Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series Race Preview – FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway – Speedway Digest

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RACE INFO

DATE: Sunday, June 8, 2025

RACE: FireKeepers Casino 400

TRACK: Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, MI)

TRACK LENGTH: 2 miles

TV: Prime Video (2 p.m. ET)

RADIO: MRN Radio / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (2 p.m. ET)

JOE GIBBS RACING

JGR AT MICHIGAN: Joe Gibbs Racing owns eight NASCAR Cup Series victories at Michigan International Speedway. In 162 combined starts at the two-mile track, the organization has tallied 48 top-five finishes, 78 top-10s, eight pole awards, and 1,279 laps led. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, and Tony Stewart have all driven JGR entries to victory lane at Michigan.

DENNY HAMLIN

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HAMLIN AT MICHIGAN: Denny Hamlin is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Michigan International Speedway after claiming victories in 2010 and 2011. In 34 career starts at the two-mile track, Hamlin has earned 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10s, one pole award, and 263 laps led. The Virginia native has finished inside the top 10 in seven consecutive Michigan races and has led in eight of the last nine races at the track dating back to August 2018.

NASHVILLE RECAP: Hamlin finished third in last weekend’s race at Nashville Superspeedway. After starting second, he led 79 laps and won the opening stage of the race. He ran inside the top three throughout the final two segments before ultimately ending the night with a third-place result.

FASTEST LAP: Hamlin posted the Xfinity Fastest Lap in the past two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway. Overall, Hamlin is tied for the series lead with three Xfinity Fastest Lap awards this season.

CHRIS GAYLE: Crew chief Chris Gayle’s best Cup Series performance at Michigan International Speedway was a third-place result with Ty Gibbs last August. He also has a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series victories atop the pit box at the two-mile track. In June 2015, he led Kyle Busch to victory lane and he followed that up by guiding Gibbs to a win in August 2022.

CHASE BRISCOE

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BRISCOE AT MICHIGAN: Chase Briscoe has four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway with a best finish of 11th in 2021. Briscoe finished inside the top 10 in his only Michigan starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (seventh in 2019), NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (ninth in 2017), and the ARCA Menards Series (second in 2016).

NASHVILLE RECAP: Briscoe started on the pole and led a season-high 51 laps last Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway. Briscoe earned valuable stage points with a third-place finish in stage one before ultimately finishing 17th.

2025 POLE AWARDS: Chase Briscoe set a new track record (164.396 mph) last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway to capture his series-leading third pole award of the 2025 season. With three poles in the first 14 races, Briscoe has earned more pole awards in 2025 than in his previous four seasons combined.

JAMES SMALL: 2025 marks James Small’s sixth season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. as Small led the No. 19 team to eight wins, 46 top-five finishes, 86 top-10s, and four NASCAR playoffs appearances. The Australia native led Truex to a runner-up finish in the 2021 championship and to the 2023 regular season championship.

BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear”. For more information or to shop online, visit www.basspro.com.

CHRISTOPHER BELL

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BELL AT MICHIGAN: Christopher Bell’s best finish in six NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway is a trio of 13th-place finishes. Bell was on his way to a solid run at Michigan last year before a late-race accident relegated him to a 35th-place finish. The Oklahoma native posted a second-place finish in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Michigan during his 2017 championship season.

STARTING UP FRONT: In three races with the Next Gen car at Michigan, Bell has started second (2022), first (2023), and third (2024). His pole-winning lap of 193.382 mph in August 2023 is the fastest qualifying lap at any track since the Next Gen car’s inception in 2022.

NASHVILLE RECAP: Bell scored his seventh top-10 finish in the last eight races with a 10th-place result last Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway. After starting seventh, he ran up front early on and finished fifth in stage one. During stage two, Bell was involved in an accident on a restart that sent his No. 20 Toyota spinning into the outside wall. Despite the setback, the No. 20 team repaired Bell’s car well enough to allow him to recover for another top-10 result.

SEASON TO DATE: The 2025 season got off to a solid start for Bell, highlighted by three back-to-back-to-back wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Circuit of the Americas and Phoenix Raceway. Most recently, Bell proved to be an All-Star, taking home the $1 million prize for winning at North Wilkesboro Speedway. With 14 races completed this season, Bell is tied for the series lead with three wins and 10 top-10 finishes to go along with six top-fives, one pole award, and 147 laps led.

RHEEM AT MICHIGAN: Rheem will host more than 65 guests this weekend in Michigan. Executives will be on site from the Rheem Operations team in addition to guests from the Water Heater Division (WHD), Commercial Air Division, and customers from key distributor Ferguson.

TY GIBBS

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GIBBS AT MICHIGAN: Ty Gibbs has finished 11th or better in all three of his NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, including a third-place result last August. In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, Gibbs has one win, two top-five results, and never finish finished worse than 13th.

MICHIGAN WINS: Gibbs owns a pair of victories at Michigan International Speedway. In August 2021, he started on the pole and led 99 of 100 laps to win the ARCA Menards Series race at the two-mile facility. In August 2022, Gibbs led 54 of 125 laps to win the Xfinity Series race at Michigan.

NASHVILLE RECAP: Gibbs started 22nd and finished 31st in last weekend’s race at Nashville Superspeedway.

TYLER ALLEN: Crew chief Tyler Allen is in his first year leading Gibbs and the No. 54 team. While this is Allen’s first experience as a crew chief at the Cup Series level, he had a standout season in 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allen led JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship.

JGR PR