NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Great Clips 250 Benefiting Paralyzed Veterans of America

The Place: Michigan International Speedway

The Date: Saturday, June 13

The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET

TV: FOX Sports 1, 1 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 250 miles for 125 laps

Kyle Busch Returns To The No. 54 After 11 Races Out Of The Seat

NASCAR XFINITY Series’ winningest driver, Kyle Busch, will return to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 team this weekend and compete in the Great Clips 250 Benefiting Paralyzed Veterans of America after missing 11 races due to injuries suffered to both of his legs in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the 54 Monster Energy Toyota this weekend,” said Kyle Busch. “I can’t say enough about how much Monster Energy, JGR, Toyota and all my guys have helped me and pulled for me to get back into the XFINITY car. This is a continuation of my recovery since Daytona, and we hope to continue to add to my schedule going forward through the rest of the year.”

Busch raises the level of competition when he competes in the XFINITY Series. He holds the series record in wins of 70, with 43 poles and 175 top-fives.

Expect Busch to find his groove fairly quickly at Michigan, in seven starts he has one win (2004), six top fives and an average finish of 4.6. Busch won the Coors Light pole for this event last season.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Contingent

Aside from Kyle Busch there are several Sprint Cup Series regulars invading the XFINITY Series this weekend at Michigan, including defending winner, Paul Menard. Joining Menard and Busch are Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick.

Will another Sprint Cup Series driver celebrate an XFINITY Series victory at Michigan on Saturday afternoon?

It is possible and here are the reasons why it could happen.

On the Other Hand:

Will Chris Buescher’s Good Fortune Continue?

Dover International Speedway’s race two weeks ago was quite beneficial for Chris Buescher. Not only did he win the third race of his career and pad his XFINITY Series points lead to 15 points over second-place Ty Dillon, but he also qualified for the second round of the Dash 4 Cash program at Indianapolis on July 25. With all this great success so early this season, can he keep it up?

All signs point to yes, especially this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

Buescher’s team, Roush Fenway Racing, leads the series in wins at Michigan with five victories from Carl Edwards in 2011, 2008; Jeff Burton in 1998; and Mark Martin in 1995, and 1993. The team also holds the all-time lead in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Michigan, with 13.

Also Buescher has made two starts at the two-mile speedway posting two top-tens and an average finish of 8.5 – his seventh-best track in average finish on the active XFINITY Series schedule.

Buescher’s pre-race Loop Data suggests he’ll maintain his recent success this weekend at Michigan. He has a driver rating of 95.6, which is 15th-best, and an average running position of 8.220 which is eighth-best.

Sunoco Rookie Update:

Chastain Is Chasing Wallace and Suarez

Two weeks ago Ross Chastain finished 16th at Dover International, Speedway grabbing the highest finishing rookie honors for the second time this season – first was at Daytona in the season opener.

Chastain is now third in the Sunoco Rookie standings 40 points behind standings leader Darrell Wallace Jr. and 30 points back from second-place Daniel Suarez.

Chastain’s 2015 season includes peaks and valleys. In 12 starts this season he has posted one top-ten at Daytona, and five top-20 finishes. His average finish in 2015 is 22.0.

Chastain has made one series start in 2014 at Michigan International Speedway; starting 17th and finishing 12th.

Number Five Please Stand Up

Not since Michigan native Brad Keselowski won back-to-back races in 2009-2010 has Michigan International Speedway seen a repeat XFINITY Series winner. Could we see a fifth different winner this weekend?

Quite possibly. Only six of the 40 drivers (15%) entered this weekend are previous winners: Kyle Busch in 2004, Denny Hamlin in 2007, Kevin Harvick in 2003, Joey Logano in 2012, Paul Menard in 2013 and Regan Smith in 2014.

Top First-time Michigan Winner

Of the drivers looking for their first win this season, Chase Elliott is the best candidate to get the job done this weekend. In his lone start at Michigan last season, he started second and finished sixth. His pre-race Loop Data for Michigan ranks him the highest among championship contenders in average running position of 6.168 and driver rating of 117.7.

Elliott is now third in series standings, 37 points behind standings leader Ty Dillon. In 12 starts this season Elliott has posted a series leading ten top-ten finishes.

Armstrong Looks To Continue Standings Climb

Dakoda Armstrong is ready to return to racing this weekend at Michigan International Speedway to build on his steady improvement in the XFINITY Series point standings. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver has moved the No. 43 Ford team from 16th to 13th in just the last two races –  Charlotte (+1) and Dover (+2).

Armstrong heads to Michigan and hopes to keep the momentum going and crack the top-12 in points.  He sits just 17 points back from 12th-place David Starr.

In 12 starts this season Armstrong has posted six top-20 finishes and an average finish of 21.2. He has made one series start at Michigan last season where he finished 19th.

Danica Patrick Highlights NASCAR XFINITY Series FOX Sports Booth at Michigan

Alongside FOX Sports hosts Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip, Danica Patrick is one of several drivers including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon, stepping in and offering their captivating views. Patrick will try her hand in the booth this weekend in Michigan as the fifth and last driver analyst to join the broadcast team this season.

Milestone Watch

 Ryan Sieg will attempt to post his 50th XFINITY Series career start this weekend at Michigan.

Kevin Harvick (174) will attempt to tie Kyle Busch (175) for the all-time series’ lead top-five finishes this weekend at Michigan.

Joey Logano will attempt to post his 75th XFINITY Series career top-five finish this weekend. Logano is tied with Joe Nemechek (74) for 16th on the all-time XFINITY Series finishes in the top-five list. Joey Logano can also become the third driver in series history to lead 700 laps or more in the first 12 races of the season joining Kyle Busch and Sam Ard. Logano has not started all 12 races this season but could carry out the feat in just six starts. Logano now has 575 laps led and would need to lead all 125 laps at Michigan.