After three red flag race stoppages in the first 45 laps, the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway is back underway.
The race resumed under a yellow caution flag on Lap 46 and went green on Lap 52.
Only 22 of the first 52 laps were run under green flag conditions. One lap later on Lap 53, Kyle Busch lost control and slammed into the outside retaining wall, bringing out another caution.
Busch said over his team radio that there were rain drops on his windshield at the time of the wreck, which potentially may have contributed to the wreck.
The race was initially stopped for the first time after 13 of the scheduled 200 laps around the two-mile, high-speed track. Carl Edwards led 12 of those laps, while pole-sitter Kasey Kahne led just one lap before yielding to Edwards.
A caution was first called at Lap 11 due to rain, and the red flag was displayed two laps later. After a 59 minute, 5 second stoppage, the race resumed under caution on Lap 14, but did not go back to green flag conditions and cars went back to pit road on Lap 19 due to more rain, resulting in the second red flag race stoppage.
The second red flag period lasted 34 minutes, 9 seconds. The race resumed for a second time on Lap 20 and finally went green on Lap 29.
Despite the first two red flags, NASCAR still called a scheduled competition caution on Lap 40.
With rain approaching, NASCAR moved up the start time of the race from 1:16 pm ET to 1:06 pm and teams began preparing strategy for the potential of a rain-shortened race (100 laps instead of the scheduled 200 laps).
According to weather radar, there are at least two more rain cells in the area, but NASCAR hopes to get as much racing in under green as possible.
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