The first show of a new month brought out a solid crowd to catch the Double Toonie/Fan Appreciation Night action on Saturday, June 7th at Peterborough Speedway.

First to take the green flag was a 20-lapper for the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Trucks, with Scott Jacobs and Howie Crowe on the front row. Jacobs took the early race lead, with teammates Mark Gordon and Crowe looking to run down the leader. Gordon took the lead and Stacy Switzer moved the No. 37 pick-up truck into fourth spot at around the same time as the frontrunners were starting to work through slower traffic. The runner-up in last year’s championship fight had a half track’s advantage over the closing stages and took the win in the caution-free feature. Crowe, Jacobs, Switzer and Shawn Murray completed the top-five.

Hudson Sellers and Jacob Vandebelt led the way as the Junior Late Model division rolled to the line for a 15-lap feature event. Sellers was joined at the front of the pack by Brody Coates as the field started to march through some backmarkers. A yellow flag, with four laps completed, slowed the pace and, at the halfway point, Hudson and Landon Sellers were fighting for the top spot. Another yellow flag brought the pack back together, with the duo of Hudson and Landon Sellers first to the checkered flag. Oliver Gibbons, Coates and Lucas Finnegan rounded out the top-five.

Will Gibbons and Kent Missons were the original front starters in the 20-lap SwitchTire Mini Stock feature, but a jumped start moved the duo back a row for the restart. John Lavalle and Ember Junkin were now in control of the field, with Gibbons, Mike Nelson, Mark Downer and Rob Crick heading toward the front of the pack. Gibbons took second from Junkin with eight laps complete and the leaders started to work through slower traffic with around 13 laps on the board.

Downer saw his night come to an end when the No. 26 machine erupted into a fireball with less than four laps remaining. Safety staff helped the driver from the car; he was checked and released at the track. Lavalle continued to lead after the red flag and held off a late-race charge from Nelson to take his first career feature win. Gibbons, Crick and Junkin were next across the line.

Johnnie McIntyre and reigning track champion Angelo Novis brought the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock pack from the staging area for a 20-lap feature tilt. With only three laps on the scoreboard, the No. 04 ride of Samuel Arnott – who had been using the track’s outside line – brought out the red flag when his car burst into flames. Safety crews help remove Arnott from the car, but despite being unhurt, his night was over. The leaders had started working through slower traffic past the halfway mark and survived a late-race caution flag with about a handful of laps remaining. Tegan Stanley, who had been running second, took the lead with just a lap remaining and went on to win. Alex Dallaire, Victoria McLenon, Christen Lavalle and Novis chased Stanley across the stripe.

Following an early race restart, Chad Strawn and Paul Boundy were on the front row as the Jiffy Lube Super Stocks took the Great Canadian RV green flag. Strawn was the race leader, with Dylan Wills and Boundy completing the top-three spots. Clayton Reed grabbed the runner-up spot with eight laps on the scoreboard, while Strawn was putting his No. 35 machine through its paces. Reed held onto second-place, chasing Strawn across the line for the feature win. Mark Gordon, Boundy and Kyle Gordon finished out the top-five, as another Supernova Fireworks display signified the end of another night of home track racing at Canada’s Toughest 1/3 Mile.

Heat race action earlier in the night included victories by Mark Gordon, who had a pair of Renegade Truck checkered flags, with the others going to reigning track champion Howie Crowe and Stacy Switzer. Junior Late Model preliminary rounds went to Oliver Gibbons with a pair, along with Jacob Vandebelt, Kaiden Beatty, Hudson and Landon Sellers. Last week’s feature event winner Mike Nelson scored two Mini Stock qualifying round wins, with a pair of No. 10 rides – Kent Missons and Will Gibbons – taking the others. Alex Dallaire had a couple of Bone Stock heat race wins, with the others going to Tegan Stanley, Victoria McLenon, John Bates and Angelo Novis. Clayton Reed and Chad Strawn split the Super Stock opening round wins.

All finishing positions are unofficial until verified by scoring review and post-race inspection.

Bullring Bullet Points

• Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Trucks were on the docket for the first time in 2025, with Kyle Fetterly and Alex McGibbon making their debut in the division.
• The Junior Late Models were also in attendance for their season debut and brought 20 teams to the track.
• A trio of Mini Coopers came to play in the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock divisions, with reigning track champion Angelo Novis, Shannon Cappuccitti and Junior Late Model graduate Chase Stevenson repping the brand.
• It was a great night of close racing all around. On several occasions, transponders and online race monitoring systems were used to determine finishing positions.

Peterborough Speedway staff and officials appreciate the patience and understanding of fans during an extended red flag stoppage while personnel dealt with an emergency medical situation in the grandstand near the end of the Junior Late Model feature.

Peterborough Speedway’s season continues on Saturday, June 14th as KOD Disposal presents the APC Late Model 100 and Dayco Super Stock 50-lap main events, along with the 50-lap Bone Stock Shootout, paying $250 to win and $100 to take the green. Grandstand gates open at 3:00 p.m., with racing at 5:00.

Your source for the latest track news and schedule information is always www.peterboroughspeedway.com or through the track’s social media pages and platforms.

Following the announcement of RAM Trucks’ entry into NASCAR in 2026, John Probst, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, has confirmed that the sport is in discussions with three other manufacturers for a NASCAR entry in the future.

RAM separated from Dodge in 2010, and before that, the brand had celebrated three manufacturer championships in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001, 2003, and 2004. The team last raced in 2013.

There has been no new OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in NASCAR since Toyota introduced the Tundra in 2004. Probst shared that, for an OEM, to participate in NASCAR was a “good investment” and revealed that Cup Series newcomers would be allowed to follow an 18-month schedule to prepare and develop their team and cars to race.

Opening up on the ongoing discussion with other automakers during the announcement of RAM’s NASCAR entry, Probst said:

“I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say that we are very close with one other. Can’t speak for them. Obviously, it’s their decision to make. We would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR, and even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions, but also looking pretty positive.

“But we all know that an OEM deciding to come into NASCAR, it’s a big commitment for them. It’s not something that they take lightly. It requires a lot of research and approval at the highest levels. We’re confident right now. We like the position we’re in, and think that we’re a pretty good investment for an OEM.”

Could Honda be one of the automakers NASCAR has been in talks with? A report by Sports Business Journal, which anticipated the arrival of RAM Trucks, stated that “Honda is also said to be eyeing a potential entry into NASCAR, though the timing of that is less clear.”

The entry of RAM would likely encourage manufacturers to consider a NASCAR entry, and push forward those that are already in talks. RAM Trucks CEO Tim Kuniskis confirmed that his team will be all set to race next year at Daytona. He said:

“We’ll be on track in Daytona in eight months, and the way we’re going to do it is unlike anyone else.”

Kuniskis hinted that RAM’s ultimate goal was to race in the Cup Series. He added:

“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now. So how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”

At Michigan on Sunday, it was clear that the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was going to be difficult to beat. He won a stage, collected the fastest lap bonus, and led 98 of 200 laps.

He fought hard to hang on to the race lead in the closing stages, but Byron couldn’t hold back a charging Denny Hamlin. Byron was still going to finish second or third when the car finally ran out of fuel at the exit of Turn 4, despite his best efforts to save, coming just over two miles shy of the race finish. He dove into the pits and finished 28th instead.

Never had enough in the tank

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

“No, we didn’t have enough,” said Byron when asked if there was anything different he could have done. “We were going to run out with 1.5 laps to go and I was just trying to manage both — trying to keep the lead and manage the gap and save fuel down the straight and on (corner) exit and everything. We just didn’t … ultimately, not as good mileage as the guys that were further back to start that run. And that’s just the way the cautions go and the nature of being closer to the front and burning more fuel.

“I don’t know, that one is like, you can’t really do a lot about (it). It sucks, it really stings but we had a really good car. I thought we executed well. It seemed like we waited a little bit on fuel for the last stop, and jsut burned more and not able to do much about that. It is what it is.”

Byron leads the regular season standings, but since earning victory in the season-opening Daytona 500, he’s had several almost-wins slip through his fingers. He led the most laps at Darlington, Charlotte, and now Michigan, but failed to reach Victory Lane each time

The good news is that he remains comfortably ahead in the championship, now leading teammate Kyle Larson by 41 points.

Photos from Michigan – Race

NASCAR’s first international Cup Series race of the modern era is all about the eyeballs, specifically new fans in the Mexico City market.

NASCAR will be on the track Friday for the first of three days of racing at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, one of the most popular stops on the Formula 1 calendar and Ben Kennedy’s newest project.

The great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., Kennedy has taken the family business beyond its comfortable confines before.

Kennedy in 2022 moved the preseason exhibition Clash from its longtime home at Daytona International Speedway in Florida to a temporary track built inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kennedy this year moved the Clash to The Madhouse — the historic Bowman Gray Stadium, which had last hosted a Cup race in 1971, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

NASCAR under Kennedy also returned to North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina for the first time since 1977 when the All-Star race was moved there three years ago. He allowed dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, a hybrid road course and oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, alongside his biggest undertaking: NASCAR’s first street race, held in downtown Chicago.

He also had his eyes set on expanding internationally, which will come Sunday with the first points-paying international race in the Cup Series since 1958. It is only third time in 77 years that NASCAR’s top series will run an event that counts in the championship outside the United States. The last two times were in Canada; the Cup Series also has held exhibitions in Japan and Australia.

“Our biggest opportunity to grow as a sport is international,” Kennedy said when he announced Mexico City was replacing one of the two races on the schedule allocated to Richmond International Raceway.

“The U.S. is always going to be our mainstay and our next opportunity was to expand internationally,” he said. “We said we’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but also needed to make sure it was the right time, the right partners and the right location. Mexico City checked every box. To be in one of the biggest cities globally — over 20 million people that live in the city — is a massive opportunity for us to bring the sport.”

The weekend includes the second-tier Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Mexico Series. It’s a strong return to a market that devours the entire F1 weekend ticket package within an hour of them becoming available.

Mexicans have proven to be rabid motorsports fans but haven’t gotten a chance to see NASCAR’s big names since 2008, the final year of a four-year run of Xfinity races. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were winners during the four-year stretch.

Daniel Suarez, the former Xfinity champion and native of Monterrey, is NASCAR’s face of the event. He raced the circuit 13 times with a different layout in the NASCAR Mexico Series, and three of Suarez’s starts were wins.

“I’m super excited for the event. I’m super excited to live the moment because the first time is going to only happen once,” Suarez said. “I’m really trying to be as present as possible, enjoy the moment and try to execute the best possible weekend that we can. We know that we are capable of winning the race, but that’s not the goal. The goal is the execution of the entire weekend, and hopefully the win is the result of the execution part.”

The planning that has gone into Mexico City, one of 38 events on the Cup schedule, began about a year ago. NASCAR has worked on myriad details, beginning with how to get nearly 200 trucks hauling race cars and equipment from Michigan International Speedway into Mexico City.

NASCAR official Tom Bryant has spearheaded the organizational logistics and made multiple trips to the border crossing in Laredo, Texas, to meet with customs officials from both nations.

The drive from Michigan to Mexico City is about 40 hours, not including the tedious customs crossing, where all the equipment and tools on every NASCAR hauler must be documented on an exhaustive manifest. Cup Series teams cars were scheduled for a Monday night arrival at Laredo, with crossing scheduled for Tuesday and arrival at the track on Thursday.

“It’s been a ton of coordination moving lots of people and lots of stuff safely and efficiently across a great distance and an international border,” Bryant said on the “Hauler Talk” NASCAR podcast.

“There is a lot to it, but the key to it is you just have to define the problem. We’ve got to get these people and these things from this point to that point within a certain time period,” he said. “How do we do it in a way that’s going to best position us to be ready to go to work as soon as we hit the ground down there? Because this is a pretty tight window.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin won in a wild fuel-mileage finish to the NASCAR Cup Series’ FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan.

Hamlin earned his 57th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series after having enough fuel to get to the end of a wild race. He passed William Byron with four laps to go after swapping side-draft moves for several laps.

Never a fan of a dominator, certainly not someone who is 11th on the all-time wins list, the crowd booed Denny Hamlin as he exited his car.

“I’m sorry, dad, but I beat your favorite driver again,” Hamlin said, repeating a victory quote he said his dad didn’t like. “All of them.”

Hamlin, the 44-year-old senior driver at Joe Gibbs Racing, leads all drivers for wins with the team. He’ll bring home a win to his wife who is on baby watch.

Hamlin’s teammate, Ty Gibbs, finished third. Gibbs, the 22-year-old junior driver at Joe Gibbs Racing driver, took second from Byron after Hamlin passed Byron.

“I wish we could’ve gotten one but it’s not the option we had with the fuel-mileage situation we were in,” Gibbs said.

William Byron ran out of fuel on the final lap. After leading 98 of 200 laps, earning a bonus point for the fastest lap of the race and finishing second and first in the stages, Byron finished 28th.

“We just didn’t have as good of mileage who were further back in the run and that’s just the way the cautions go with the nature of being up front. It stings. I thought we executed well and waited on fuel but burned too much fuel. It is what it is,” Byron said.

Chris Buescher took second and led three RFK Racing cars in the top-10 finishing order.

TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 200): Hamlin, Buescher, Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Zane Smith, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski.

Carson Hocevar had a chance at getting his final lap but needed a caution as he was four laps short on fuel, unless he dropped back to save fuel. The caution never came and Hocevar had a left-rear tire issue 15 laps before he needed to pit — disappointing the hometown crowd who came to see the Portage native win for the first time in the Cup Series. Hocevar finished 29th, one lap down.

NASCAR Cup Series Results: 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Chris Buescher
3. Ty Gibbs
4. Bubba Wallace
5. Kyle Larson
6. Ross Chastain
7. Zane Smith
8. Kyle Busch
9. Ryan Preece
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Erik Jones
12. Josh Berry
13. Tyler Reddick
14. Daniel Suarez
15. Chase Elliott
16. Christopher Bell
17. AJ Allmendinger
18. Shane van Gisbergen
19. Austin Dillon
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Justin Haley
22. Joey Logano
23. Chase Briscoe
24. Ty Dillon
25. Riley Herbst
26. Cody Ware
27. Noah Gragson
28. William Byron
29. Carson Hocevar (-1 lap)
30. Michael McDowell (-1)
31. Austin Cindric (-1)
32. Ryan Blaney (-4)
33. Todd Gilliland
    • Crashed out after 146 laps
34. John Hunter Nemechek
    • Crashed out after 72 laps
35. Cole Custer
36. Alex Bowman
    • Bowman and Custer each crashed out after 66 laps

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings bubble after Michigan

• Bubba Wallace +61
• Chase Briscoe +41
• Chris Buescher +20
• Alex Bowman +13
• Ryan Preece: +0
• Kyle Busch -0
• Carson Hocevar -18
• AJ Allmendinger -18
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -20
• Erik Jones -36
• Zane Smith -37
• Michael McDowell -37
• Ty Gibbs -52
• John Hunter Nemechek -52
• Austin Dillon -52
• Todd Gilliland -57
• Daniel Suarez -68

Below is an archive of the live updates throughout the FireKeepers Casino 400.

FINAL STAGE

William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Josh Berry, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell stayed out, restarting first through 16th on lap 126.

Kyle Larson pitted with everyone else on the lead lap, going back to 32nd. Larson jumped to 10th but reported possible voltage issues.

Top 10 on Lap 141: Byron, Hocevar, Reddick, Hamlin, Wallace, Busch, Berry, Buescher, Jones, Larson.

Suarez, Preece, Chastain and Gibbs dropped to 11th through 14th.

Todd Gilliland crashed in turn two on lap 147 after blowing a left-rear tire. Gilliland was running 17th before the crash.

“I hit insanely hard so we are done,” Gilliland said on the radio.

With 52 laps to go, everyone pitted. They can likely make it to the end on fuel, especially if there are several cautions. Christopher Bell made it 59 laps on fuel earlier in the race.

Zane Smith, Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe took two tires and exited pit road first, third and eighth.

Taking four was Carson Hocevar (second), William Byron, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Chris Buescher (fourth through seventh), Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace (ninth and 10th).

Larson didn’t have to take as much fuel, allowing him to gain as many positions as he did.

On the other end, Tyler Reddick had issues getting out of his pit stall. He dropped to 19th.

Outside of the top-10: Denny Hamlin (11th), Kyle Busch (12th), Brad Keselowski (16th)

Carson Hocevar took the lead from Kyle Larson with a full-send move in turn one. Larson lost second to William Byron.

Hocevar was told he is four laps short while Byron is two laps short. Hocevar was told he is doing a good job saving fuel with 42 laps to go.

Tyler Reddick is up to 10th after restarting 19th. He is one of the biggest movers since the restart:

• AJ Allmendinger: +15 to 13th
• Tyler Reddick: +10 to 9th
• Ross Chastain +9 to 8th
• Justin Haley: +6 to 25th
• Michael McDowell: -9 to 12th
• Chase Briscoe: -9 to 18th
• Ty Dillon: -8 to 28th
• Noah Gragson: -8 to 30th

According to Prime Video, third-place Kyle Larson is getting 5.8 mpg while drafting off of William Byron but keeping enough of a gap to minimize dirty air in the turns. Carson Hocevar is getting 4.7 mpg and can’t save enough out in front to make it to the end on fuel, he is told.

“So basically, I just go?” Hocevar said.

Denny Hamlin has jumped to fifth after restarting 11th. Hamlin took longer on pit road to fill up with fuel and was told the top-5 is concerned with fuel. He is “a half lap to the good” and doesn’t need to save fuel.

TOP-10, 20 TO GO: Hocevar, Byron, Larson, Gibbs, Hamlin, Buescher, Zane Smith, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick.

With 19 laps to go, Hocevar blew a left-rear tire and lost the lead to Byron. Hamlin took third from Gibbs with 15 to go and got Larson on the same lap. He has no fuel mileage concerns.

Larson dropped to fifth behind Gibbs and Buescher with six laps to go as Byron and Hamlin battled for the lead.

Denny Hamlin took the lead from William Byron after a wild battle with four laps to go after swapping sidedraft moves for several laps. He tried to become the 10th driver to win a Cup race after 700 starts.

Byron ran out coming to get the white flag.

STAGE TWO WINNER: William Byron

STAGE TWO TOP -10 (LAP 120): William Byron, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones.

• This is Byron’s seventh stage win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season
  • Second only to Kyle Larson, who has eight stage wins
• 10 lead changes through 120 laps:
  • Chase Briscoe: 0 to 11
  • William Byron: 12 to 34
  • Chris Buescher: 35 to 47
  • Denny Hamlin: 48
  • Ty Dillon: 49
  • Ryan Blaney: 50 to 56
  • Chase Elliott: 57 to 76
  • Christopher Bell: 76 to 77
  • Byron: 78 to 109
  • Austin Cindric: 110 to 119
  • Byron: 120 to stage end

Cautions breed cautions in racing, they say. Stage two exemplified just that.

Ryan Blaney led the field for the first restart of stage two. Blaney exited pit road first, ahead of Denny Hamlin, Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain.

Polesitter Chase Briscoe dropped from fourth to 12th. Josh Berry dropped from fifth to 11th. Christopher Bell dropped from 22nd to 27th.

Chase Elliott made a huge four-wide move on Carson Hocevar and Denny Hamlin for second on lap 54. Elliott then went up and took the lead from Blaney three laps later.

On lap 58, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin nearly reignited their rivalry. Hamlin ran to the inside of Larson for sixth when his car tightened up on him. Hamlin kept his car off of Larson’s but Hamlin dropped to 12th.

John Hunter Nemechek “snapped loose” exiting turn two on lap 61 and crashed with Noah Gragson. Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Todd Gilliland, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Cody Ware, Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski pitted under caution. They will restart 17th through 34th.

The top-16 is: Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Zane Smith, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen.

Alex Bowman crashed hard, head-on into the outside wall in turn two after Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric made contact with each other. The wreck happened 67 laps in and also collected Chase Briscoe.

MORE: Alex Bowman slips further in NASCAR Cup points after hard Michigan crash

Under caution on lap 69, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley stayed out while everyone pitted to top off for fuel.

On pit road, Larson was caught speeding.

John Hunter Nemechek ran into trouble again, spinning on lap 73 — 47 laps to go in the stage. Larson jumped from 30th to 26th in the couple of laps run under green.

Top-10: Elliott, Bell, McDowell, Keselowski, Logano, William Byron, Haley, Gilliland, Preece, Tyler Reddick.

Denny Hamlin moved to 10th when Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road. They pitted on lap 47 and were going to need a lot of cautions and some miracles to make it to the end of the stage on fuel.

Christopher Bell restarted as the leader on lap 77 with Michael McDowell to the inside on the front row. McDowell raced Bell hard which allowed William Byron to take the lead on the first lap of the restart. Bell held on to second while McDowell dropped to sixth.

Todd Gilliland, who has hardly stood out this season, made waves on lap 85. He took fifth from Joey Logano with a slick move on the frontstretch.

13 laps after pitting, Elliott moved from 33rd to 22nd. Teammate Larson is up to 19th, in between Blaney and Buescher, as strategies have shaken up the outlook of the race.

TOP-10: Byron, Bell, Reddick, Keselowski, Gilliland, Preece, Hamlin, Hocevar, Logano, McDowell.

Front Row Motorsports is trying to fulfill the promise of their name as Zane Smith joined Gilliland in the top-10, taking ninth on lap 93. Smith restarted 18th.

Excluding Elliott (+12 spots to 20th), Smith is the biggest mover, in a positive direction, tied with Josh Berry (+9 to 22nd). Larson gained eight spots to 16th, Hocevar and Chastain +7 to seventh and 12th respectively.

Logano is slipping back, dropping to 14th on lap 97 and 19th on lap 100.

Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace is on the move, cracking the top-10 briefly before Cindric passed him.

Bell pitted on lap 106, stretching the fuel 59 laps. He had 13 caution laps helping him go that far.

Logano has dropped to 23rd as the caution flies on lap 109 for Blaney hitting the wall off of turn four and spinning. Bell will take the free pass.

“Well not exactly our lucky day but we will make it work,” crew chief Adam Stevens said on the radio.

“I think we know the car is good if we can ever get back to the front,” Bell said.

Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Chase Briscoe stayed out under caution. On pit road, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson pitted and restarted behind them. Brad Keselowski was caught speeding after running inside the top-10.

FanDuel mid-race favorites: Byron +380, Hamlin +500, Reddick +650, Elliott +800, Larson +950

On the restart Cindric held on to the lead after fiercely defending Tyler Reddick. Reddick had to fend off William Byron who took second and challenged Cindric.

With three laps to go in the stage, Byron drove hard into turn one and took the lead from Cindric. Cindric had a challenge from Carson Hocevar, a native of nearby Portage, he successfully defended.

Buescher won stage one. It was his first stage win of the season.

STAGE ONE WINNER: Chris Buescher

• STAGE ONE TOP -10 (LAP 45): Chris Buescher, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar.
  • This is Buescher’s first stage win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season
  • Lap leaders: William Byron (23), Chase Briscoe (11), Chris Buescher (11)

Chase Briscoe led the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag and claimed lap one of 200 in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Briscoe held off a challenge from front row sharer Kyle Busch to lead the first lap. Busch fell back to fourth after the inside lane didn’t have as much momentum and grip as the outside lane.

Tyler Reddick started in the rear of the field but jumped up to 19th in five laps — far exceeding the team’s expectation to be in the teens at the end of the 45-lap stage.

Briscoe lost the lead on lap 12 to William Byron. Byron worked him over for a few laps but finally caught the run just right off of turn two to get a side draft off of his left-rear quarter panel.

Call it deja vu but Chris Buescher called it taking the lead from William Byron after working him over for multiple laps and catching the right run on lap 36.

On lap 18, Reddick has stalled out in 20th. Up front, Chris Buescher is on the move, taking second from Briscoe. Briscoe is falling back as he lost third to teammate Denny Hamlin on lap 22.

Teammate Ty Gibbs is hurting. He started eighth and fell to 23rd on lap 37. Gibbs reported he is loose and had a vibration in the right-rear tire. Gibbs lost the most positions in the opening 45 laps losing 18 positions and dropping to 26th. Alex Bowman was next, dropping from 16th to 32nd.

Ryan Blaney is flying through the field. Blaney started 13th and easily passed Ty Gibbs for eighth on lap 19. Carson Hocevar is following him through the field after starting 14th.

Blaney is now up to sixth while Hocevar has fell to 10th on lap 41.

Daniel Suarez had a tire issue and pitted during the stage. He received the free pass during the caution for the first stage.

NASCAR Cup Series 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Starting Lineup

1. Chase Briscoe
2. Kyle Busch
3. Denny Hamlin
4. William Byron
5. Kyle Larson
6. Chris Buescher
7. Josh Berry
8. Ty Gibbs
9. Bubba Wallace
10. Zane Smith
11. Austin Cindric
12. Tyler Reddick
    • Started from the rear due to a flat tire in practice
13. Ryan Blaney
14. Carson Hocevar
15. Joey Logano
16. Alex Bowman
17. Chase Elliott
18. Ty Dillon
19. AJ Allmendinger
20. Ross Chastain
21. John Hunter Nemechek
22. Erik Jones
23. Ryan Preece
24. Cole Custer
25. Christopher Bell
26. Shane van Gisbergen
27. Brad Keselowski
28. Austin Dillon
29. Noah Gragson
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
31. Justin Haley
32. Michael McDowell
33. Todd Gilliland
34. Riley Herbst
35. Daniel Suarez
36. Cody Ware