Written By Gabriel Tsui, Edited By Sean McKean
After an exciting finish in Richmond, where Chris Buescher held off a charging Denny Hamlin to secure the win, we head to Brooklyn, Michigan. In the final four races before the playoffs, drivers will be more aggressive in their approach to the race, but who will make the final four transfers to the round of 16?
Track Preview
The field heads to Brooklyn, Michigan, where the Michigan International Speedway is located. One of the longest race track on the calendar, the track is 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long, and the drivers will run around the track for 200 laps. The previous champion of the track is Kevin Harvick, and this is the place where Harvick snapped his 65-race winless streak, and he will be looking to get a win again to punch a ticket to the playoffs.
Similar to Richmond, this race track is also D-shaped. The front straight has 12 degrees of banking while the turns have 18 degrees of banking. The huge banking would encourage drivers to drive a higher line, but they definitely have to be aware of scraping the wall at the exit towards the back straight.
Michigan is also one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, since cars don’t have to put a restrictor plate as they would in Daytona or Talladega, pushing speeds over 200 miles per hour. Last year, Chase Elliot topped the field at the speed of 206 mph, though not as fast as earlier cars that pushed past 210 mph, still a very impressive speed. We will see if the drivers can go even faster this weekend.
According to the weather forecast, a rain delay might happen on Sunday, while Friday and Saturday will have clear skies.
Race Predictions
Recently, the Fords were one of the most dominant car on this track, winning the last eight iterations of this race. Out of those 8 races, the old and golden Kevin Harvick won 5 of them. Last time being 2022, where he won the race through pure dominance, finishing ahead of second place by a gap of 4 seconds or more. He is the top favorite among Fords, and don’t be surprised when he wins yet again to be the driver that won the most in Michigan.
However, other drivers such as Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. also has a chance at it. They have been on top form for the past couple of races, winning two of the past three races for JGR, and are aiming to add more playoff points to their account.
Also, stay on the lookout for Kyle Larson. After a disappointing few races, he would certainly be hoping to get back on top form before heading into the playoffs, and what better way to do that than getting a win? He has won in Michigan for three times, and he might add one more to his resume.