The Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Here is a look at the drivers who are hot and who are not (courtesy of Racing Insights) heading into the 23rd race of the season.
WHO IS HOT
Kevin Harvick
- Finished 10th at Watkins Glen (25th in Stage 1, 7th in Stage 2)
- Won 6 of last 21 races
- Won 10 stages in 2018 (had 6 in all of 2017)
- Finished in Top 5 in 7 of last 9 races
- In 22 races in 2018, 18 finishes of 10th or better (including 6 wins) & 4 finishes of 19th or worse
- Finished in Top 5 in 8 of last 11 Michigan races (2nd in June)
Chase Elliott
- Won at Watkins Glen (18th in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 52 laps led)
- Finished 7th or better in 3 straight races
- Finished in Top 10 in 6 of last 9 races
- Won a stage in 3 straight races
- 3 stage wins in 2018 tied his season total for 2017
- Top 10 in all five Michigan races, including three runner-up finishes
- Michigan is 1 of 2 tracks where he’s never finished outside Top 10 (Atlanta)
Kyle Busch
- Finished 3rd at Watkins Glen (14th in Stage 1, 2nd in Stage 2, 31 laps led); team did not get car full of fuel on lap 55 (came out first and had to pit for a second time), drove from 31st to third in the final stage
- Won 6 of last 16 races
- Finished in Top 5 in 9 of last 10 races
- Won at Watkins Glen (18th in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 52 laps led)
- Finished in the Top 10 in 10 of last 11 races
- Finished in the Top 5 in 16 of 22 races this season
Daniel Suarez
- Finished 4th at Watkins Glen (28th in Stage 1, 10th in Stage 2)
- Finished top 5 in the last two races of 2018
- Has not finished better than 24th in three career starts at Michigan
Erik Jones
- Finished 5th at Watkins Glen (22nd in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2); ran out of fuel on last lap while 3rd
- Finished 5th in 2 straight races and top 10 in six of the last seven in 2018
- Finished 13th or worse in 2 of 3 career starts at Michigan (15th in June)
William Byron
- Finished 8th at Watkins Glen (3rd in Stage 1, 12th in Stage 2)
- Three top 10s in 2018, two have come in the last two races
- Back-to-back top 10s for first time in career
Kurt Busch
- Finished 9th at Watkins Glen (30th in Stage 1, 32nd in Stage 2); started 36th after failing post-qualifying inspection; had flat RR tire under caution on lap 54
- Finished top 10 in the last four races of 2018
Martin Truex Jr.
- Finished 2nd at Watkins Glen (1st in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2, 4 laps led); ran out of fuel on last lap
- Finished top 5 in 6 of last 7 races
- Won 3 of last 9 races
- Finished in the top 5 in 10 of last 12 races
- Finished 6th or better in 4 of last 7 Michigan races (18th in June)
WHO IS NOT HOT
Brad Keselowski
- Finished 17th at Watkins Glen (5th in Stage 1, 15th in Stage 2)
- Finished 17th or worse in 3 straight races and 4 of last 5
- Finished 16th or worse in 2 of last 3 Michigan races, but top 10 in 7 of last 9 (6th in June)
- Started 1st, 1st in Stage 1, 2nd in Stage 2, 105 laps led, finished 17th in this race one year ago
- Finished 9th or better in 11 of last 13 races on 2.0-mile tracks
Austin Dillon
- Finished 27th at Watkins Glen (11th in Stage 1, 23rd in Stage 2); ran off track in turn 6 on lap 84 while running 25th
- Finished 13th or worse in 4 straight races
- Finished 12th or worse in 16 of last 17 races
- Finished outside Top 10 in 19 of 21 races since Daytona 500 win
- Finished 14th or worse in 3 of last 4 Michigan races (14th in June)
Aric Almirola
- Finished 22nd at Watkins Glen (32nd in Stage 1, 24th in Stage 2); spun in turn 7 and made contact with wall on lap 3 while running 7th after contact with #12
- Finished 22nd or worse in last 2 races and 4 of last 6 (1 finish outside Top 20 in first 16 races of 2018)
- Has dropped from 11th in Playoff standings in Chicagoland to now 14th in Playoff Standings following Watkins Glen
- Has never finished in the top 10 in 12 Michigan races
Denny Hamlin
- Finished 13th at Watkins Glen (17th in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2, 2 laps led); penalized for removing equipment from pit box on lap 55 (air gun got wrapped around LR tire and pulled out of box)
- Finished 13th or worse in 4 of last 5 races
- Finished 12th or worse in 6 of last 9 races
- Finished 12th or worse in the last two Michigan races, but top-1o in 4 of last 8 (12th in June)
Ryan Blaney
- Finished 12th at Watkins Glen (26th in Stage 1, 9th in Stage 2)
- Finished 12th in last 2 races
- Top-10 in two of the last four races of 2018
- Finished top-10 in 2 of last 4 Michigan races, but 15th or worse in 5 of 7 career starts at Michigan (8th in June)