NASCAR postpones MIS finish as rain returns; 5 big names crash early

BROOKLYN, MI – The finish of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway has been postponed to Monday, after rains soaked the track.

The race will resume at noon Monday on USA Network on Lap 74 of 200. Parking lots open at 10:30 a.m. and gates open at 11 a.m. All tickets from Sunday’s race will be valid Monday. Camping has also been extended an extra day, so fans don’t have to move out until noon Tuesday.

Tyler Reddick was leading when the rain hit, just before 5:30 p.m. Here’s the top 10, as they’ll restart on Monday.

Tyler Reddick
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Martin Truex Jr.
Erik Jones
Austin Cindric
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin

The race was delayed more than 1 1/2 hours at the start for rain. Cars were on track about to take the green flag when that round of rain began.

If the race would have gotten past halfway – Lap 100 – before the latest round of rain, the race would have been declared official. But because it didn’t reach halfway, the race must be postponed.

A handful of the top drivers had trouble throughout the first half of the race.

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The first casualty came less than 20 laps into the race. Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney briefly touched in Turns 1 and 2, with Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet spinning and backing into the Turn 2 wall, ending his day.

It did not take long before another top driver had problems, and it was one who couldn’t afford issues. Chase Elliott came into the event 40 points below the playoff cut line. On Lap 36, while running in the top 10, Elliott lost control of his car due to a tire failure, putting him into the Turn 2 wall.

The hits kept coming.

Right at the end of the first stage, William Byron ran out of room coming out of Turn 4, hitting the wall flush on his right side. His crew worked vigilantly in the pits to get his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in working order, but it could not.

Just a couple of laps into the second stage, Josh Berry, who was filling in for the suspended Noah Gragson, spun off Turn 4, smacking the wall. Berry has been chosen to fill the seat of the retiring Kevin Harvick in 2024.

The last incident on Sunday came right before the rains during a battle for the lead. Christopher Bell was fighting with Alex Bowman, and they went into Turn 1 door to door. After slight contact, Bell spun, backing his car into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 66.