NASCAR changes start time for FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan

NASCAR has made the decision to change the start time of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway due to weather.

With more rain expected throughout the day in Brooklyn, Michigan, Sunday’s race will now start at 2:30 p.m. ET — 19 minutes ahead of the 2:49 p.m. ET scheduled start time.

UPDATE: The green flag for today’s race at @MISpeedway has been moved to 2:30 PM ET on @USANetwork, @MRNRadio and @SiriusXMNASCAR Radio.

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 6, 2023

Christopher Bell will lead the field to green when the race begins, looking for his second victory of the 2023 Cup Series season.

“This is obviously a very important manufacturers race track, but more than that, it’s a big boost for this 20 team,” Bell said. “We’ve been on the struggle bus a bit lately, and a lot of that’s my doing.”

Kevin Harvick, winless on the season, is one of the favorites having won a Cup Series-leading six times at Michigan throughout his career. He won at Michigan last season and swept both races in 2020. Harvick will begin Sunday’s race from the 22nd position.

“Michigan is just unique because of the speed,” Harvick said this week, via MLive.com. “You don’t want to miss the center of the corner. You want to be on the throttle at the center of the corner and get that good exit speed to make the straightaway as long as you can. So the less you can touch the brake pedal and the more time you can spend on the throttle to make those straightaways as long as possible, the better speed you’re going to make.”

Denny Hamlin confident that Bubba Wallace can perform in NASCAR Cup Series playoffs

Winless on the season, Bubba Wallace still doesn’t quite control his own destiny when it comes to clinching a spot into the Cup Series playoffs.

With four spots up for grabs and four races remaining until the playoffs begin in September, Wallace holds a 54-point advantage ahead of Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger and others vying to get above the cutline. Ahead of Sunday’s race, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin said he likes where Wallace is at, and paid compliment to his team for doing a good job of “playing the game.”

“I certainly like where Bubba’s at now, compared to what he was a few weeks ago,” Hamlin said Saturday, via The SportsRush. “I think that team’s really done a good job of you know playing the game, managing the races the proper way and that’s what’s got ’em the points cushion they’ve got… You got to keep setting goals, keep expanding this thing to give yourself some buffer going into those last few weeks.”

Hamlin, who earned his spot into the postseason as a two-time winner this season, added he believes Wallace is more than capable of being a “playoff driver.”

“I think he’s more than capable of being a playoff driver, he drove the No. 45 to a great standing last year in the playoff standings,” Hamlin said.

Wallace will start Sunday’s race from the 11th position, going for his first win of the season and third of his career.