that span and is one of the favorites to win Sunday’s race as he seeks to score his first win in his final season and the first for SHR in 2023. This could be a tightly contested battle between three of Ford’s organizations. Bragging rights will be on the line in the Ford camp as to who the banner team is at this point of the season. Team Penske has won twice this year, but RFK Racing has emerged as a top team with Buescher locked into the postseason and Keselowski 151 points above the elimination line.
MORE: How the playoff picture looks heading into Sunday
📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈
— Stewart-Haas Racing has won six of the last eight races at Michigan.
— Toyota has won only once in the last 20 Michigan races (Matt Kenseth, 2015).
— The last three Michigan races have an average green flag stretch of over 20 laps.
— Kevin Harvick (2022) is the only driver in the last 10 Michigan races to get their first win of the season.
(Via Racing Insights)
NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥
2012: Dale Jr. snaps winless streak at Michigan | WATCH
2017: Kyle Larson makes a daring move on final restart to win at Michigan | WATCH
2019: Harvick celebrates with son, Keelan, after winning at Michigan | WATCH
ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️
Saturday, August 5
— 12:35 p.m. ET: Practice (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)
— 1:20 p.m. ET: Qualifying (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)
Monday, August 7
— Noon ET: Resumption of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)
MORE: Full weekend schedule at Michigan
RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞
The GEICO Restart Zone returned to its 2022 dimensions after being extended for this season’s first five races.
Goodyear brought back the same tire setup that has been used at Fontana, Las Vegas, Kansas, Nashville and Pocono earlier this season. Teams were issued one set for practice, one set for qualifying and an additional six sets for this week’s race.
NASCAR implemented safety updates to the Next Gen car.
Along the right-side door bars and extending toward the rear clip, teams are mandated to run a steel plate in addition to the chassis adjustments made for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The right-side door bar gussets and the removal of the front clip V-brace are changes that remain, in addition to the removal of other front-clip components, to create a softer and larger crush zone for frontal impacts.
Also included in the updates are front bumper strut softening (modifications to existing parts), the requirement of an empty front ballast box and a modified cross brace. NASCAR incurs the cost of all these updates.
In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field.
If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty plus a two-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members‘ eligibility to participate in other series.
RELATED: See rules changes for 2023
FAN REWARDS 🫵
Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.
There‘s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.
Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.
FOLLOW THE RACE 📲
NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn‘t forget you — the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.
How to access Live Activities on iPhones:
Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of screen.
Select “Follow the Race.”
Swipe up to access the home screen and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
Lock the device and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
To turn off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu and “Unfollow the Race.”
FANTASY LIVE 🏆
Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.
How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!
ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.
NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.
