CAMBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — One in all racing’s largest names is heaping reward on Michigan Worldwide Speedway as NASCAR rolls in for race weekend.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, has lengthy discovered success within the Irish Hills of Michigan, which makes his judgement of MIS ‘slightly biased.’ Even then, he says the racing product on the monitor is unmatched.
“I got asked a question, probably a couple weeks ago about what is the most underrated track that NASCAR had,” he stated. “And I didn’t say it, but to me, it’s Michigan. It really is. It puts on some of the best racing that NASCAR has to offer.”
NASCAR’s newest iteration of race automotive, known as the ‘Subsequent-Gen’ automotive, has meshed with the two-mile oval significantly nicely.
“Generally speaking, you just can’t get a better race,” Hamlin stated. “I mean, while the track is big, the cars stay close together. There’s huge drafting opportunities down those straightaways. The track is smooth. It’s got multiple lanes you can race in. So, it’s all just good things.”
Exterior of the on-track motion, Hamlin applauds the funding NASCAR has made within the monitor’s services.
“It’s just one of those fantastic racetracks that NASCAR put a bunch of money in as well to upgrade the facilities,” Hamlin stated. “The infield is fantastic. The garage area all got upgraded.”
Michigan Worldwide Speedway close to Brooklyn, Mich. (June 2025)
The monitor’s race weekend has moved again to June for the primary time since 2019, when MIS bought two dates on the Cup Sequence circuit. For Hamlin, that was a very good transfer.
“I feel like it’s the perfect time of year for the race there,” he stated. “The weather just can’t get better.”
Climate has been a significant storyline in every of the previous three years on the monitor, with two of these races being postponed to Monday. Assuming rain is not an element Sunday, Hamlin says the groups will focus closely on the temperature.
“Typically, the cooler the race track, the faster the car goes,” he stated. “Which means that all the cars go faster, which clumps them closer together. The hotter it is, the more they tend to spread out.”
Hamlin has completed within the high ten in every of his final seven begins at Michigan, and he holds the most effective common end in NASCAR’s Subsequent-Gen period. Regardless of having two wins in 2025, he is seeking to turn out to be solely the second non-Ford driver to win in 11 races there.
“It’s one that I’ve got circled on my list as ‘we need to get a win here to solidify our position in our rankings in the playoff order.'”
The NASCAR Cup Sequence is scheduled to take the inexperienced flag at Michigan Worldwide Speedway at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The race will air on Prime Video.
