NASCAR just cannot catch a break with the rain.
Michigan International Speedway was assailed by rain throughout Sunday, but NASCAR managed to find an opening to begin the Cup Series‘ FireKeepers Casino 400 (albeit slightly earlier than the scheduled start time). After completing 75 of 200 laps, the weather returned and a lack of lights at the track virtually meant no more racing would take place on Sunday. The race will resume on Monday at 12 PM Eastern Time.
While nowhere near the halfway point that would have rendered the race official, the seventy-five laps were still an eventful affair. Chevrolets particularly struggled in the opening stage as Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott crashed out, as did William Byron after he hit the wall on the final lap of the segment. Josh Berry, racing as the interim driver of Legacy Motor Club‘s #42 Camaro after Noah Gragson was indefinitely suspended, was also a crash victim a lap after Stage #2 began.
Although in a Toyota, even pole winner Christopher Bell was not safe when he crashed while fighting for the lead on lap 65. Fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick was the leader at the time of the weather delay.
Bell’s team-mate Martin Truex Jr.—who recently rebuked retirement rumours to confirm he will return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024—won Stage #1 and led the most laps on Sunday with thirty. Truex, who sits fourth, is expected to be the favourite on Monday, especially as he has won Monday races twice in 2023 at Dover and New Hampshire.
According to Jonathan Fjeld of The Racing Experts, seventeen of NASCAR’s twenty-five race weekends in 2023 have been affected by weather.