Three Michiganders Looking to Be Speedway's First Hometown Cup Winner
In the 107 NASCAR Cup Series events that have been contested at Michigan International Speedway since the racetrack opened in 1969, never has there been a race-winner born in the state of Michigan.
This season, the odds of having a Michigan-born driver make it to Victory Lane are as good as any previous season, with three Michiganders set to take to the racetrack in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.
Carson Hocevar is a second-year driver in the NASCAR Cup Series who hails from Portage, Michigan, a town located 90 minutes west of the Michigan International Speedway.
The driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports has been in the headlines for the last week or so, but not because of his career-best runner-up finish last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, but rather for an in-race incident with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Now that the two drivers have talked it out, last week’s drama isn’t any of Hocevar’s concern this weekend, with the Zeigler Auto Group-sponsored machine set to roll from 14th-place in Sunday’s 400-mile contest.
The 22-year-old driver has spent the last two weeks at the front of the pack, and in contention to win his maiden NASCAR Cup Series event. Hocevar also found himself being in contention to win Saturday’s Truck Series event, before a restart violation late in the going.
“This is number one or would be number one if we can win here,” Hocevar said on Saturday prior to the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Michigan.
“Just being able to win one of these would be super, super cool and mean a lot,” he added. “You know, somebody asked me earlier how much it would mean. I was like, man, I don’t know how to describe it in words, but I promise you when we win, you’ll see how much it means and hopefully we get a chance to show that.”
Erik Jones may not be starting near the front of the pack, but the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver is looking to carry some of his momentum from a strong four-week stretch into his home state of Michigan.
The driver of the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE has collected three top-15 results in the last four races, including a pair of top seven results at Texas (fifth) and Nashville (seventh). It’s that speed that has left Jones with high expectations for this weekend.
“I think expectations are definitely higher [than last year]. I think last year, we didn’t really know – we were not in a great spot. We were just trying to have a good year,” said Jones. “This year, I feel like top-10, well at least for me, not sure how everyone else feels, but top-10s [are] definitely the expectation for me.”
In 12 career starts at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway, Jones has recorded a single top-five result with Furniture Row Racing in 2017, and two additional top-10 results that came while driving the No. 43 – once for Petty GMS and the most-recent time for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.
Jones hails from Byron, Michigan, which is located about 90 minutes to the north of Michigan International Speedway. In a single start in both the Xfinity and Truck Series, the 29-year-old driver has recorded a top-five.
The No. 43 Toyota will be in-line with his teammate John Hunter Nemechek to start Sunday’s event, as the pair share Row #11.
Of the three drivers in the field from Michigan, Brad Keselowski is definitely the most hungry to earn a hometown win, and also the most desperate, considering his start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
The native of Rochester Hills, Michigan – located about 90 minutes northeast of Michigan International Speedway – has 27 career starts at the two-mile oval, and has picked up a total of nine top-five finishes, including three runner-up results.
“It’s been a good track for us, all but the win. We’ve got poles, stage wins, laps led, but looking for that elusive win, hopefully we’ll have a shot to do that,” Keselowski told Prime Video during qualifying on Saturday.
Michigan local @keselowski has his eyes set on a hometown win 🔥 #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/UwxH9vzegZ
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 7, 2025
Unfortunately for Keselowski, the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will be starting outside the top-25, in 27th, an unideal starting spot for a driver that is looking to collect his first victory of the season, one that would secure him a spot in the post-season.
Keselowski enters Michigan sitting 32nd in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, with a single top-five result on the docket for the opening 14 events of the season. At this point, for the RFK Racing co-owner, it’s a must-win situation to make the post-season.
“Yeah, I think where we’re at in points we definitely need to win,” Keselowski added. “But there are a lot of opportunities to do that on the schedule. Today’s NASCAR is so much different than NASCAR of years past.”
Sunday’s 400-mile contest is likely to see at least one of the three Michiganders fighting for a spot inside the top-10, if not the victory. For all three drivers, though, a win in their home state could transform their season.
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Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.