After some fun turning left and right at Road America, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be shifting gears and heading to Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 on Saturday, August 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Michigan International Speedway has hosted 30 NASCAR Xfinity Series races since 1992, producing 22 different race winners and 23 different pole winners. Only three races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Brad Keselowski in 2010.
Eight different drivers are tied for the most wins at the Michigan in the Xfinity Series with two victories each – Todd Bodine (1992, 2000), Kyle Busch (2004, 2015), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1999, 2006), Denny Hamlin (2007, 2017), Carl Edwards (2008, 2011), Brad Keselowski (2009, 2010), Mark Martin (1993, 1995) and Ryan Newman (2001, 2005). Of the 22 former winners at Michigan International Speedway, only two are entered in this weekend’s Cabo Wabo 250 – AJ Allmendinger (2021) and Ty Gibbs (2022). Both will be pulling double duty this weekend, running in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series races.
NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will kick off their weekend with practice on Friday, August 4 at 3:35 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET. Both will be televised on the USA Network.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Cabo Wabo 250
The Place: Michigan International Speedway
The Date: Saturday, August 5
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,367,625
TV: USA, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 250 miles (125 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 125)
Hot, Hot, Hot: Michigan winners streak could continue on Saturday
Michigan International Speedway is currently riding a wave of different winners in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that has reached 12 drivers in Victory Lane and dates back to 2010. This weekend, the Cabo Wabo 250 has the chance to produce another new winner bringing the total to a baker’s dozen 13 and keep the streak going.
The streak of different winners began in 2010 with Brad Keselowski, then Carl Edwards (2011), Joey Logano (2012), Regan Smith (2013), Paul Menard (2014), Kyle Busch (2015), Daniel Suárez (2016), Denny Hamlin (2017), Austin Dillon (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), AJ Allmendinger (2021), and Ty Gibbs (2022). The series did not compete at Michigan in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Only two drivers will have the opportunity to break the streak – AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs – but many in the field will be looking to keep the streak very much alive.
JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier has been dominant on Michigan’s two-mile track, posting three top fives and seven top 10s in his 11 starts. Last season, he came extremely close to finally adding a Michigan trophy to his trophy case, finishing second only to Ty Gibbs. Allgaier heads into the weekend with one win (Charlotte), nine top fives, 12 top 10s and 274 laps led this season thus far.
Another driver who has done well at Michigan and is hungry for a win this season is Allgaier’s JRM teammate Brandon Jones. The 26-year-old driver has made six starts at the track, posting two top fives and five top 10s. Like Allgaier, Jones has also come extremely close to tasting victory at Michigan International Speedway, finishing runner-up in 2021 after racing his way up from the 24th position.
Sam Mayer takes the checkered flag at home track
It appears that the stars aligned for JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer last weekend as he posted his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win at none other than his home track, Road America.
The Franklin, Wisconsin native, Mayer, definitely had his work cut out for him in the dash for the win, running three-wide in the second overtime start before finally emerging out front and snagging the checkered flag.
With his win, he kept the different winners streak alive at Road America, joining Carl Edwards (2010), Reed Sorenson (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), AJ Allmendinger (2013), Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015), Michael McDowell (2016), Jeremy Clements (2017), Justin Allgaier (2018), Christopher Bell (2019), Austin Cindric (2020), Kyle Busch (2021) and Ty Gibbs (2022).
Mayer will be looking to keep this momentum going as the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250. The 20-year-old has only made two starts at the two-mile track. Although he hasn’t had the best of luck at Michigan, finishing 33rd in both of his starts, he has proved that he can perform well on other two-mile tracks. He finished runner-up at Auto Club earlier this season and sixth at his debut at the track in 2022.
Xfinity Playoffs loom with six race left in the regular season
JR Motorsport’s Sam Mayer became the eighth different driver to earn a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs this season by virtue of his big hometown victory at Road America last weekend. Mayer’s win leaves just four spots left in the 12-driver Playoff field as the series has just six races left in the regular season.
The eight drivers in the 2023 Playoffs on wins are Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, Jeb Burton and Sammy Smith.
The drivers currently occupying the remaining four spots in the Playoff outlook are Josh Berry (ninth, +107 points above the cutline), Daniel Hemric (10th, +74 points above the cutline), Riley Herbst (11th, +25 points), Sheldon Creed (12th, +22 points). Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed sits in the 12th and final transfer spot on points, up 22 points on Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman in the 13th position – the first spot outside the cutoff.
Looking ahead to Michigan, of the five drivers long the Playoff cutline, Josh Berry has the best average finish at the 2-mile track with a 5.0, followed by Creed (11.0), Hemric (15.2), Herbst (17.6), and Kligerman (25.0).
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
NASCAR Xfinity Series to be aired on The CW – Starting in 2025, The CW Network will become the exclusive home to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and will extend through the 2031 season. The NASCAR Productions group will work closely with The CW Network to produce all races and content.
“Landing the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a game changer for The CW and our CW Sports division and represents another important building block in our programming strategy,” said Dennis Miller, President of The CW. “Live sports are the most watched television content and with The CW’s national reach, moving NASCAR Xfinity Series to The CW will transform and elevate the viewing experience for the series and its fans.”
Brian Herbst, Senior Vice President, Media and Productions for NASCAR said: “CW’s leadership shared a compelling vision for cultivating the next generation of NASCAR talent by bringing the NASCAR Xfinity Series exclusively to broadcast television and we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them. With more than 1 million viewers tuning in each week to see NASCAR’s future stars battle some of its biggest names at our most legendary tracks, the NASCAR Xfinity Series consistently delivers the moments that excite current fans and create new fans of our great sport.”
Conor Daly to run Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis – IndyCar veteran Conor Daly will be making his first Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet.
The Indiana native made his debut in the Xfinity Series in 2018 at Road America. He has since made starts in both the Cup Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. His most recent start was in the Truck Series a few weeks ago at Mid-Ohio where he finished 18th.
The Xfinity Series race at IMS will be his first stock car stint on the road course.