Mother Nature Interrupts FireKeepers Casino 400

(BROOKLYN, MI – AUG 6, 2023 – RIS) Rain interrupted the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway after 74 of the scheduled 200 laps with Tyler Reddick ahead of the field, followed by Alex Bowman, with Kyle Larson next. Martin Truex Jr and Erik Jones completed the top five at the time the race was halted due to the precipitation.

Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and William Byron all spun in the first stage, retiring their cars. Josh Berry also hit the wall and withdrew from the race early. “I put myself in a bad spot. I really hate that I did that,” said Busch. “I wish the results were better for the day for our entire RCR team. They work so hard and do so much for me to put myself in a bad spot like that and get crashed. Hate it for Kwik Trip and everybody involved, it was a really short day.” The spin happened when Busch and Ryan Blaney were racing for position: “we touched a little bit and that’s when you lose all the air and you spin out. They all run hard. They all want to race to crash. I tried to make a move and in the old days, guys that you were racing would let you go and have that spot and work for it later. But in this day [and] age, it’s completely different. So I got a guy that ran on my outside and took the air off.”

Byron reported that he “just got loose trying to get stage points there. We were dicing it up. We didn’t have the best restart, so we were gaining spots back, but just tried too hard…. Just made a mistake – was just trying hard and got loose.”

Berry, substituting for Noah Gragson after Gragson was suspended by his team and NASCAR for social media activity, “had no idea. Just wild restarts here and just trying to learn as much as I can. I just got loose there and backed it into the wall. Just hate it that we didn’t get to run all the laps today because that was the main goal."

Berry continued to explain: “I’ll have to go back and watch it. Obviously, it’s a lot to learn here with everything going on back there. I’ll just go back and look, learn and see what I can do better.”

The race is scheduled to restart at noon on Monday, with the broadcast on USA Network.

Running Order:
Pos, Driver, Laps, Car, Last Lap, Best Time, Best Speed, Best Lap
1) Tyler Reddick, 74, No. 45 Rocket League Toyota, 45.346 Sec, 37.920 Sec, 189.873 mph, 58
2) Alex Bowman, 74, No. 48 Ally x Detroit Pistons Chevrolet, 46.310, 37.916, 189.893, 57
3) Kyle Larson, 74, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 47.655, 37.924, 189.853, 34
4) Martin Truex Jr., 74, No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 48.094, 37.507, 191.964, 7
5) Erik Jones, 74, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet, 49.041, 37.850, 190.225, 58
6) Austin Cindric, 74, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 49.766, 37.941, 189.768, 57
7) Brad Keselowski, 74, No. 6 Nexlizet Ford, 50.619, 38.088, 189.036, 42
8) Austin Dillon, 74, No. 3 Dow Mobility Science Chevrolet, 51.088, 38.225, 188.358, 73
9) Bubba Wallace, 74, No. 23 DoorDash Toyota, 51.116, 37.801, 190.471, 13
10) Denny Hamlin, 74, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, 51.639, 37.877, 190.089, 58
11) Ty Gibbs #, 74, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 51.308, 37.761, 190.673, 23
12) Chris Buescher, 74, No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford, 51.416, 37.895, 189.999, 22
13) Daniel Suarez, 74, No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 51.861, 38.052, 189.215, 42
14) Harrison Burton, 74, No. 21 Ford 20 Year Sr Master Techs Ford, 52.172, 38.271, 188.132, 61
15) AJ Allmendinger, 74, No. 16 Farmsmart Chevrolet, 52.488, 38.244, 188.265, 45
16) Ryan Blaney, 74, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford, 53.319, 37.878, 190.084, 62
17) Ross Chastain, 74, No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet, 54.267, 37.763, 190.663, 9
18) Ryan Preece, 74, No. 41 United Rentals Ford, 54.244, 38.279, 188.093, 57
19) Corey LaJoie, 74, No. 7 Garner Trucking Chevrolet, 54.654, 38.177, 188.595, 44
20) Joey Logano, 74, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 55.514, 38.196, 188.501, 11
21) Chase Briscoe, 74, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 56.349, 38.367, 187.661, 59
22) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 74, No. 47 Kroger/Minute Rice Chevrolet, 56.488, 38.318, 187.901, 9
23) Kevin Harvick, 74, No. 4 Busch Light Peach Ford, 56.529, 38.455, 187.232, 61
24) Todd Gilliland, 74, No. 38 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors Ford, 56.588, 38.607, 186.495, 33
25) Aric Almirola, 74, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 56.834, 38.350, 187.744, 60
26) Ty Dillon, 74, No. 77 Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet, 57.472, 38.309, 187.945, 61
27) Michael McDowell, 74, No. 34 Love's/MTS Ford, 57.680, 38.539, 186.824, 30
28) Justin Haley, 74, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 57.712, 38.347, 187.759, 29
29) Austin Hill* (i), 74, No. *62 Bennett Transportation/Beard Chevrolet, 57.588, 38.481, 187.105, 34
30) Cole Custer(i), 74, No. 51 Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford, 57.931, 38.568, 186.683, 63
31) Josh Bilicki(i), 74, No. 78 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 58.272, 38.895, 185.114, 11
32) Christopher Bell, 74, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 58.928, 37.791, 190.522, 10
33) JJ Yeley(i), 72, No. 15 Grill Blazers Ford, 58.796, 38.925, 184.971, 45
34) Josh Berry(i), 50, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet, 101.887, 38.459, 187.212, 33
35) William Byron, 46, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 69.893, 37.826, 190.345, 44
36) Chase Elliott, 34, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 38.926, 37.986, 189.544, 10