Michigan International Speedway – FireKeepers Casino 400

The NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 debuted in 1969 as the Yankee 600. That year’s champion, David Pearson, won in a rain-shortened race.

The event was shortened to 400 miles starting in 1970. Promoter Roger Penski decided the 1973 event would be cancelled due to the track’s tight schedule that summer. That would be the only time the event would be kept off the NASCAR schedule. The race returned for an exciting battle in 1974, with Pearson winning again after 45 lead changes in 200 laps.

Starting in 1975, the event was titled the Champion Spark Plug 400. It’d keep that title through 1993.

Perennial title challengers Richard Petty and Pearson traded wins throughout the 1970s. Petty won in 1975 and 1979; Pearson won in 1972, 1974, 1976, and 1978. Darrell Waltrip earned his first event win in 1977 to break the duo’s dominance. Cale Yarborough won in 1980.

The 1981 event was the most competitive Michigan race ever, featuring NASCAR duels with sixty-five lead changes between 14 drivers over the 200 laps. Petty grabbed the lead with five laps to go and held on for victory. It’d be his last at the track in his iconic career. Bill Elliott enjoyed a stretch of wins from 1985-1987. The last of which was longtime driver Tim Richmond’s final NASCAR race after he deliberately over-revved the engine to break it.

The 1990s started with Mark Martin winning before Dale Jarrett’s victory by inches over Davey Allison in 1991. The 1994 event saw a new sponsor for the first time in decades and was then titled the GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 through 1996. The 1997 race changed again to the DeVilbiss 400 before changing slightly to the Pepsi 400 Presented by DeVilbiss in 1998. Jeff Gordon won the race handily to deny Martin’s third event win in the decade. The 1999 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer, a title kept through 2001, saw a new type of tire from Goodyear. Bobby Labonte held off Dale Earnhardt for his third win at the track.

The 2000s saw a different winner each year. The event name changed again in 2002 to the Pepsi 400 Presented by Farmer Jack before becoming the GFS Marketplace 400 from 2003 to 2006. The 2004 event was the last Cup Championship Series win for longtime driver Jeremy Mayfield. The 2007 race saw another new title — the 3M Performance 400 — and the first modern Cup Series race held on a Tuesday after multiple rain delays. 3M kept title sponsorship in 2008 as the 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo. Carfax took over title sponsorship to close the decade, sponsoring the 2009 and 2010 events.

From 2011 to 2017, the race was titled the Pure Michigan 400. This stretch saw Kyle Larson win his first Cup Series race in 2016. He’d return next season to win again, becoming the first repeat winner at the event since Elliott in 1987. The following season the name changed to Consumers Energy 400 and saw the first of three consecutive wins from Kevin Harvick. Ryan Blaney won the 2021 race, the first with 2023 FireKeepers Casino 400 Odds and FireKeepers Casino title sponsorship, before Harvick won his fourth event in five years with a victory in 2022.

Harvick is the defending NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 winner. He and Pearson are tied for the most event wins with five. Stay tuned for more thrilling “nascar results” and updates on the NASCAR 2023 schedule and NASCAR points standings as the excitement continues at the Michigan International Speedway.