In fairness, NASCAR racing in Michigan actually takes place a little over an hour from the Motor City itself, which lies on the Detroit River that bridges Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair.
Michigan International Speedway is close to Brooklyn, Mich., in the Irish Hills of the state. But it did make for a cool and appropriate headline, given what’s going on there this weekend.
As KISS said in their 1976 classic “Detroit Rock City,” off the album Destroyer:
Get up
Everybody’s gonna move their feet
Get down
Everybody’s gonna leave their seat
You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City
That’s exactly what we’ll see from the fans. Some of the song applies a bit less, lyrics like “oh my God, no time to turn,” the fact that they’re on an oval instead of I-95 and “I got to laugh ’cause I know I’m gonna die” (let’s hope not), but I digress.
Michigan is primarily significant when it comes to manufacturers. Drivers, sure, but the importance of anyone winning at MIS is especially tied to the history of nearby Detroit, the centerpiece of automotive history in the United States. The headquarters of both General Motors (manufacturers of Chevrolet) and Ford are located there as well, and the talking point of car-make pride is a hot topic whenever NASCAR visits town.
The most important stat anyone needs to know heading into this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at the 2-mile track is that Ford has won the past seven races. This could all change with the Next Gen and the streak could be snapped, but Kevin Harvick has won four of those, including three straight from 2019-’20 and, within that, back-to-back triumphs in a weekend sweep in 2020.
Most recently, Ryan Blaney won last year amid a tear toward the playoffs in which the No. 12 team made it all the way to the Round of 8. He only led eight laps, but those were the final eight en route to the win.
Will the Blue Ovals make it eight in a row?
Historically, Harvick would be the guy to do it. He’s got five wins to his name at the track, but he’s still looking for his first win of the year and first in almost two full trips around the sun. His Stewart-Haas Racing teammates have either little experience (Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe) or don’t typically do well there (Aric Almirola).
Joey Logano leads his Team Penske stablemates with three wins at the track, while Blaney follows with one and Austin Cindric has yet to make his first start at MIS.
Overall, the hungriest guy in terms of a…
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