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 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.
Report
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a 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 (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
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) 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 ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 37.496 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 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 37.553 191.729Official practice results
Qualifying Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 37.232 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 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 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
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 45
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 93 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 75 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 57 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 210 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsprots Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 75
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 93 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 84 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 75 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 48 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 39 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 210 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 80
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 4 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 200 412 5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 553 13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 374 12 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 200 485 17 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 436 14 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 200 367 2 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 200 308 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 299 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 200 2810 25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 200 2911 3 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 3412 21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 200 2713 1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 2414 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 200 2715 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2316 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 2117 29 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 2018 11 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 200 3519 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 1820 34 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 1721 27 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 200 1622 28 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 199 1523 26 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 199 1424 23 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 199 1325 33 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 199 026 24 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 199 1427 36 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 199 028 30 62 Austin Hill (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 198 029 32 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 197 830 15 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 197 731 19 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 197 632 37 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 196 033 20 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 134 1434 35 42 Josh Berry (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 50 035 7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46 236 10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 137 8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14 1Official race results
Race statistics 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:
Media
Television 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.
USABooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kim Coon (Sunday and Monday)Parker Kligerman (Sunday)Marty Snider (Sunday and Monday)
Radio 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.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff Striegle Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley Steve PostChris WilnerJason Toy
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 799 2 Denny Hamlin 742 (–57) 3 William Byron 703 (–96) 4 Christopher Bell 677 (–122) 1 5 Kevin Harvick 663 (–136) 2 6 Kyle Larson 662 (–137) 7 Ross Chastain 656 (–143) 3 8 Brad Keselowski 651 (–148) 4 9 Kyle Busch 649 (–150) 1 10 Ryan Blaney 642 (–157) 2 11 Chris Buescher 639 (–160) 2 12 Joey Logano 636 (–163) 1 13 Tyler Reddick 609 (–190) 1 14 Bubba Wallace 541 (–258) 1 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 530 (–269) 1 16 Ty Gibbs 486 (–313)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 852 2 Toyota 799 (–53) 3 Ford 784 (–68)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Notes
References