A Ford driver has won the last seven straight NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway. Will that trend continue on Sunday, and if so, who will be the winner?
Anthony Damcott: Among drivers who haven’t won this season, Michigan has been a good track to Ryan Blaney, so I’d look for him to be leading the Blue Oval brigade at some point in the race. Kevin Harvick also has to have this one circled on his calendar — he just won here back in 2020, so he’s recently familiar with victory lane at the track. Aside from maybe Joey Logano, I don’t really see any other Fords winning this race unless someone like Chris Buescher steals the race, which could very well happen. But it’s more likely that Blaney, Harvick and Logano will be the Fords to watch.
Luken Glover: Unfortunately for the Blue Oval, the odds are not in their favor this weekend. The closest track resembling MIS is Auto Club Speedway. In the 2022 edition of that race, Ford wasn’t nonexistent at the front, but it didn’t exactly make a big splash, either. The Hendrick Motorsports cars, Tyler Reddick and even Erik Jones have strong opportunities under the Chevrolet banner. Toyota has boosted its performance on faster tracks this season. Defending winner Blaney is arguably in the best position to win this race, and he very well could. But based on 2022 results, the nod would have to go to Chevrolet.
Mike Neff: While it would seem like the Chevy teams have been a little faster of late, you never count out the Fords at Michigan. Blaney has had terrible luck lately. He needs to win to lock into the playoffs. Nothing would be cooler than to watch him join the list in front of the corporate suits from Deerfield, Mich.
Cole Custer has better NASCAR Xfinity Series statistics — wins, top fives, top 10s — than Cup this year. Should Stewart-Haas Racing demote him back to the Xfinity Series next year?
Neff: Only if there is someone else with a bunch of money behind them who wants to steal his ride. Cole Custer has won at the Cup level and deserves to keep riding that wave until he becomes a liability.
Glover: At 24 years old, the move would still give Custer plenty of time to develop. Riley Herbst has been much improved this season, but he has yet to win in his second year with Stewart-Haas Racing. SHR has struggled as a whole the past two seasons, but Custer has not had the success of his fellow teammates in several areas. With the rumors of Kyle Busch moving to SHR, plus…
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