Hamlin Wins Michigan Cup Race over Chris Buescher

Hamlin takes his third checkered flag for2025

JACKSON, MI – Denny Hamlin [passed William Byron to win the Firekeepers 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Hamlin outlasted Carson Hocevar—who blew a tire late and needed to pit, killing his chances to win the race after he led for 32 laps—to claim Sunday's event. Chris Buescher finished second, Ty Gibbs finished third, while Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

Hamlin took the lead with three laps remaining to win a fuel-mileage battle at Michigan International Speedway.

Hamlin moved into first on Lap 197 of 200 past William Byron, who had to pit for fuel in the closing laps and finished 28th.

“It’s fantastic,” Hamlin said. “Chris Gayle, this whole team has just done a great job. We’ve been so fast throughout the entire year, just haven’t finished it for one reason or another. Feels good to come here at Michigan where we’ve been so close over the years. This is such a gratifying day to restart 11th or something like that and drive through the field. I knew I was going to have to go 100 percent to get around everybody. Just worked them one by one.”

“Obviously, (Byron) was doing a great job of defending,” Hamlin said, Prime pit reporter Kim Coon. “But Daddy, I’m sorry, but I beat your favorite driver, folks. All of them.”

In other news, Hamlin’s girlfriend, Jordan Fish, is expecting the couple’s third child (a boy) this week.

Chris Buescher finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

Carson Hocevar had a good chance to break through for his first Cup Series victory, but the Spire Motorsports driver suffered a cut left-rear tire while leaving with 19 laps remaining. The Portage, Michigan, native was forced to pit under green and fell a lap down in 30th after leading 22 laps.

There were not many serious accidents during the race, but The race was stopped for more than 11 minutes by a red flag for cleanup of a five-car crash in Turn 2 on Lap 67. Alex Bowman took the worst of it, getting turned into a head-on collision with the outside wall by contact from Cole Custer (who had been hit by Austin Cindric).

Chris Buecher won the first stage and William Byron the second stage. Now, the NASCAR Cup Series moves to race south of the border in Mexico.

Unofficial Results: FireKeepers Casino 400, June 8, 2025 - Michigan International Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 3, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota, 200, 3, 8, 2, 5, 5, 51, Running
2) 6, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Kroger/Kraft/Artesano Ford, 200, 1, , 1, 13, 1, 45, Running
3) 8, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 200, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 9, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Columbia Toyota, 200, 8, 7, , , , 40, Running
5) 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 200, 7, , , , , 36, Running
6) 20, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Apple Chevrolet, 200, , 5, , , , 37, Running
7) 10, Zane Smith, No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford, 200, , , 1, 2, , 30, Running
8) 2, Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet, 200, 9, , , , , 31, Running
9) 23, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Castrol Ford, 200, , 6, , , , 33, Running
10) 27, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 200, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 22, Erik Jones, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota, 200, , 10, , , , 27, Running
12) 7, Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 200, 5, , , , , 31, Running
13) 12, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Mobil 1 Toyota, 200, , 4, , , , 31, Running
14) 35, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Infinite Cool Underwear Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 17, Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet, 200, , , 1, 19, , 22, Running
16) 25, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 200, , , 1, 2, , 21, Running
17) 19, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 26, Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 28, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Mobility Science Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 30, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Real American Beer Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 31, Justin Haley, No. 7 Garner Trucking Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 15, Joey Logano, No. 22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, 200, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 1, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 200, 4, , 1, 11, , 21, Running
24) 18, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet, 200, , 9, , , , 15, Running
25) 34, Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota, 200, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 36, Cody Ware, No. 51 Jacob Construction Ford, 200, , , 1, 1, , 11, Running
27) 29, Noah Gragson, No. 4 MillerTech Ford, 200, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 4, William Byron, No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet, 200, 2, 1, 4, 98, 1, 29, Running
29) 14, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 199, 10, 3, 2, 32, , 17, Running
30) 32, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 11, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 199, , 2, 1, 10, , 15, Running
32) 13, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford, 196, 6, , 1, 7, , 10, Running
33) 33, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Martin Transportation Systems Ford, 146, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 21, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 72, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 66, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 16, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 66, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 200 Laps, 400. Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 48 Mins, 20 Secs.
Average Speed: 142.574 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.099 Seconds

Fastest Lap Bonus: No 24, lap 154, 37.3 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 17, 24, 11, 19, 21, 12, 5, 23, 8, 77
Stage 2 Top 10: 24, 2, 77, 45, 1, 60, 23, 11, 10, 43

Comments: Denny Hamlin won the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, his 57th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 45 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 7 for 33 laps;
Laps: 47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [99]);
61-65 (No. 4, 42 Incident Turn 2 [None]);
68-70 (No. 2, 19, 41, 48, 99 Incident Turn 2 [Red Flag 0:11:32] [None]);
73-77 (No. 42 Incident Turn 4 [None]);
110-113 (No. 12 Incident Turn 4 [20]);
122-126 (Stage 2 Conclusion [12]);
147-151 (No. 34 Incident Turn 2 [12]).

Lead Changes: 15 among 11 drivers;
C. Briscoe 1-11;
W. Byron 12-34;
C. Buescher 35-47;
D. Hamlin 48;
C. Ware 49;
R. Blaney 50-56;
C. Elliott 57-75;
C. Bell 76-77;
W. Byron 78-109;
A. Cindric 110-119;
W. Byron 120-147;
C. Hocevar 148;
Z. Smith 149-150;
C. Hocevar 151-181;
W. Byron 182-196;
D. Hamlin 197-200.

Unofficial Points: FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway
Pos) Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
 1) William Byron, 24, 15, 0, 576, 0, 0, 1, 7, 12
 2) Kyle Larson, 5, 15, 0, 535, -41, 41, 3, 8, 23
 3) Denny Hamlin, 11, 15, -1, 494, -82, 41, 3, 3, 18
 4) Christopher Bell, 20, 15, 1, 480, -96, 14, 3, 1, 16
 5) Chase Elliott, 9, 15, 0, 464, -112, 16, 0, 0, 0
 6) Tyler Reddick, 45, 15, 0, 460, -116, 4, 0, 0, 0
 7) Ryan Blaney, 12, 15, 0, 427, -149, 33, 1, 3, 8
 8) Ross Chastain, 1, 15, -1, 414, -162, 13, 1, 0, 5
 9) Joey Logano, 22, 15, 1, 395, -181, 19, 1, 2, 7
10) Bubba Wallace, 23, 15, 0, 383, -193, 12, 0, 2, 2
11) Chase Briscoe, 19, 15, 0, 363, -213, 20, 0, 0, 0
12) Chris Buescher, 17, 15, -2, 342, -234, 21, 0, 1, -4
13) Alex Bowman, 48, 15, 1, 335, -241, 7, 0, 0, 0
14) Ryan Preece, 60, 15, -2, 322, -254, 13, 0, 1, 1
15) Kyle Busch, 8, 15, 0, 322, -254, 0, 0, 0, 0
16) Austin Cindric, 2, 15, 3, 318, -258, 4, 1, 2, 7
17) Josh Berry, 21, 15, -3, 309, -267, 9, 1, 1, 6
18) Carson Hocevar, 77, 15, 1, 304, -272, 5, 0, 0, 0
19) AJ Allmendinger, 16, 15, 0, 304, -272, 0, 0, 0, 0
20) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 15, 2, 302, -274, 2, 0, 0, 0
21) Erik Jones, 43, 15, -3, 286, -290, 16, 0, 0, 0
22) Zane Smith, 38, 15, -3, 285, -291, 1, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 71, 15, 2, 285, -291, 0, 0, 0, 0
24) Ty Gibbs, 54, 15, -3, 270, -306, 15, 0, 0, 0
25) John Hunter Nemechek, 42, 15, 4, 270, -306, 0, 0, 0, 0
26) Austin Dillon, 3, 15, -1, 270, -306, 0, 0, 0, 0
27) Todd Gilliland, 34, 15, 4, 265, -311, 5, 0, 0, 0
28) Daniel Suarez, 99, 15, 0, 254, -322, 11, 0, 0, 0
29) Justin Haley, 7, 15, 0, 234, -342, 20, 0, 0, 0
30) Ty Dillon, 10, 15, 0, 232, -344, 2, 0, 0, 0
31) Noah Gragson, 4, 15, 0, 224, -352, 8, 0, 0, 0
32) Brad Keselowski, 6, 15, 0, 221, -355, 3, 0, 0, 0
33) Shane Van Gisbergen #, 88, 15, 0, 192, -384, 29, 0, 0, 0
34) Riley Herbst #, 35, 15, -1, 185, -391, 7, 0, 0, 0
35) Cole Custer, 41, 15, 1, 175, -401, 10, 0, 0, 0
36) Cody Ware, 51, 15, 0, 95, -481, 80, 0, 0, 0
37) Jimmie Johnson, , 2, 0, 35, -541, 60, 0, 0, 0
38) Katherine Legge, , 1, 1, 7, -569, 28, 0, 0, 0
39) Derek Kraus, , 1, 1, 5, -571, 2, 0, 0, 0
40) Chad Finchum, , 2, 1, 3, -573, 2, 0, 0, 0
41) Casey Mears, , 1, 1, 2, -574, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Burt Myers, , 1, 1, 1, -575, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Martin Truex, Jr, , 1, 1, 1, -575, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Corey Heim(i), , 2, -1, 0, -576, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Bj Mcleod(i), , 2, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Corey Lajoie(i), , 3, -6, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Connor Zilisch(i), , 2, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Anthony Alfredo(i), , 1, -2, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Jesse Love(i), , 3, 0, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Austin Hill(i), , 1, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Jj Yeley(i), , 5, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Josh Bilicki(i), , 2, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 8, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Chandler Smith(i), , 0, 1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Helio Castroneves, , 1, -1, 0, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0

Unofficial Points: DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics, Michigan International Speedway
Pos) Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
 1) Corey Heim, 11, 13, 0, 605, 0, 0, 4, 11, 31
 2) Chandler Smith, 38, 13, 1, 472, -133, 133, 2, 1, 11
 3) Daniel Hemric, 19, 13, -1, 454, -151, 18, 1, 0, 5
 4) Grant Enfinger, 9, 13, 1, 441, -164, 13, 0, 2, 2
 5) Tyler Ankrum, 18, 13, -1, 424, -181, 17, 1, 1, 6
 6) Layne Riggs, 34, 13, 0, 424, -181, 0, 0, 3, 3
 7) Kaden Honeycutt, 45, 13, 0, 408, -197, 16, 0, 0, 0
 8) Ty Majeski, 98, 13, 1, 393, -212, 15, 0, 1, 1
 9) Jake Garcia, 13, 13, -1, 389, -216, 4, 0, 0, 0
10) Stewart Friesen, 52, 13, 2, 347, -258, 42, 1, 0, 5
11) Ben Rhodes, 99, 13, 2, 338, -267, 9, 0, 1, 1
12) Giovanni Ruggiero #, 17, 13, -1, 337, -268, 1, 0, 1, 1
13) Rajah Caruth, 71, 13, -3, 336, -269, 1, 1, 0, 5
14) Tanner Gray, 15, 13, 0, 297, -308, 39, 0, 0, 0
15) Matt Crafton, 88, 13, 0, 281, -324, 16, 0, 1, 1
16) Jack Wood, 91, 13, 0, 249, -356, 32, 0, 1, 1
17) Andres Perez De Lara #, 77, 13, 1, 247, -358, 2, 0, 0, 0
18) Connor Mosack #, 81, 13, 2, 247, -358, 0, 0, 0, 0
19) Matt Mills, 42, 13, -2, 245, -360, 2, 0, 0, 0
20) Dawson Sutton #, 26, 13, -1, 241, -364, 4, 0, 0, 0
21) Spencer Boyd, 76, 13, 1, 196, -409, 45, 0, 0, 0
22) Bayley Currey, , 8, -1, 185, -420, 11, 0, 1, 0
23) Luke Fenhaus, 66, 9, 2, 168, -437, 17, 0, 0, 0
24) Toni Breidinger #, 5, 13, -1, 166, -439, 2, 0, 0, 0
25) Frankie Muniz #, 33, 13, -1, 155, -450, 11, 0, 0, 0
26) Nathan Byrd, 02, 11, 0, 118, -487, 37, 0, 0, 0
27) Josh Reaume, 22, 5, 0, 78, -527, 40, 0, 0, 0
28) Parker Kligerman, , 4, 0, 61, -544, 17, 0, 0, 0
29) Timmy Hill, , 3, 0, 60, -545, 1, 0, 0, 0
30) Stefan Parsons, , 3, 0, 59, -546, 1, 0, 0, 0
31) Cody Dennison, , 5, 0, 58, -547, 1, 0, 0, 0
32) Luke Baldwin, , 3, 0, 46, -559, 12, 0, 0, 0
33) Justin Carroll, , 5, 0, 46, -559, 0, 0, 0, 0
34) Lawless Alan, 1, 2, 1, 40, -565, 6, 0, 0, 0
35) Norm Benning, 6, 6, -1, 37, -568, 3, 0, 0, 0
36) Corey LaJoie, 07, 1, -36, 32, -573, 5, 0, 0, 0
37) Jason White, , 1, -1, 29, -576, 3, 0, 0, 0
38) Johnny Sauter, , 1, -1, 29, -576, 0, 0, 0, 0
39) Bj Mcleod, , 1, -1, 22, -583, 7, 0, 0, 0
40) Morgen Baird, 2, 2, 3, 20, -585, 2, 0, 0, 0
41) Patrick Emerling, , 1, -2, 18, -587, 2, 0, 0, 0
42) Brent Crews, , 1, -2, 18, -587, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Stephen Mallozzi, , 4, -2, 15, -590, 3, 0, 0, 0
44) Matthew Gould, , 1, -2, 14, -591, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Keith Mcgee, , 2, -1, 12, -593, 2, 0, 0, 0
46) Akinori Ogata, , 2, -1, 11, -594, 1, 0, 0, 0
47) Conner Jones, , 1, -1, 10, -595, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Clayton Green, , 1, -1, 10, -595, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Jayson Alexander, , 1, -1, 7, -598, 3, 0, 0, 0
50) Ryan Roulette, , 2, -1, 7, -598, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Michel Disdier, , 1, -1, 6, -599, 1, 0, 0, 0
52) Alan Waller, , 1, -1, 6, -599, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Clay Greenfield, , 1, -1, 4, -601, 2, 0, 0, 0
54) Derek White, , 1, -1, 4, -601, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Kyle Busch(i), , 4, -1, 0, -605, 4, 1, 1, 0
56) Kyle Larson(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 1, 0, 0
57) Carson Hocevar(i), 7, 3, -1, 0, -605, 0, 1, 1, 0
58) William Byron(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Ross Chastain(i), 44, 3, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Justin Haley(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Corey Day(i), , 6, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) Brandon Jones(i), , 6, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
63) William Sawalich(i), , 4, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Sammy Smith(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
65) Michael Mcdowell(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Nicholas Sanchez(i), , 1, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) Mason Maggio(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
68) Patrick Staropoli(i), , 2, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Tyler Tomassi(i), , 3, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0
70) Bryan Dauzat, , 0, -1, 0, -605, 0, 0, 0, 0