After some short track racing and plenty of controversy in the overtime finish last week at Richmond Raceway, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Irish Hills of Michigan and the two mile track of Michigan International Speedway for the Fire Keepers Casino 400.

Thirty-six teams brings cars to MIS for what is sure to be some wild action as drivers vie for one of the final four open playoff spots.  While Austin Dillon won the race at Richmond, his actions on the track have cost him his spot in the playoffs; meaning that there are once again four spot up for the playoffs with just three races remaining in the regular season.

Richard Childress Racing has appealed the penalty that stripped driver Austin Dillon of his playoff bid and the hearing is set for Wednesday.

Due to a shower moving through, NASCAR is putting all 36 cars on the track at the same time for a 40 minute practice session.  And there are more showers and misting in the general area.  The hard part is the drivers only have one set of tires for practice.

In the first laps of practice, the drivers are averaging laps speeds of over 190mph; hitting over 200mph in spots on the track.

And in less than five minutes of practice, NASCAR displays the red flag for rain.

 After about a 10 minute break, NASCAR has again waved the green flag and allowed the drivers back out on the track.

And once again the red flag comes out for rain after only about 10 minutes of practice.  With the speeds approaching 200mph, it becomes very dangerous for the driver to be on a wet track with slick tires.

As umbrellas and car covers come out, NASCAR has announced that practice is over and qualifying has been cancelled.  The field will be set by NASCAR’s metric.

In what little practice the drivers did have, Melon Man Ross Chastain topped the leaderboard.

The starting lineup for the Fire Keepers Casino 400:
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Josh Berry
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Ty Gibbs
Todd Gilliland
Chase Briscoe
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Martin Truex Jr
Noah Gragson
Ryan Preece
Zane Smith
Erik Jones
Justin Haley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Corey LaJoie
Daniel Hemric
John Hunter Nemechek
Harrison Burton
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware

After the cars have made a few laps around the track, NASCAR is bringing the cars down pit road for precipitation on the track.  The cars are on pit road and covered.  In a “chat” with the broadcast crew Ross Chastain noted that rain delays means more snacks.

Some 30 minutes after the scheduled race start, the rain has stopped and the track drying process has begun.

And just as most of the track drying is complete a second ban of storms comes through.

At 4pm, the rain has stopped and the track drying process has resumed.

At 4:42pm NASCAR has called the drivers to their cars as the 18 track drying machines have nearly completed their tasks.

At 4:51pm the cars are moving once again!

The 45 crew discovered a radio issue in Tyler Reddick’s car and replaced one of the radios during the rain delay.

Stage one is 45 laps, stage two is 75 laps, and stage three is 80 laps long for a total of 200 laps around the two mile track.

Chase Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson is making his 700th start on the pit box today.

Under some very dark skies, Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Tyler Reddick alongside.  Tyler Reddick gets out in front  but on the backstretch, Kyle Larson makes it a three way battle to take the lead.

Lap two, Kyle Larson leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap three, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for second.

Lap five, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a third of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

The top four drivers are also the top four drivers in the point standings. Kyle Larson leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Josh Berry is reporting a very loose condition in his car and has dropped to last place.

Lap 13, Kyle Larson holds on to the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Laap 18, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race with Denny Hamlin slowly closing the gap on the leader; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

AJ Allmendinger has advanced eleven spots since the start of the race.

Lap 20, Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for fourth.

Lap 21, Denny Hamlin is now just a quarter of a second behind leader Kyle Larson.

Lap 24, Kyle Larson holds on to the lead as Denny Hamlin inches closer; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Leader Kyle Larson has begun lapping slower traffic.

Lap 27, Denny Hamlin is beginning to challenge leader Kyle Larson for the lead.

Lap 30, Bubba Wallace passes teammate Tyler Reddick for third.

Lap 35, Denny Hamlin finally gets even with Kyle Larson to battle for the lead.  While the two are battling for the lead, Bubba Wallace blows by them on the inside to take the lead. 

Denny Hamlin has passed Kyle Larson for second.  Tyler Reddick is challenging Kyle Larson for third.

Lap 37, Denny Hamlin is on leader Bubba Wallace’s bumper and looking to take the lead.  Wallace is trying to hold off the boss.

Denny Hamlin brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap 39 to cheers from the crowd.  Hamlin slides up behind bubba Wallace but gets loose, barely avoiding a crash with the wall, and spins out to make a run through the grass.

Bubba Wallace leads the way down pit road with lots of traffic behind him.  Chase Elliott edges out Bubba Wallace to win the lead off of pit road.  Six drivers stayed out on the track – Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, and Harrison Burton.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with William Byron alongside with just three laps remaining in stage one.  Driver get three and four wide in a battle for position.  Ryan Blaney leads the race.

Lap 44, the top five are Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace.

Ryan Blaney wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Martin Truex Jr
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain

Drivers who did not pit during the caution, make their way to pit road,

The skies are VERY dark and there is rain outside of the track.  NASCAR has announced that 8:20pm is the cut off time – if the drivers are on the track at that time, the white flag will wave and there will be one more lap to end the race.

NASCAR brings the cars down pit road once again and displays the red flag at 5:41pm.  The drivers are out of their cars and the cars are being covered as the rain begins to fall.

The race has been called for today and will resume at 11am tomorrow.

When NASCAR called the race on lap 51, Chase Elliott was in the lead with Martin Truex Jr in second, and Bubba Wallace in third.

After multiple rain storms stopped the race, the crews return to the track on a sunny Monday morning to complete what they started.

The cars are moving again and choosing where they want to start.  Denny Hamlin has to restart the race from the back of the field after his crew worked on the underbody after his run through the grass.

Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 56 with Kyle Busch alongside.  Elliott takes the lead as drivers spread out across the track.

Lap 57, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch battle for the lead.

The top five are Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, and Chase Briscoe.

Lap 58, Kyle Busch passes Chase Elliott for the lead.

Lap 60, Kyle Busch leads the race with Chase Elliott in second; Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 63, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott have a lead of over a second on third place driver Bubba Wallace; Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

At the back of the field, Denny Hamlin reports that his car is very loose.  He nearly wrecks the car but saves it.

Lap 65, Kyle Busch leads the race with Martin Truex Jr t aking second from Chase Elliott; Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr passes Kyle Busch for the lead; Chase Elliott comes with him to put Kyle Busch in third.

The sun is shining at Michigan but it is windy giving the drivers a tail wind on the backstretch.

Lap 69, Bubba Wallace passes Kyle Busch for third.

Lap 70, the top five are Martin Truex Jr, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson.

Lap 73, Martin Truex Jr has a near half second lead on Chase Elliott; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

The drivers are reaching speeds of 205mph in turn one.

John Hunter Nemechek is off the pace; William Byron nearly cause a big wreck with Ross Chastain when passing Nemechek.  There is some damage to the 42 car after Nemechek got into the wall.  Reports are that the crew is waiting for a caution to fix  the damage.

There are 34 cars on the lead lap.  Denny Hamlin is the las car on the lead lap.

Lap 79, Kyle Larson passes Kyle Busch for fourth.

Kyle Busch reports a free condition in his car.

Austin Cindric slaps the wall but the track stays green.

Lap 82, Martin Truex Jr has a near half second lead on Chase Elliott; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 86, green flag pit stops have begun.  The drivers are having to wait on fuel after the tire change.

Lap 91, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over six seconds on Christopher Bell as green flag pit stops continue.

Lap 93, leader Martin Truex Jr makes his green flag pit stop.  Ryan Blaney is the new leader.

Lap 99, leader Ryan Blaney makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Ty Gibbs; but he and Brad Keselowski have yet to make their pit stops.

Lap 103, Ty Gibbs makes his green flag pit stop, Brad Keselowski is the new lead.

Brad Keselowski comes down pit road, Kyle Larson is the new leader with Martin Truex Jr in second place.

Lap 104, the top five are Ky le Larson, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain.

William Byron passes Ross Chastain for fifth.

Making his pit stop, Denny Hamlin reported that he had no grip.

Lap 109, the caution flag comes out when Joey Logano, Todd Gilliland, and AJ Allmendinger had tire issues.  Logano had the tire carcass come off the car.  AJ Allmendinger spins out after he blew a tire.

Several of the drivers come down pit road for service including leader Kyle Larson.  Taking only two tires, William Byron wins the race off of pit road. 

Staying out on the track, Ross Chastain leads the race.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Busch alongside with just five laps remaining in stage two.  Kyle Busch takes the lead.

The top five are Kyle Busch, Ross Chast, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, and Austin Dillon.

The caution flag comes out for a wreck involving multiple cars including Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell.  Bell and Larson are stuck in the grass.  Drivers were three and four wide when Kyle Larson got loose and spun up the track.  Right behind Larson, Bubba Wallace was also involved in the crash.  Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland also have damage to their cars.

Ending under caution, Kyle Busch wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Busch
Ross Chastain
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
Cody Ware
Ryan Blaney

Just a few drivers come down pit road for service including second place driver Ross Chastain.

Out of the infield care center, Kyle Larson noted that you have a lot of grip until you don’t; adding that he “just screwed it up.”

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the grees flag start of stage two on lap 126 and battles with William Byron for the lead with Byron taking the lead.

The top five are William Byron, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski.

Ty Gibbs passes Kyle Busch for second.

Lap 130, there are 26 cars on the lead lap.

Brad Keselowski passes Kyle Busch for third.

Lap 135, William Byron leads the race with Ty Gibbs right behind him; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap 136 when Corey LaJoie gets upside down sliding down the track and flips over back on the tires when he hits the grass.  LaJoie climbs out of the car.  He came up on Noah Gragson and lost the air sending him airborne.  The cars weigh some 3,400 pounds.

Drivers come down pit road for service but some stayed out on the track.  With 62 laps remaining in the race, the drivers cannot make it to the end of the race.  The drivers can run around 50 green flag laps on a single load of fuel.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 142.  Chase Elliott jumps out in front for the lead as drivers get three and four wide across the track.

The top five are Chase Elliott, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, and Tyler Reddick.

Corey LaJoie has been checked and released from the infield care center! 

With 54 laps to go, Chase Elliott has a quarter of a second lead on teammate William Byron.

Brad Keselowski passes William Byron for second.

Lap 148, the top five are Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.

With 47 laps remaining in the race, William Byron begins the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Chase Elliott leads the race with Ty Gibbs in second; Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

A lap down after his pit stop, William Byron unlaps himself.

Lap 161, Tyler Reddick passes Chase Elliott for the lead as green flag pit stops continue.

Lap 162, leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott make their green flag pit stop; Kyle Busch is the new leader.

Leader Kyle Busch makes his green flag pit stop with 34 laps to go.  Daniel Suarez is the new leader.

Thirty to go, Daniel Suarez leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; but the top eleven drivers have yet to make their pit stop.

Tyler Reddick battles Kyle Busch with Reddick taking the spot. 

William Byron also passes Kyle Busch.  Once green flag pit stops cycle through, Reddick, Byron, and Busch will be the top three.

Twenty to go, still needing to make a pit stop, Harrison Burton leads the race with Josh Berry in second.

With 17 laps to go, Harrison Burton makes his pit stop, leaving only Josh Berry needing a pit stop.

Josh Berry finally makes his pit stop with 13 laps to go.  Tyler Reddick is the new leader.

With 12 to go, the top five are Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch.

Ten to go! Tyler Reddick has a two second lead on William Byron; Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

After his early race incident, Denny Hamlin is in the top 10.

With seven laps to go, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over two seconds on William Byron.

The caution flag comes out with just six laps to go when Martin Truex Jr gets loose and into the wall.

Some of the drivers back in the field come down pit road; leaders stay out.

The race has gone into overtime!

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the overtime shootout with William Byron alongside.  After a push from Brad Keselowski, William Byron gets out in front for the lead.

Ross Chastain spins out and ends up in the grass to bring out the caution flag.  Alex Bowman lost control of the car and stacked up the field.  Chastain is stuck in the grass and needs a push.

The race goes into a second overtime with William Byron leading the race.

The top five are William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch.

A few drivers come down pit road for service.

William Byron brings the field down for the second overtime shootout to end the race with Tyler Reddick alongside.  Tyler Reddick gets a push from Ty Gibbs and takes the lead.

Tyler Reddick takes the white flag with Willaim Byron in second; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Tyler Reddick wins the race for his second win of the season.

The unofficial results of the  FireKeepers Casino 400:
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Zane Smith
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Harrison Burton
Chase Elliott
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Ryan Blaney
Michael McDowell
Justin Haley
Cody Ware
Josh Berry
Daniel Hemric
Martin Truex Jr
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
John Hunter Nemechek
AJ Allmendinger
Chase Briscoe
Corey LaJoie
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Todd Gilliland