The 2023 Cabo Wabo 250 was the 21st stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 5, 2023, in Brooklyn, Michigan at Michigan International Speedway, a 2.0 miles (3.2 km) permanent quad-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 125 laps to complete. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would take advantage of a late-race restart, and hold off the rest of the field to earn his seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his fifth of the season. Nemechek would also dominate the majority of the race, leading a race-high 65 laps.[1] To fill out the podium, Josh Berry and Brandon Jones, both driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Background
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, August 4, at 3:35 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.[2]Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.875, and an average speed of 185.209 mph (298.065 km/h).[3]
Qualifying was held on Friday, August 4, at 4:05 PM EST.[2] Since Michigan International Speedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[4]Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 37.985, and an average speed of 189.549 mph (305.050 km/h).[5]
