With only two races left in the regular season, NASCAR heads to Michigan. Will a winless driver make it into the playoffs with a late-season victory? Here is the NASCAR at Michigan preview!
The 200-lap race will be split into stages of 60-60-80 with a competition caution on lap 20. The broadcast will begin at 3 pm ET on NBCSN.
Race Lineup
Earned.@KyleLarsonRacin will start on the #BuschPole for Sunday’s race at @MISpeedway. pic.twitter.com/3yll7IQwjv
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 18, 2021
Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will lead the pack to green on Sunday. Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto will make up row two with Martin Truex Jr and Kurt Busch behind them in row three. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will start in row four. Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman will round out to the top ten in row five.
Josh Berry will be subbing for Corey LaJoie in the Spire Motorsports number seven Camaro. LaJoie could not meet COVID-19 protocols. Berry had previously subbed for Justin Haley, driver of the number 77 for Spire, earlier this year at Dover.
Points Battle in the Standings
Tyler Reddick is currently sitting in 15th in the points standings. His teammate, Austin Dillon, is sitting outside the playoffs in 17th and Kevin Harvick is sitting in-between them right on the cutline. A win for any of the three will lock them into the playoffs.
Although Reddick is sitting higher than both Harvick and Dillon. The next couple of weeks are going to require his best driving so far. Harvick has won the last two races at Michigan and is arguably his best chance at getting locked in. For Dillon, Daytona has been one of his best tracks his entire career. The next two races are going to make or break several drivers’ seasons. But the question of which drivers is still up in the air.
My Pick
Since August 2019, victory lane at @MISpeedway has belonged to @KevinHarvick. #NASCAR
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 20, 2021
Harvick’s looking to win his fourth race there in a row, and his fifth of the last six races. SUNDAY, 3P ET, NBCSN. pic.twitter.com/WGXltFCpNQ
Kevin Harvick has been pretty quiet this season. But that’s not to say he hasn’t run well. He has finished in the top ten in six of the eight races that use the 550-horsepower package. Michigan is another one of those races. This could be the perfect, and simply the only chance he’ll have to get in the playoffs.
With the way this season has gone, you can’t leave out Kyle Larson or really any of the Hendrick team. But the driver that I feel could throw a wrench in the gears is Denny Hamlin. Not only at Michigan but Daytona as well. He is sitting seventh in the standings and is clinched for the playoffs, but still has yet to win. He just hasn’t had any luck this season.
