Written by Gabriel Tsui, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Following a controversial yet exhilarating end in Richmond, we head to Michigan for the 24th race of the season.
Last week, Austin Dillon took his first win in nearly two years, punching his ticket into the playoffs, before it was all taken away in a span of 48 hours. With the available playoff sports down to three, and five drivers hanging around the cut line, will anyone of them be able to secure a spot to the playoffs here in Michigan?
Track Preview
The Michigan International Speedway is located near Jackson County, Michigan. Built in 1967, it has hosted a NASCAR race since 1969. It also hosted a trucks race from 1999 up until 2020, but was left off the schedule ever since.
The track used to host two races every year in June and August up until 2020, where the Texas race replaced the June race ever since.
The race will be held on the D-shaped oval layout, it has a length of 2.0 miles (3.219 kilometres), with 18 degrees of banking on the turns and a 23-degree banking on the front stretch.
The drivers will be racing 200 laps around the track, with 45 laps in the first stage, 75 laps in the second stage, and 80 laps in the final stage, totalling a distance of 400 miles (643.74 kilometres).
The weather report indicates that there will be a possibility of thunderstorms and rain for the race weekend, so a delay might be in place. The race will commence on Sunday, August 18th, at 14:30 ET (11:30 PT, 20:30 CET).
Race Predictions
This has been a Ford dominated track for years, winning every single race here since the year of 2018. Chris Buescher is the current defending champion of the track, and he is right outside of the cut line.
If he is able to secure a win this weekend in Michigan, he will be able to jump the Toyotas and secure his playoff spot.
It would be an easy job for the Fords, if not for the Toyotas. Even though the Fords have dominated the track for so long, the Toyotas have been very close to ending the streak.
Last year, Martin Truex Jr. dominated the early stages of the race, winning stages one and two, before eventually losing the lead to Chris Buescher. 2022 was similar, with Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin winning stages one and two respectively, but eventually losing out to Kevin Harvick.
The Toyotas have been on a cold streak recently, but Michigan serves a prime chance for them to break out of the slump and get back to their winning ways. Therefore, the prediction would be one of the Toyota drivers winning the race, returning to victory lane.
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