FireKeepers Casino 400

Updated on Oct 23, 2023

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Corporate sponsor FireKeepers Casino Distance 400 miles (640 km)		First race 1969 (1969)

Venue Michigan International Speedway Location Brooklyn, Michigan, United States Laps 200 (Stage 1: 60 Stage 2: 60 Stage 3: 80)

The FireKeepers Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan (15 of 36), the other one being the Pure Michigan 400 in mid-August, and it is the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan. In 2006, 3M signed a three-year agreement to sponsor the race, but after one year moved its sponsorship to the August race. Starting with the 2008 race, LifeLock had title sponsorship rights for three years pending the announcement by the speedway, but left after two. The LifeLock 400 was the name of the race formerly known as the Banquet 400 in 2007. From 2012 to 2015, Quicken Loans sponsored the race, and was replaced by FireKeepers Casino in 2016.

This particular event had one of the longer title sponsorship arrangements. Miller Brewing Company sponsored the race from 1984-1998.

The 1999 race, won by Dale Jarrett, went without a caution. At an average speed of 173.997 mph, it set the NASCAR all-time record for a 400-mile race.

Notes

1974: The Race was shortened by 10% in response to the fuel crisis.

2000: Race shortened due to rain/darkness.

2006 and 2015: Race shortened due to rain

2008: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.

2015: The race was red flagged for a record of four times, laps 13, 19, 44 and 139.

Notable races

1969: NASCAR's debut at Michigan International Speedway was a 500-miler where the lead changed 35 times and writer Benny Phillips wrote afterward, "If they gave an Oscar for NASCAR's most exciting race, it would win hands down." Cale Yarborough escaped to the win when LeeRoy Yarbrough crashed on the final lap.

1970: A scoring controversy marred Cale Yarborough's rally to edge Pete Hamilton in a four-lap battle to the flag. Yarborough had lost two laps earlier but was scored on the lead lap at the end; Hamilton's car owner Richard Petty protested, "The (scoring) cards have Cale lapping Pete (on a late caution) without the pace car lapping Pete. That's impossible." Hamilton and Petty led over 100 laps between them in high-winged Plymouth Superbirds.

1971: Bobby Allison edged Bobby Isaac by a car length for his third straight win of the season, driving the Holman-Moody Mercury. The lead changed 35 times with Allison, Isaac, and Donnie Allison at times racing three abreast down the mammoth trioval and the lead changing twice on several laps between Bobby Allison and Isaac.

1972: David Pearson took the second of his record nine Michigan wins, dominating in the Wood Brothers Mercury; the win was the third for the Woods in the Michigan 400's first four runnings. It was the final season the track was operated under the aegis of the defunct empire of Larry Lopatin, as Roger Penske would purchase the facility in 1973.

1974: The rivalry between Richard Petty in the STP Dodge and David Pearson and the Purolator Mercury had begun intensifying in 1973 and reached a new level in 1974 as Petty won the Daytona 500 and Carolina 500 while Pearson had stormed to win the Rebel 450, Winston 500, and World 600. Petty and Pearson faced off with challenges from the Allison brothers, Cale Yarborough, and Buddy Baker, but on this June 1974 day a rookie from Alsa Craig, Ontario, Earl Ross, found himself in the fight as well. A late crash put the race under yellow in the final four laps; Pearson pitted for tires thinking the race would restart but it didn't, as Petty took the win and the Canadian rookie Ross finished second with Pearson third. The lead changed 50 times among nine drivers.

1976: Pearson's superspeedway vengeance tour of 1976 hit Michigan as Cale Yarborough dominated before losing enough power to finish second to the late rally of The Silver Fox, who posted his seventh win of the season.

1977: Cale Yarborough took his seventh win of the season over Richard Petty, but was upset after the race over the track surface, which had buckled after a hard winter and caused "my car (to jump) out of gear three times."

1979: The lead changed 47 times among eleven drivers and the finish shook into an eight-car battle. In the final laps rookie Dale Earnhardt hit the apron of Turn Three trying a pass and nearly crashed into Neil Bonnett, Petty, and Darrell Waltrip; both Waltrip and Petty were pointedly critical of Earnhardt ("He nearly took us all out," Waltrip said afterward). Waltrip's blown transmission in the final two laps secured the win for Buddy Baker.

1980: Benny Parsons, raised in Detroit, took the win at the speedway in his home state.

1981: Another eight-car battle exploded with five to go when Kyle Petty blew his engine in Turn Two as the leaders were entering One; Bobby Allison was running seventh when five of the top seven spun in the oil, then down the backstretch Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt collided and crashed. The win was Allison's fourth of the 1981 season and the race turned out to be the final one for car owner Rod Osterlund as he sold his team to mysterious J.D. Stacy.

1984: Cale Yarborough's bid for a ninth Michigan win faltered and Bill Elliott ran away from Dale Earnhardt for his first Michigan win and first win on an oval.

1986: Elliott posted a third straight Michigan 400 win, edging Harry Gant, who was competing despite injuries sustained at Pocono the week earlier.

1987: Dale Earnhardt took the win as Tim Richmond finished fourth, what would be the final top-five of Richmond's career.

1989: Rusty Wallace dominated but on a late pitstop Barry Dodson missed the peg under the door for the jack to be secured; the lengthy stop dropped Wallace too far back to challenge Bill Elliott, who took his fourth Michigan 400 win. Darrell Waltrip led late but "I had too high a gear and it was killing me off the corners."

1990: Bill Elliott's blown engine opened the door to a late duel between Dale Earnhardt and fiery upstart Ernie Irvan, who finished 1-2; Irvan was driving Oldsmobiles for Morgan-McClure Motorsports and before the race it was revealed that Chevrolet would provide the team with factory backing.

1991: Only one caution flew as the first half of the race erupted into a ferocious multicar duel. Geoff Bodine and car owner Junior Johnson returned to action after Johnson was suspended for several races, but the primary battle was between Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Mark Martin, and upstart Hut Stricklin, driving for Davey's dad Bobby; the foursome fought it out after a Lap 35 caution and the lead changed over 30 times officially and otherwise, with Earnhardt in particular blasting his car into the corners two full seconds deeper than anyone else and the draft kicking in to striking effect for Michigan. Past halfway the race shook into a caution-free breeze home for Allison and Stricklin and a satisfying day for Bobby Allison.

1994: A slow stop put Rusty Wallace, in his first year in a Ford, well behind Dale Earnhardt, but Wallace handily clawed his way forward and stormed to his third straight win of the season.

1995: Chevrolet's controversial Monte Carlo dominated as Jeff Gordon was bested by Bobby Labonte; Labonte's Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy ran Hendrick Motorsports engines, a fact that irked primary Hendrick driver Gordon afterward and led to the discontinuance of the engine lease program between Hendrick and Gibbs.

1997: Ernie Irvan, two months removed from a controversial weekend and bad crash at Texas Motor Speedway, ran away for the Michigan win, his lone win of the season, final win for Robert Yates, and only career win at the track where he was gravely injured three years earlier.

1999: For the first and only time at Michigan, the race goes caution-free.

2001: Jeff Gordon out-duelled Ricky Rudd to score the 100th win for car owner Rick Hendrick.

2008: On Father's Day and hanging around in 5th conserving fuel, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled off the biggest upset of the year by winning at Michigan for the first time and snapping a 76 race winless streak (his father won 76 races) and scored his first points race win with car owner Rick Hendrick in the 88 car. At the time it was Chevrolet's first win at Michigan since Jeff Gordon won there in June 2001.

2012: First race on new surface. Four years and two days after scoring his first win with Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped a 143 race winless streak by leading 95 of the 200 laps to score the win for the second time on Father's Day. His last win also came at Michigan on Father's Day in 2008. The race was delayed two hours because of rain.

2014: Jimmie Johnson won his first Michigan race after a streak of bad luck that included engine failures and poor fuel strategy.

2015: Kurt Busch, driving in a back-up car, was declared the winner after the race was called for rain after 138 laps. The first 50 laps had seen three red flags resulting from persistent rain.

References

FireKeepers Casino 400 Wikipedia

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Contents

Notes

Notable races

References