Previewing NASCAR race at Michigan: Huge chance for Kevin Harvick, TV info, betting odds

Michigan isn’t Kevin Harvick’s last chance — but it’s a big one.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on USA Network (NBC affiliate), MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

And while the stakes of this race are high for a bunch of drivers — particularly the handful who saw their playoff hopes squeezed after Chris Buescher claimed the 12th playoff spot with his win at Richmond — the stakes perhaps feel the highest for Harvick.

Harvick, one of the all-time great drivers who’s retiring at the end of this year, has four more regular-season races in his Cup career. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver hasn’t won yet this year but is still expected to make the 16-car playoff field because of his consistency. He currently sits sixth in points and is thus expected to occupy one of the four remaining postseason slots for winless drivers if he can’t get it done in the next four weekends.

The good news: Harvick might not have to sweat all that much. He’s great at Michigan.

The 47-year-old driver of the No. 4 car has found Victory Lane at Michigan’s 2.04-mile track six times in his career. That’s most among active drivers. His most recent time was in 2022 — and he’s hoping to go “back-to-back” here again. (The last time he did so was in 2020, a season when the series occasionally ran Cup races on consecutive days because of the pandemic.)

Beyond Harvick’s hopes, here are five other story lines to know heading into Sunday’s Cup race.

▪ Noah Gragson will not race this weekend. The driver of the No. 42 car has been suspended by both Legacy Motor Club (his race team) and NASCAR after what the 25-year-old later called “disappointing” behavior on social media. In a statement, the race team said that it decided to suspend Gragson “regarding his actions that do not represent the values of our team.” NASCAR later released: “NASCAR fully supports Legacy Motor Club’s decision to suspend Noah Gragson. Following his actions on social media, NASCAR has determined that Gragson has violated the member conduct section of the 2023 NASCAR Rule Book and has placed him under indefinite suspension.”

▪ Martin Truex Jr. will be in a Cup car next year. The 43-year-old driver for Joe Gibbs Racing told reporters as much Saturday. He has three points wins on the year — plus a win at the exhibition Clash at Los Angeles Coliseum — and is leading NASCAR’s premier series in points heading into Sunday’s race.

▪ Corey LaJoie signs with Spire Motorsports. What had been reported for weeks has now become official when LaJoie announced on his podcast “Stacking Pennies” this week that he’d be staying at Spire Motorsports for the next “several years.” This is a big bit of news considering NASCAR is in the throes of its free agency season and LaJoie’s career year saw him become a candidate for one of the sport’s top teams.

▪ Jimmie Johnson was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. This storyline doesn’t have any particular connection to Michigan, but it was the biggest story in the NASCAR world this week. The seven-time champion was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame — alongside his crew chief, Chad Knaus, and “Alabama Gang” fixture Donnie Allison. What stirred discussion among fans and drivers and media was that he wasn’t a unanimous selection somehow despite going on an unprecedented run during the height of NASCAR’s powers in the mid-2010s. NASCAR still doesn’t have a unanimous HOF inductee.

▪ Who’s expected to win at Michigan? Here’s what the sportsbooks said. Per NASCAR.com, Kyle Larson opened as the race favorite at 7-1 odds. (He hasn’t won since the NASCAR All-Star Race in May despite being competitive in a bunch of races since. Is he due?) Denny Hamlin was also listed at 7-1, with Kyle Busch at 15-2 and Harvick at 8-1.

The opening odds for other winless drivers with realistic shots at making the playoffs:

• Brad Keselowski (+151 from the playoff cut-line; 25-1 odds at Michigan)

• Bubba Wallace (+54 from the cut-line; 14-1 odds at Michigan)

• Michael McDowell (+18 from the cut-line; 250-1 odds at Michigan)

• Ty Gibbs (-18 from the cut-line; 22-1 odds at Michigan)

• AJ Allmendinger (-22 from the cut-line; 150-1 odds at Michigan)

• Daniel Suárez (-34 from the cut-line; 60-1 odds at Michigan)
  
  

• Chase Elliott (-40 from the cut-line; 15-1 odds at Michigan)

• Alex Bowman (-42 from the cut-line; 40-1 odds at Michigan)

Quick details for NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan

• Race: FireKeepers Casino 400

• Place: Michigan International Speedway

• Date: Sunday, August 6

• Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

• Purse: $7,544,696

• TV: USA, 2 p.m. ET

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

• Distance: 400 miles (200 Laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)