Tyler Reddick's performance in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway had promise, but ultimately was a disappointment. Reddick began the race from third but quickly made his way to the lead after passing Carson Hocevar partway through the first stage. The No. 45 Toyota driver went on to dominate the rest of the first stage and win it, earning 10 stage points. Between stages, Reddick waited for extra fuel on pit road during his pit stop, causing him to lose the lead. After the second stage began, he continued to run inside the top five through most of the stage and was set to make a run for the lead again after a lap 78 caution for A.J. Allmendinger spinning caused another restart. However, as the race restarted on lap 83, Hocevar bumped into John Hunter Nemechek and triggered a multicar accident that caught Reddick. Ultimately, Reddick took too much damage from this crash to continue and placed 35th, giving him his first DNF of the 2026 season. Reddick's early exit caused his points lead in the regular season standings to drop to 51 points over Denny Hamlin, who won Sunday's race, after 15 Cup races this season.

Chase Elliott was one of the top performers through the first half of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, but ultimately could not maintain a top finish by the end of Sunday's race. Elliott began the race from sixth and quietly ran inside the top 10 throughout the entire first stage. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver ended the first stage in fourth and earned seven stage points. In the second stage, Elliott continued to work his way through the top five until a lap 67 pit stop, which shuffled Elliott into the lead past his teammate Kyle Larson. Elliott went on to win the second stage and obtain 10 more stage points. In the final stage, Elliott continued to lead the race until a lap 142 caution for Zane Smith crashing. Elliott lost the lead to William Byron through pit stops, and then, a couple of laps later, after the restart on lap 148, Elliott's car got loose and knocked himself and Christopher Bell into the outside wall. This ended Elliott's day, and he finished in 37th after leading 67 laps, the most of all drivers. Elliott is now fourth in the regular-season standings after 16 races, 187 points behind Tyler Reddick.

Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones finished in second in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Jones was initially set to start 10th, but his team made unapproved adjustments before the race, and per NASCAR rules, he had to start at the rear at the green flag. Jones spent the entire first stage making up positions from the back and ended it in 15th. In the second stage, Jones continued to ascend to the field and made it up to the top five over time. By the end of the stage, he passed Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Daniel Suarez to finish the stage in second behind Chase Elliott, earning nine stage points in the process. In the final stage, Jones kept falling back in positions due to pit stops, but had the car to recover back to the front. On the final green flag run of the race, Jones went from the back of the top 10 all the way to second to finish 11 seconds behind Denny Hamlin. This was Jones' best finish of the 2026 season and of his career at Michigan. After 15 Cup races this season, Jones now sits 18th in the standings and is 18 points behind Austin Cindric for the final spot in the Chase.

For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin went to the back and spent the whole race recovering to the front for a victory in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Hamlin was originally set to start first after scoring the pole in qualifying, but had to make unapproved adjustments to his car after qualifying due to damage received from a flat tire in practice. In the first stage, Hamlin went from the back to 25th by the end of the first stage. In the second stage, Hamlin continued to move through the field, but was also caught in a multicar accident on lap 83. Despite spinning in the incident, Hamlin was able to continue and went on to end the second stage in eighth. In the final stage, Hamlin continued to move up as he finally made it back to the top five by lap 128. On the race's final restart on lap 162, Hamlin went up to the lead past William Byron, Daniel Suarez, and Carson Hocevar, and never looked back, leading 40 total laps overall to get his fourth Michigan win and third win of the 2026 season. This win also tied Kyle Busch for ninth on NASCAR's all-time wins list in the Cup Series at 63, and he is now 51 points behind in second place in the regular season standings after 15 races.