2023 FireKeepers Casino 400

The 2023 FireKeepers Casino 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 6 and 7, 2023, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it was the 23rd race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. The race began on Sunday, August 6, before rain delayed it to Monday, August 7, after 74 laps were complete.

2023 FireKeepers Casino 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 23 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Date August 6–7, 2023
Location Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Average speed 131.159 miles per hour (211.080 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 37.232
Most laps led
Driver Chris Buescher RFK Racing
Laps 52
Winner
No. 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing
Television in the United States
Network USA
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1–2) and Mike Bagley (3–4)

Report

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Background

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Michigan International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford
7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford
16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford
19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota
24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Josh Berry (i)[a] Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford
54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

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Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 37.496 seconds and a speed of 192.020 mph (309.026 km/h).[11]

Practice results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.496 192.020
2 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.503 191.985
3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.553 191.729
Official practice results

Qualifying

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Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 37.232 and a speed of 193.382 mph (311.218 km/h).[12]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.326 37.232
2 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 37.267 37.259
3 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.225 37.301
4 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 37.329 37.321
5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.329 37.372
6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 37.422 37.380
7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.451 37.479
8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.561 37.520
9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 37.620 37.544
10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.521 37.548
11 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 37.398
12 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 37.453
13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.469
14 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 37.479
15 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 37.567
16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.567
17 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.633
18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 37.643
19 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 37.651
20 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 37.652
21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 37.653
22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 37.697
23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37.707
24 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 37.720
25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 37.721
26 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 37.726
27 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 37.732
28 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 37.781
29 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 37.891
30 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 37.906
31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 37.942
32 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 38.205
33 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 38.486
34 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 38.573
35 42 Josh Berry (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 38.664
36 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 38.739
37 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 39.667
Official qualifying results

Race

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Martin Truex Jr. swept the stages, but Chris Buescher, driving for RFK Racing, would overtake him in the closing laps to win the race, marking the first time since 2010 where a Roush driver won consecutive Cup series races. Rounding out the top five would be Truex's JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, RFK's Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports.

Race results

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Stage results

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Stage One Laps: 45

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10
2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 9
3 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8
4 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7
5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 5
7 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3
9 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 2
10 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsprots Chevrolet 1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 75

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10
2 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 9
3 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 8
4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 7
5 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5
7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 4
8 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 3
9 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 2
10 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage results

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Stage Three Laps: 80

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 4 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 200 41
2 5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 55
3 13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 37
4 12 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 200 48
5 17 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 43
6 14 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 200 36
7 2 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 200 30
8 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 29
9 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 200 28
10 25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 200 29
11 3 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 34
12 21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 200 27
13 1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 24
14 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 200 27
15 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 23
16 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 21
17 29 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 20
18 11 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 200 35
19 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 18
20 34 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 17
21 27 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 200 16
22 28 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 199 15
23 26 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 199 14
24 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 199 13
25 33 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 199 0
26 24 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 199 14
27 36 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 199 0
28 30 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 198 0
29 32 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 197 8
30 15 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 197 7
31 19 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 197 6
32 37 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 196 0
33 20 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 134 14
34 35 42 Josh Berry (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 50 0
35 7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46 2
36 10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 1
37 8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14 1
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 26 among 16 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 9 for 43 laps
  • Red flags: 1 for 19 hours, 5 minutes, and 18 seconds
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 2 minutes, and 59 seconds
  • Average speed: 131.159 miles per hour (211.080 km/h)

Media

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Television

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USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane on Sunday. Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties on Monday.

USA
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen
Color-commentator: Jeff Burton
Color-commentator: Steve Letarte
Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kim Coon (Sunday and Monday)
Parker Kligerman (Sunday)
Marty Snider (Sunday and Monday)

Radio

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Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth while the field was racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field is racing through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Chris Wilner and Jason Toy worked pit road for the radio side.

MRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley
Steve Post
Chris Wilner
Jason Toy

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ Josh Berry replaced Noah Gragson after Gragson was suspended by Legacy Motor Club and NASCAR for liking an Instagram post related to the murder of George Floyd.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Michigan International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Taranto, Steven (September 14, 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "FireKeepers Casino 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  10. ^ DeGroot, Nick (August 5, 2023). "Legacy Motor Club suspends driver Noah Gragson". Motorsport.com. Brooklyn, Michigan: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Utter, Jim (August 5, 2023). "Martin Truex Jr. leads NASCAR Cup practice at Michigan". Motorsport.com. Brooklyn, Michigan: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Utter, Jim (August 5, 2023). "Bell beats Chastain to Michigan NASCAR Cup pole". Motorsport.com. Brooklyn, Michigan: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 5, 2023.


Previous race:
2023 Cook Out 400
NASCAR Cup Series
2023 season
Next race:
2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard