With Mother Nature threatening Michigan International Speedway all weekend long, NASCAR has been fortunate enough to get both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events in on their scheduled dates.
The drivers and teams of the NASCAR Cup Series weren’t as fortunate, though, with inclement weather forcing the sanctioning body to postpone the conclusion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway to Monday, August 19.
USA Network will have television coverage of the final 149 laps of the event on Monday at 11:00 AM ET. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) will have radio broadcast coverage of the 24th event of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
Sunday’s 200-lap event was scheduled to begin just after 2:30 PM ET, and at the time, the racetrack was dry and unimpacted by weather. However, as the NASCAR Cup Series field took to the two-mile speedway for pace laps, the rain invaded the Brooklyn, Michigan area.
After a delay of more than two hours and some lucky breaks regarding the weather, NASCAR was able to get the event started just before 5:00 PM ET and run out the entirely of the 45-lap first stage.
As the field was pacing in anticipation of the race’s second stage, the ominous clouds approached turns three and four, and eventually, a deluge hit the Michigan International Speedway for at least the second time on Sunday afternoon.
With 51 laps complete, Chase Elliott leads the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Martin Truex, Jr. is currently scored in second place, with Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top five.
Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano were scored inside the top 10 once the red flag was displayed, and ultimately, the race’s completion was pushed to Monday.
The biggest highlight from the race’s opening 51 laps was a spin by Denny Hamlin, who was attempting to make a pass on his 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace when he crossed over the wake of the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE, breaking loose and spinning around on the frontstretch.
During the rain delay, Hamlin told NBC Sports that the damage to his Joe Gibbs Racing entry was not too severe and was limited to the underbody of his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE. Through various strategy decisions and three laps of green-flag racing, Hamlin sits 17th at the time of the red flag.
The remaining 149 laps (298 miles) of the 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, will be contested on Monday, August 19 at 11:00 AM ET. Coverage will be available on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
