Frontstretch Newsletter: June 5, 2026
Volume XX,
Edition CXIII |
And Now A Word From Our Title Partner, My Place Hotels! |
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For more information on the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400, please see the Frontstretch Folio below. - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams pulled into the garage early this morning in Michigan. They are scheduled to practice Saturday morning starting at 9:30 a..m. ET. Live
coverage will be exclusive to FOX One. Qualifying will be at 10:35 a.m. ET Coverage of the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 will start at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on FOX Sports 1. The green flag is scheduled for around 1:50 p.m. ET. - ARCA Menards Series teams are at
Michigan as well. They are scheduled to practice at 2 p.m. ET this afternoon and qualify shortly afterwards. These sessions will not be televised.
Coverage of the Henry Ford Health 200 will air live on FOX Sports 2 starting at 5 p.m. ET today. The race will go green around 5:10 p.m. ET.
- NTT IndyCar Series teams
are in Illinois this weekend for their third oval race of the season. Today is a work day with no on-track activity schedule. Practice No. 1 is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET and will air live on FS1. Qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET and will air on FS2. The final practice, which also serves as a high line practice, will be at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500k will begin at 9 p.m. ET Sunday night on FOX. The green flag is scheduled for 9:25 p.m. ET. - Formula 1 is in Monaco for their crown jewel event, the Grand Prix of Monaco. Friday practices are already complete. Free Practice No. 3 is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET. Coverage will begin at 6 a.m. on Apple TV. Qualifying coverage will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET with the session starting at 10 a.m. ET. Coverage of the Grand Prix of Monaco will begin with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET Sunday
morning. Race coverage will begin at 8:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap starting promptly at 9 a.m. ET. - IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams are at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend. Teams are scheduled to practice today at 3:25 p.m. ET and Saturday at 10:45 a.m. ET. Qualifying is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET Saturday and will not be televised. Coverage of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio will air live on the IMSA Official YouTube channel and Peacock at Noon ET Sunday. The green flag will fly
at 12:10 p.m. ET. - World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams will be busy this weekend. They were supposed to race at Hartford Speedway tonight, but that has been postponed due to a threat of severe weather.
Saturday night sees the series move to Wisconsin's Plymouth Dirt Track for the Cheese
Town Throwdown. Coverage will begin at 6:45 p.m. ET on DirtVision.
Sunday night will see another night of racing at Angell Park Speedway. Coverage of the Ted Johnson Memorial Race will begin at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision. - Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint Car Series teams
will be busy this weekend as well. Tonight, they will race at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn. Coverage will begin at 7 p.m. ET on FLORacing. Saturday night will see the teams haul to Bismarck, N.D. for another night of racing. Coverage from Dacotah Speedway will start at 7 p.m. ET. FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES: MICHIGAN: Caleb Barnes Landon Quesinberry GATEWAY: MID-OHIO: Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates on Michigan, Gateway and Mid-Ohio! |
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| NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett Dead at
93 Two-time NASCAR Grand National champion, track promoter and TV personality Ned Jarrett died Friday morning at the age of 93. |
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| Entry Lists: IMSA at
Mid-Ohio This weekend, 46 Michelin Pilot Challenge teams will do battle at Mid-Ohio. 17 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge teams will also race. |
Photo is courtesy of NASCAR Media via John Harrelson of Getty Images and our own Phil Allaway. Have news for Frontstretch? Don't
hesitate to let us know; email us at [email protected] with a promising lead or tip. |
Around the World in Motorsports: June 4-5 |
- In Formula 1, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest in Free Practice No. 1 for the Grand Prix of Monaco with a lap at 100.927 mph around his hometown 2.074-mile street course. The lap was .226 seconds faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third, followed by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. A second red flag came out late in the session when Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso clipped the wall under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane. He was able to drive back to the pits, but there was debris on the track that had to be removed. In Free Practice No. 2, Hamilton went fastest in his Ferrari with a lap at 102.243 mph. The lap was .111 seconds faster than Leclerc. Verstappen was third again, then Russell and Antonelli.
McLaren's Lando Norris ran into trouble during the session when he was forced to stop his car at the Nouvelle Chicane due to a mechanical issue. A virtual safety car was issued so that
the recovery crew could remove the stricken McLaren.
- Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint Car Series teams spent Thursday night racing in Superior, Wis. at Gondik Law Speedway. Despite substantially different track conditions, the result was ultimately the same. Kyle Larson was able to get around Daison Pursley on lap 2 and managed to pull away from there. He had a challenge on a late restart, but pulled away again to take his third win of the week. Larson won by 1.503 seconds over Justin Peck. Brent Marks was third, then Tanner Holmes and Aaron Reutzel. The fifth-place finish allowed Reutzel to reclaim the points lead that he lost at Red Cedar Wednesday night. He has a one-point lead over Rico Abreu. Giovanni Scelzi is third, then Tanner Thorson and Peck. |
Frontstretch Folio: FireKeepers Casino 400
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Irish Hills for their sole appearance in Michigan for 2026. Coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 will begin with NASCAR Live Pre-Race at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on Prime Video. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET with the green flag flying around 3:15 p.m. ET. Coverage will also be available on radio via MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Channel 90. Records and facts Last year's FireKeepers Casino 400 came down to fuel mileage. William Byron was leading late, but had to run extremely hard to keep Denny Hamlin behind him. Hamlin was able to run him down and take the lead with four laps to go after a fierce battle. From there, Hamlin held on to take the victory. Chris Buescher was second, then Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. Byron ended up running out of fuel coming to the white flag. A stop to get a splash of fuel dropped him to 28th. Among active drivers, Hamlin, Larson and Joey Logano have three wins to lead the pack. Three others have a
single victory. All-time, David Pearson is the winningest driver at Michigan with nine career victories, including three in a row at one point. His first Michigan win came in the Yankee 600, an attempt to run a 600-mile race at Michigan. It ended up being rain-shortened to 165 laps of the scheduled 300. Cale Yarborough is second all-time at MIS with eight wins, followed by Bill Elliott with seven. Kevin Harvick is fourth with his six, while Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace have five victories apiece. Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2 mile D-shaped oval, 200 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 18 degrees
Frontstretch: 3,600 ft., banked 12 degrees
Backstretch: 2,242 ft., banked 5 degrees Grandstand Seating: 71,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1968 (first Cup race in 1969)
Website: http://www.mispeedway.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MISpeedway Twitter: http://twitter.com/MISpeedway Pre-Race Schedule: Practice: Saturday, June 6, 2 - 2:50 p.m. ET on Prime Video/Sports on Prime
YouTube Qualifying: Saturday, June 6, 3:10 p.m. ET on Prime Video Say What?! "I have lots of good memories at Michigan. I enjoy the track and how fast it is, how wide it is, and how many
different lines you can run. It really lets you be aggressive, but you also have to be smart with tire management and track position. This place has been good to me in the past, and it’s definitely one I look forward to every time we come back. The fans are incredible, the atmosphere is electric and the racing is always exciting. When everything clicks - the car, the strategy, and the team - you can really make a statement. I’m always looking to build on those past experiences and push for
another strong performance this weekend." - Daniel Suarez "Michigan is one of those I always have circled on my calendar. We race there right on my birthday, and it’s been a good one for us. I think we finished in the top 10 the past couple times there, and that brings a level of confidence for sure. I got my first NASCAR win there in the Truck Series.
So that’s awesome. And then just for all the manufacturers, but especially us, we try to get that one for Ford. We know how much that means to Ford. I’ve gone to Dearborn and visited all of the employees, and I know how much it means to them. There is a level of pressure that comes with going into that weekend. I think it’s like extra brownie points if you could win that one. So that one’s high on the list to try to get." - Zane Smitk
"I always look forward to Michigan. It’s my home race. It’s a lot of fun to get up there and be with family and friends. My family and I got earlier in the week to go spend more time with them and get to see them before the busy weekend. The race itself – I just really enjoy the track. It has come into its own here as the track has aged and widened out. Racing there with this NextGen car has been fun too. I’m looking forward to going
back this weekend after a solid run last year. Michigan is high on my bucket list of tracks to win at one day. I just look forward for the chance to be out there every year." - Erik Jones Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at [email protected]. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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