Saturday NASCAR schedule at Michigan International Speedway

Today’s track action at Michigan International Speedway includes two Sprint Cup practice sessions, Xfinity Series qualifying and the Menards 250 Xfinity race.

Here’s the schedule:

All times Eastern:

7 a.m. – Xfinity garage open

7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open

9 – 9:55 a.m. – Sprint Cup practice (FS1, MRN)

10 a.m. – Xfinity qualifying; two rounds/single car (FS1)

11:45 a.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting

12 – 12:55 p.m. – Final Sprint Cup practice (FS1, MRN)

1 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions

1:30 p.m. – Menards 250 presented by Valvoline; 125 laps, 250 miles (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Today’s Xfinity race at Michigan: Start time, weather, radio/TV info and lineup

The Xfinity Series makes its return to Michigan International Speedway for today’s Menard’s 250 presented by Valvoline. Here are the details:

(All times are Eastern)

START: John Menard, owner and founder of Menard’s, will give the command for drivers to start engines at 1:37 p.m. Green flag is set to wave at 1:46 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 125 laps (250 miles) around the 2-mile oval.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Xfinity Garage opens at 7 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 11:45 a.m. Driver introductions are at 1:05 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Trent Broussard of the West Michigan Opera Project and Holland Chorale in Michigan will perform the anthem at 1:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race with its coverage beginning at 1 p.m. Motor Racing Network’s broadcast on radio and at MRN.com begins at 1 p.m. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the MRN broadcast.

FORECAST: wunderground.com predicts a high temperature of 86 degrees with 15 percent chance of rain at the start.

LAST TIME: Kyle Busch won in his first Xfinity race since being injured at Daytona last year. Chase Elliott was second with Kyle Larson third, Chris Buescher fourth and Elliott Sadler fifth.

STARTING LINEUP: Qualifying is at 10 a.m.

Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon meet to discuss Gordon’s broadcast comments

Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon met Friday at Michigan International Speedway for the first time since Keselowski questioned Gordon’s comments of Keselowski’s team Monday.

“There were no hugs I can confirm,’’ Keselowski said of the session with Gordon, which was filmed by FS1. “There were handshakes. We talked at length. There’s certainly some differing opinions. I don’t necessarily know if that is going to change. It’s nice to be able to have those conversations in a one-on-one format, of course there was a camera there.

Keselowski raised issues Monday about Gordon, a part owner in Jimmie Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports team, after Gordon’s comments about a penalty incurred by Keselowski’s team at Pocono Raceway.

Keselowski stated after the race that the sport needed to have people in the TV booth who do not own teams or have a commercial interest in the sport. Keselowski said during Nate Ryan’s NBC Sports Podcast this week that he felt the comments were a “direct attack on myself and my team.’’

Keselowski discussed the topic more on Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

“My big thing is I don’t want somebody who is invested in another team talking about my race car in a derogatory form or even if it’s a perceived derogatory form,’’ Keselowski said. “I don’t think that’s right, and I’m going to defend my team in those situations no matter who it is.

“Beyond that, I think (Gordon) has a position that requires his insight, but there’s some limitations to what insight I think is fair play for that position when you’re still invested in the sport. I feel that was over the line and not just that particular example but a number of other examples on other broadcasts. I just want to make sure if anyone wants to criticize me and how I drive the race car, that’s one thing, not my team and not things that could be perceived as self-serving.’’

Of course, Keselowski has served as an analyst in the TV booth for Xfinity broadcasts before.

“I feel like if you’re in the booth or a position such as that, not just the booth it could be anything, and you’re invested in the sport, I think you just should probably bow out of some conversations that are, of course, a conflict of interest,’’ Keselowski said.

“It’s OK to be out there in the booth if you can respect the limitations that you almost self imply to being a journalist. People have asked me what is it like being in the booth for the Xfinity races because I have a relationship obviously with Team Penske and they compete in that series even when I’m not driving.

“I would say that in those situations where something comes up about that team or car or whoever it might, that it’s my belief don’t say anything. There’s a lot more than one person in the booth and on the production teams and that’s kind of how I’ve treated that situation. I feel like that’s probably a more reasonable guiding light to go forward or request. It’s not my right to enforce by any means, but that’s what I think is fair.’’

Matt Crafton: No movement on a Drivers’ Council in the Truck series

FORT WORTH – A year ago at Texas Motor Speedway, two-time Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton stated he believed all three of NASCAR’s national touring series should have a Drivers’ Council.

Crafton’s statement came a month after the Sprint Cup Series’ first council formed.

“(NASCAR’s) constantly making rule changes and trying to make the sport better and sometimes we as drivers feel things whenever they make a rule change, and I think they need to hear it sometimes,” said Crafton at the time. “Not in a bad way or good way, but we need to be able to talk to them for sure.”

Crafton, in his 16th full-time season in the Truck series, now says he hasn’t heard any rumblings about the formation of similar Drivers Councils for the lower-tier series.

“I haven’t had any talks about it,” Crafton told NBC Sports in his team’s hauler Thursday. “I wish they would; they would talk to us. There’s not a whole lot of drivers in this series that they’re probably going to listen to, because they haven’t been here long enough to listen to them.”

The Sprint Cup Drivers Council currently is comprised of nine drivers, including five past champions and defending series champion Kyle Busch. In the Truck series, Crafton is the only champion from the last 10 seasons actively driving in the series. Last year’s champion,Erik Jones, is driving full time in the Xfinity Series.

Crafton said a hypothetical Drivers Council for the truck series would be comprised of series veterans.

“I know there is probably a handful of them they probably should listen to and be able to speak their minds and talk to them about things,” Crafton said. “I’m not saying the rookies shouldn’t have a voice, but at the end of the day, they need to earn the respect to have it.”

Veterans of Crafton’s caliber are sparse among the 20 drivers who have run all six races in 2016. Of those 20, Crafton is one of five drivers who have competed in every race over the past two seasons (22 races in 2014, 23 races in 2015). That includes, Johnny Sauter,Timothy Peters, Ben Kennedy and Tyler Young.

John Wes Townley, who won his first Truck race last year, has missed only four races since 2012. Drivers such as John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer, both multiple race winners, likely would have attempted full-time seasons if not for NASCAR’s age limits for tracks larger than 1.25-miles.

If he officially were able to convene with his fellow veterans and a couple of younger drivers with NASCAR, Crafton knows at least one topic he’d like to discuss.

“Differences in how (the trucks) drove in traffic five years ago and how they drive in traffic now,” Crafton said “I’d like to talk about some of that stuff with them and see if we can make the racing even better than what it is already.”

Five drivers to watch at Michigan

Keep an eye on these drivers throughout the Sprint Cup weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick has finished second in five of the last six Michigan races, including the Cup Series’ most recent visit last August. Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, he’s averaged 35 laps led per race at Michigan – 47 if you throw out the Aug. 2014 race where he never led in route to a second-place result.

Matt Kenseth

Speaking of last August, Kenseth won that race in dominant fashion. That race featured the much-maligned high-drag package. Now there’s a different set of rules, designed to take away downforce. But expect him to be a threat again at Michigan where he carries an average finish of 10.2. That’s boosted by three wins and 14 top-five finishes (best among active drivers).

Brad Keselowski

Keselowski has kept momentum from his Talladega win and heads home to Michigan on a streak of five consecutive top-10 finishes. Since Michigan’s repave entering the 2012 season, Keselowski’s posted an average finish there of 8.1. However, he hasn’t exactly been a front-runner, either. During that same span, the most laps he’s led in a single Michigan race is 17 (Aug. 2012 & 2013).

Chase Elliott

An impressive run at Pocono hammered home the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before Elliott earns his first Sprint Cup win. After a 20th-place result at Martinsville, Elliott’s posted an average finish of 6.25 in the eight races since. In regards to Michigan, Elliott showed well in his Xfinity Series days with finishes of sixth (2014) and second (2015).

Paul Menard

With only one top-10 finish this season, Menard’s well back in the playoff picture (22nd in points, 73 behind 16th-place Ryan Newman). But he’s found a sweet spot at Michigan with three top-five and five top-10 finishes in his last seven Cup starts there, as well as an Xfinity Series win two years ago.

Team engineer to serve as Kyle Larson’s interim crew chief at Michigan

Chip Ganassi Racing announced Friday on Twitter that Phil Surgen will serve as the interim crew chief for Kyle Larson‘s team this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Crew chief Chad Johnston is serving a one-race suspension for a lug nut violation at Pocono.

Surgen joined the team before this season. He’s worked for various teams in the last decade, including Richard Childress Racing.

Johnston is the fourth Sprint Cup crew chief to miss a race weekend because of a lug nut violation since the rule was updated before the May 1 Talladega race.

Car owner Chip Ganassi was critical in a SiriusXM NASCAR Radio interview of the new lug nut policy and how it was taking the focus away from other areas NASCAR should dealing with.

NASCAR debuts campaign to promote diversity, inclusion and equality

NASCAR debuted a public service announcement Friday that features some of its drivers, including six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, and promotes diversity, inclusion and equality within and outside of sports.

The video can be seen here.

The video comes about two months after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed House Bill 2 into law. The law, driven by the issue of which bathroom transgender people can use, repealed local LGBT anti-discrimination laws. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month that the league is looking at “alternatives” for the 2017 All-Star Game, which is scheduled to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, should the law not be changed.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France stated April 21 in a meeting with The Associated Press Sports Editors that “any discrimination, unintended or not … we don’t like that.”

Other drivers joining Johnson in the video are Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larsonand Darrell Wallace Jr. NASCAR partnered with the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) with the campaign. France is a founding member of the RISE Board of Directors. The initiative was founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

“Discrimination has no place in our society, which is why we have partnered with RISE and Stephen Ross to help put an end to intolerance in sports,” France said in a statement. “With the help of our talented drivers who support this important message, we want to reinforce our sport’s unwavering commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion.”

Last year, NASCAR was among various sports organizations that expressed its objections to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence in March 2015. Gov. Pence signed an amended law last year.