Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, MI — June 6, 2025

Race fans, Friday, June 6th through Sunday, June 8th, NASCAR makes its annual stop at Michigan International Speedway. It’s a “Home Game (Race)” for us locals. Let’s start with some important announcements.

 Speedway Traffic Updates

Michigan International Speedway worked closely with Michigan State Police and a logistics company to update the traffic patterns and parking lots to ensure that your trip in and out of the facility is as quick as possible on Sunday, June 8th. These changes include opening additional parking lots (Yellow Lot 8 & 9) and directing traffic into specific parking lots depending on the direction you arrive at the property.

Be sure to review the Traffic Maps and detailed directions on the Speedway’s website so you approach the track and park in your preferred parking lot. If there is a specific parking lot you typically park in, you may need to change the route you typically use. All parking will be one direction inbound and one direction outbound.

Patterns may change due to traffic situations and capacity of parking lots.

Day parking on Michigan International Speedway property is FREE to Speedway guests! Please follow the parking attendant’s directions. A one-way traffic pattern will be implemented if deemed necessary on Sunday.

Busch Light Summer Music Series Concert News

Michigan International Speedway announced today that award-winning country singer and songwriter Ashley Cooke is stepping in to headline the Busch Light Summer Music Series performance prior to Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race. 

Cooke replaces Nate Smith during pre-race festivities after he announced Wednesday afternoon that he’s going on strict vocal rest through the rest of June, thereby canceling his performances for the month.

 “It means a lot that Ashley is stepping up to the plate to perform for our passionate fans before our NASCAR Cup Series stars hit the track,” said Joe Fowler, Michigan International Speedway President. “Ashley is one of the most exciting rising stars in country music and her show will have everyone singing along before the race on Sunday. We also wish Nate the best in his recovery and hope to see him out at the track soon.”

Since her debut album shot in the dark earned her critical acclaim, Cooke has been recognized as MusicRow’s Discovery Artist of the Year and Next Big Thing, Billboard’s Rookie of the Month and iHeartCountry’s On The Verge Artist. 

Cooke won her first CMT Award for Breakthrough Female Video of the Year at the 2024 CMT Awards before being nominated for ACM New Female Artist of the Year, and is currently up for Best New Country Artist at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

In 2024, Cooke earned her first No.1 at Country radio with her single, “your place,” making her one of the only women to reach the top of the charts that year. With national TV appearances on NBC’s TODAY and ABC’s The Bachelorette, as well as tours with Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell and Jordan Davis under her belt, Cooke is ready to take 2025 by storm. Cooke started her year headlining her “your place Tour,” before hitting the road with Cody Johnson in Australia and Kane Brown throughout the US. She’ll be Performing at festivals all summer long, before heading out on the road with Parker McCollum and Lee Brice in the fall.” 

“We enjoyed collaborating with Ashley Cooke last year to surprise our fans in Nashville through the ‘Busch on Broadway’ pop-up series, right after her big CMT award win,” said Krystyn Stowe, Head of Marketing, Busch Family & Natural Family at Anheuser-Busch. “With the second show of our Summer Music Series coming up this weekend, we know she will give our fans in Michigan a pre-race experience they won’t forget.”

The inaugural Busch Light Summer Music Series consists of five full-length concerts at NASCAR races throughout the country. The series is an exciting new fan experience born from the renewed partnership with NASCAR’S Official Beer Sponsor.

Since the 1990s, the Anheuser-Busch family of brands has created countless opportunities for 21+ NASCAR fans to get closer to the sport they love. The first performance in the series took place earlier this spring, with ERNEST taking the stage at Texas Motor Speedway. After Michigan, the series moves to Chicago Street Race (Zac Brown Band – July 5), Iowa Speedway (Corey Kent – Aug. 3) and will conclude in Busch Light’s hometown of St. Louis at World Wide Technology Raceway (Sept. 7). Artists and details on the final concert will be announced at a later date.

Race Schedule and News

The June race weekend at Michigan International Speedway begins with the ARCA Menards Series Henry Ford Health 200 on Friday, June 6, followed by the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics on Saturday, June 7. The NASCAR Cup Series will cap off the weekend’s action with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 8.

Tickets are available for purchase via phone at 888-905-7223 or online at mispeedway.com.

Fans can view the full 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule and purchase tickets at nascar.com/tickets, and can stay connected to Michigan International Speedway on Facebook, Instagram and X. 

The FireKeepers Casino 400 will be streamed live on Amazon Prime, Sunday, June 8 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 15th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Beginning this weekend at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and continuing through the Mexico City and Pocono races, the top 32 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings will race for seeding in the $1 million, five-race, in-season tournament that begins June 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Seeding will be based on the best finish in the upcoming three races, with tiebreakers determined by the next-best finish, followed by the season points position.

The 32 seeds will race head-to-head in a knockout-style format beginning at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The field will be narrowed to 16 after Atlanta, eight after the July 6 Chicago Street Race, four after the July 13 road course race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and two after the July 20 race at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.

The remaining two drivers will battle for the in-season title and the $1 million prize on July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Trackhouse drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez are part of the 32 drivers in the tournament.

Amazon’s Prime Video will broadcast all three upcoming seeding races before TNT Sports, and Max will broadcast the five in-season tournament races.

HOMETOWN HERO: Jones is returning to his home track of Michigan for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400. The Michigan native grew up just 73 miles north of the track in the small town of Byron, where he started his racing career at a young age before transitioning to stock cars at age 13. He quickly moved up the ranks in NASCAR but never forgot his Michigan roots along the way. He is one of only three Michigan natives racing in the Cup Series fulltime along with Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar.

ERIK JONES QUOTE: “I always look forward to Michigan. Obviously, it’s a home race for me and my home track. It’s a lot of fun to get up there and be with family and friends. I typically get there earlier in the week to go spend more time with them and get to see them before the busy weekend. It’s always exciting and a lot of fun. The race itself – I just really enjoy the track. It’s come into its own here as it’s aged and widened out. Racing there with this NextGen car has been good. I’m looking forward to it. This one is high on my bucket list of tracks to win at one day. I just look forward for the chance to be out there every year.”

Ryan Blaney: Blaney heads to Michigan coming off his first win in 2025 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 2023 Cup Series champion has secured a playoff spot and looks to ride the momentum into the Irish Hills this weekend. Blaney was last victorious at Michigan in 2021.

Christopher Bell: Bell has remained a strong force throughout the first half of the 2025 season. Bell has three wins and currently sits third in points standings. He looks to earn his first career victory at Michigan this weekend.

Carson Hocevar: Carson returns to his native state after a strong 2nd place finish in Nashville. Sitting 17th in the points standings, he looks to head to victory lane in front of a home crowd and lock himself into the playoffs.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has been chasing a win in the Cup Series at Michigan his entire career. Keselowski returns home looking to add to Ford’s dominance in the Cup Series at MIS as the OEM has won 9 of the last 10 races at MIS. Keselowski has just one top five finish this year and looks to strike gold at MIS.

Chase Elliott: The fan favorite is still searching for his first win in 2025 and sits 5th in the points standings. Elliott has 7 top 10 finishes and 3 top five finishes while leading 76 laps this season. Elliott also has never won at Michigan and is hungry to visit Victory Lane as his last win came at Texas Motor Speedway in 2024.

Tyler Reddick: Reddickreturns to Michigan as the defending champion of the FireKeepers Casino 400. Reddick is winless in 2025 but sits 6th in points standings currently.

The Heritage Trophy

Since Michigan International Speedway began handing out the Heritage Trophy to the winning manufacturer in August 2013, Ford has taken it back to World Headquarters in nearby Dearborn more times than any other manufacturer. Ford has won 11 races since the trophy came into existence while Chevrolet has won six and Toyota two. Joey Logano’s win in the Pure Michigan 400 on Aug. 18, 2013 was his first win with Ford and new car owner Roger Penske, but it also marked the first time the trophy was awarded. Logano, who won the pole and led a race-high 51 laps, passed Mark Martin for the lead with four laps to go after Martin’s car ran out of gas.

Ryan Blaney’s victory on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway means that all three Team Penske drivers have a win this season. Blaney followed Austin Cindric (Talladega) and Joey Logano (Texas) in clinching a playoff berth, and it continues an impressive record for the organization. Since Team Penske went to three NASCAR Cup Series cars in 2018, it has seen each team win at least one race in the same season six times. Overall, Team Penske has won 104 races with Ford and the current lineup of Blaney, Cindric and Logano have combined for 51 of those.

JOEY LOGANO QUOTE: IS MORE EMPHASIS PUT ON THE RACE AT MICHIGAN? “No more emphasis than any other race. We try to win them all. It’s not like we say, ‘Ah, this one doesn’t matter. We’ll just coast this one through.’ That’s not who we are. We don’t do that because every race matters, especially with the playoff format we have. Every win, every playoff point that you can get can be the difference at the end of the day, so we don’t really put more into any of them. I will say though that the manufacturers take pride in that trophy that they hand out there to the winning manufacturer, so it’s always a topic of discussion. We go up there early more times than not and go visit Ford headquarters and it’s a topic that comes up. They want that trophy in their main lobby, so when people walk in they can walk by it.”

The Lasco Press will be live all weekend at the track, follow Sports Editor Steve Sweitzer on Facebook, and look for his Cup Series Race Report of the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday evening after the race. Only at thelascopress.com.

If you see us at the track, be sure and say hi, we will capture your picture.

BROOKLYN, MI – A racer known for celebrating his wins at Waffle House was victorious Friday, June 6, at Michigan International Speedway – in a state with zero Waffle Houses.

Brenden “Butterbean” Queen held off a hard-charging Corey Heim in the closing laps of the ARCA Series race at MIS to win by 0.3 seconds.

Queen, 27, pumped up the fans in the grandstands during his TV interview.

“It’s Bean Nation time tonight, boys!” Queen said. “It’s insane. I mean, I think I’ve got to climb the fence before I’m done.”

Queen was true to his word. He scaled the fence in front of cheering fans just after his interview.

The mullet-donning driver brings an energy to the series – living up to the hype of his “Butterbean” nickname. His family gave him the nickname as a baby, as they thought he looked a bit like professional boxer Eric “Butterbean” Esch.

This is Queen’s third career ARCA Series win, all coming in 2025. After the first two, he took his team and the trophy to Waffle House to celebrate.

“It’s been a thing I’ve done since I was late model racing … we’d just always take the trophy to Waffle House. It was the only thing open (that late),” Queen said. “We try to enjoy the night, reflect on it and then get ready for the next one.”

While Michigan doesn’t have a Waffle House, Queen has a plane to catch tonight, anyway, to get back to North Carolina.

It’s yet-to-be-determined if he’ll end up at one before the night ends. Queen was asked what his favorite thing is at Waffle House after he finished speaking with the media.

“Chocolate milk! We’re going to go get a chocolate milk,” Queen said.

How he got there

Queen took the lead with 23 laps to go on the final restart. While side by side with Gio Ruggiero, the pair slapped doors entering Turn 3, and Queen cleared him for the lead off Turn 4.

Second-place Heim, who has four Truck Series wins this year and is the favorite for Saturday’s race, wasn’t even supposed to be racing Friday. He was a substitute driver for Jake Finch, getting the call just hours before the race, since Finch had a viral infection.

Morgen Baird, who grew up in nearby Grass Lake, was the top finishing Michigander on Friday, with a 13th-place result. Baird will also race in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race, which starts at noon on Fox.

RELATED: A Michigan dad with a day job is Frankie Muniz’s NASCAR teammate this weekend

The pinnacle race of the weekend is the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400. That starts at 2 p.m. Sunday on Prime Video.

Due to afternoon storms and continued inclement weather forecasted throughout the next several hours, tonight’s Friday Night Lights event scheduled for June 6 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway has once again been postponed.

The originally scheduled 1/4-mile special, featuring local short track classes, will now be rescheduled for Friday, June 27, creating a doubleheader weekend for fans and teams alike. All of tonight’s scheduled divisions will be carried over to the new date.

In addition to racing on the 1/4-mile, practice sessions on the 5/8-mile oval will also take place on Friday, June 27 in preparation for the full racing program on Saturday, June 28. Saturday’s lineup remains unchanged and will feature a complete card of 1/4 and 5/8-mile action as originally scheduled.

Fans and teams should monitor nashvillefairgroundsspeedway.racing and the track’s social media platforms for updated schedules, entry info, and additional event details as the doubleheader weekend approaches.

For those planning to attend, the Friday, June 27 event will feature the same ticket pricing and gate times. Tickets purchased in advance for tonight’s postponed show will be honored on the new date.

Updated Schedule Overview:

• Friday, June 27:
  • Rescheduled 1/4-Mile Racing Program
  • 5/8-Mile Practice Sessions
• Saturday, June 28:
  • Full 1/4-Mile and 5/8-Mile Racing Card as Scheduled

We thank all teams, fans, and partners for their patience and understanding. We look forward to welcoming everyone back later this month for an exciting weekend of short track racing in the heart of Music City!

NFS PR

NASCAR teamed up with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to field the Garage 56 special entry class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023. NASCAR CEO Jim France wanted to fund an entry operated by Chevrolet team Spire Motorsports for the July Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, again, leaving Toyota and Ford on the sidelines.

On the surface, it looks like the two manufacturers are getting the short end of the stick from NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Tuesday’s “Dale Jr. Download” that he wouldn’t be surprised if they were upset about both of those occurrences.

“Toyota and Ford are always going to look for something to complain about,” Earnhardt said. “… You’re telling me that if Jim France had went to another Toyota team or another Ford team, they would have accepted that opportunity?”

Ultimately, France’s plan to financially support a Spire entry never came to pass. France was set to work with Spire to put Jack Aitken, a 29-year-old IMSA driver, in the race. Aitken races for a France-owned team in the sports car series. Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported that “backlash in the garage over the perception of another high-profile conflict of interest in motorsports ownership led him [France] to scrap the plans.”

NASCAR’s Jim France wanted to fund Cup Series entry at Sonoma

Gluck and Bianchi added that the original plan was to field a Hendrick car. However, the four-car limit prevents Hendrick from fielding a fifth car, even an open car. Spire has a Hendrick alliance and appeared to be the next best thing. Earnhardt is relieved that France decided to discontinue the plans.

“I wouldn’t necessarily think it’s a good thing,” Earnhardt said. “That’s the type of thing, for me, that needs to be grandfathered in. It’s like the four charters versus teams can only have three. Had Jim France and his family always owned cars for all of these decades of NASCAR, then you grandfather that in. And if that ever ended, you’d just be done with it. At this point, it just doesn’t feel like it’s very productive to do it now. Jim doesn’t need to do it. It’s not like a viable business proposition or opportunity that I think is necessary as a businessman to do it.

“It’s like a here’s a fun thing on the side, we’ll get a guy and he’ll race. Kind of one of those fun things you want to do with your buddies. But it’s not necessary because the dude owns the sport. So, what he might have could have done is shield his involvement. He probably still could have gotten Jack Aitken in a Spire car, still got him on the racetrack and shielded his involvement or his connection to Jack and the partners that would support this program.”

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this report.

Max Verstappen Sparks Speculation of NASCAR Debut Following Cryptic 6-Word Revelation

In a seismic shift that could revolutionize the racing world, whispers of Max Verstappen potentially dipping his toes into NASCAR territory have ignited a firestorm of excitement among motorsport enthusiasts. The Formula 1 prodigy, known for his unparalleled dominance on the F1 circuit, dropped a mere six words that have sent shockwaves through the racing community, hinting at a possible transition to the world of American stock car racing.

The tantalizing prospect of Verstappen venturing into NASCAR gained traction after a chance encounter with NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch, captured in an Instagram video by NASCAR and Trackhouse Racing. As the two drivers prepared for a showrun in Austria, Verstappen’s enigmatic response to Zilisch’s invitation to try out his #87 car left fans clamoring for more. “I would like to do it,” Verstappen nonchalantly quipped, setting the internet ablaze with speculation and anticipation.

While Verstappen has previously expressed his interest in NASCAR, his recent flirtation with the idea has reignited hopes of witnessing the F1 juggernaut take on the challenge of American oval tracks. The Dutch driver’s foray into sim racing has showcased his versatility, but the transition to the high-octane world of NASCAR presents a unique set of challenges that Verstappen seems keen to explore.

Amidst swirling rumors and fan fervor, the possibility of Verstappen gracing a NASCAR track has garnered widespread support, with enthusiasts envisioning the Red Bull Racing driver making waves in a different realm of motorsport. The allure of seeing Verstappen bring his trademark aggression and precision to the NASCAR Cup Series has fans buzzing with excitement, speculating on potential matchups and eagerly awaiting confirmation of his NASCAR aspirations.

As the racing world eagerly awaits a definitive decision from Verstappen, the tantalizing prospect of the F1 champion making a crossover to NASCAR has injected a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation into the motorsport landscape. With the stage set for a potential Verstappen debut in NASCAR, the racing community finds itself on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the enigmatic driver’s illustrious career.

The drama between Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi dissecting the entire situation. The duo likened it to Ross Chastain’s advent in the Cup Series.

Hocevar and Chastain share a lot of similarities, with their ultra-aggressive driving-style. Gluck elaborated on how that’s led to the Spire Motorsports wheelman not receiving the benefit of the doubt, no matter the situation.

“It all plays into the reputation that [Hocevar] has. But I also think there is a little bit of the, what I termed on Twitter, ‘The Chastain Disease,’ where Hocevar is clearly not going to get the benefit of the doubt. Everybody knows he races aggressively. Everybody knows he takes what he can get. So, it pisses everybody off, but nobody’s done anything about it yet,” Gluck stated, via The Teardown.

“… I don’t think that Stenhouse is going to take this lightly. however, he’s sort of like — get in line with Hocevar. Get in line with the long list of people. … [Hocevar] seems to find himself in hot water, but he’s not going to change the way he races.”

In response, Bianchi was in agreement, wondering if Hocevar needs to learn to pick his spots a little better on the track. That could be what leads to him receiving the respect he desires.

“You’re right when you say Hocevar is not going to get the benefit of the doubt, but that’s the world you created, and you’ve got to be able to manage it,” Bianchi responded. “It’s also — this is part of it, a young driver who’s only in the second full season, learning the rigors of racing at the Cup level. Like Chastain and like other young drivers we’ve seen, it’s about picking and choosing your spots.

“I go back to when Chastain was making a lot of his mistakes, and they were at the end of races or towards the end of races, racing for the win. Then it was like, it’s a little bit more excusable. Like, I’m all for aggressive driving, but the Chastain thing is like, I get it. You’re racing for the win, you’re aggressive. I get it. This big picture, you didn’t need to do that in that situation.

“If you’re faster than him, if you’re closing that quickly, you’re going to get them anyway. You obviously have a good race car. You don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary here. Just keep doing your thing. Looking at the tape, it looks like he kind of hit him flush. It wasn’t like he got underneath them and then they made contact, it was almost a flush hit. So if I’m Stenhouse, I’d be pissed too.”

The field certainly believes Carson Hocevar will get some comeuppance soon. Whether it’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. or another driver remains to be seen, but the Spire Motorsports wheelman might need to show a bit more contrition if he’s going to avoid an altercation moving forward.