BROADCAST INFORMATION: Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway will air live on NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. ET. Can’t make it to a television? The race can be heard live on MRN and SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio. Below is the broadcast schedule for the remainder of the weekend.
Friday, August 11
11:30 a.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBC Sports Network
5:05 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, NBC Sports Network
Saturday, August 12
8:30 a.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series practice, CNBC
11:30 a.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBC Sports Network
Sunday, August 13
3 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series race, NBC Sports Network
THIS WEEKEND’S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS, Chase Elliott will man the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS, Jimmie Johnson will pilot the No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet SS and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT MICHIGAN: Hendrick Motorsports drivers have led 2,478 laps en route to eight wins, 52 top-five finishes and 96 top-10s in addition to 11 pole positions at Michigan. The organization swept both races at the two-mile oval in 2014, and in each of the past three events at Michigan, Chase Elliott has earned runner-up finishes.
KAHNE AT MICHIGAN: Three of Kahne’s 27 NASCAR Cup Series pole awards have been earned at Michigan – in 2006, 2010 and 2015. The three pole awards ties Kahne with Joey Logano for the most poles earned by an active driver at the track. In June 2006, the 37-year-old swept the weekend at the Irish Hills track by winning the 129-lap race. He led 19 laps en route to his fifth Cup Series victory, bringing his total laps led at the track to 67
ELLIOTT’S MICHIGAN STATS: The 21-year-old driver is set to make his fourth career NASCAR Cup Series start at Michigan this weekend. In each of Elliott’s three previous starts at the two-mile speedway, he collected second-place finishes. In addition to his average finishing position of 2.0, he averages a starting position of 8.3 at the track. In Elliott’s two NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at Michigan, he collected one top-five finish and two top-10s
JOHNSON'S DRIVER RATING AT MICHIGAN: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the fourth-best driver rating at Michigan with an average score of 99.1 since 2005. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points and is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator
EARNHARDT'S SOLID STATS IN THE IRISH HILLS: Earnhardt has scored two wins at Michigan International Speedway. His most recent victory came on June 17, 2012, when he started 17th and led 95 laps before crossing the stripe with a 5.393-second lead to earn the victory. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has also earned two pole-position starts at the two-mile track, tying his career bests. He also has two poles at Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. Earnhardt ranks sixth in the driver rating category among active drivers at Michigan with an average of 95.5 since 2005. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. He ranks in the top five in many other loop data categories, such as fastest laps run (fourth – 205 laps), green-flag speed (fifth – 180.173 mph), laps in the top 15 (third – 3,134 laps), laps led (fifth – 289), and quality passes (second – 973 passes).