The 2025 Michigan Race Report features a black-hat winner and several drivers whose finishes do not reflect how well they ran. Let’s get to it.
Lead and Caution-O-Gram for the 2024 Michigan Race Report
The cautions were concentrated in the middle part of the race. Goodyear brought a new left-side tire and a number of teams/drivers tried to get just a little more out of it than it was willing to give. That was reflected in three tire incidents during practice, and another three cautions due to tire problems during the race.
I keep track of tire and wheel issues separately, which is different than how NASCAR does it. That gives the following breakdown of cautions and caution laps:
| Incidents | % Total Incidents | Caution Laps | % of All Caution Laps | % of Total Laps Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accident | 1 | 14.3 | 3 | 9.1 | 1.5 |
| Stage End | 2 | 28.6 | 11 | 33.3 | 5.5 |
| Spin | 1 | 14.3 | 5 | 15.2 | 2.5 |
| Tire Issue | 3 | 42.9 | 14 | 42.4 | 7.0 |
Tire issues provided the most cautions in the race, with the standard two stage-end cautions, plus one spin and one accident. Cautions accounted for 16.5% of the race laps.
Laps Led
Eleven drivers combined to lead the 200 lap; however, none of the top seven lap leaders won the race thanks to the importance of fuel strategy and tire issues. William Byron had a great race up until the last few laps. He didn’t get the caution they were hoping for and had to pit for fuel. He led almost half of the race, but finished 28th.
Carson Hocevar ran in the top 10 most of the race, but had to pit for a flat tire. That leaves him with a 29th-place finish. Hocevar didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the end unless there was a caution; however, the tire went flat before any caution could save them.
Those two events allowed Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle to take advantage of having enough fuel to race their way to the front and hold the lead.
| Laps Led | % Laps Led | Laps Run | % Laps Led/Laps Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron | 98 | 49.0 | 200 | 49.0 |
| Hocevar | 32 | 16.0 | 199 | 16.1 |
| Elliott | 19 | 9.5 | 200 | 9.5 |
| Buescher | 13 | 6.5 | 200 | 6.5 |
| Briscoe | 11 | 5.5 | 200 | 5.5 |
| Cindric | 10 | 5.0 | 199 | 5.0 |
| Blaney | 7 | 3.5 | 196 | 3.6 |
| Hamlin | 5 | 2.5 | 200 | 2.5 |
| Smith | 2 | 1.0 | 200 | 1.0 |
| Bell | 2 | 1.0 | 200 | 1.0 |
| Ware | 1 | 0.5 | 200 | 0.5 |
Lead Changes
Eleven drivers led the 200 race laps. Of course, not all laps led are created equal.
- Bell and Blaney led by virtue of inheriting the lead during yellow-flag pit stops.
- Cindric took the lead during green-flat pit stops
- Smith and Ware used pit strategy to lead
In total, there were:
- 6 green-flag passes for the lead
- 2 lead changes on restarts
- 4 lead changes on pit road during yellow-flag stops
- 2 inherited lead changes during yellow-flag pit stops
- 1 inherited lead change during green-flag pit stops
Inherited lead changes means that a driver got the lead because one or more drivers ahead of him pitted.
Byron had a great car and was responsible for three of the six green-flag passes for the lead. Chris Buescher, Chase Elliot and Denny Hamlin each had one green-flag pass for the lead.
That’s the abbreviated 2025 Michigan Race Report!
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