Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Elton Sawyer issues warning to NASCAR Cup Series drivers ahead of green flag at Michigan

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 5:38 PM ET

Before the start of today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan, Elton Sawyer made sure to issue a warning to the drivers. In the Truck Series race, there were some restarts that did not go according to plan. Sawyer wanted to make sure that the Cup guys knew the deal ahead of Sunday’s start.

With the late restart wrecks and pileups in the Truck Series on Saturday, Elton Sawyer, senior VP of competition, made sure to warn his Cup Series drivers about doing the same thing. No one wants to see the mess we had late in that race on Sunday.

Dustin Long of NBC Sports reported on the warning. Sawyer “emphasized” that drivers need to stay in line during restarts until they pass the start/finish line. They also need to not lay back and create gaps in line to get a run on the car in front of them. That’s how the accordion pileups happen.

#NASCAR's Elton Sawyer emphasized to drivers in the drivers meeting today at Michigan to stay in line until crossing the start/finish line for the start and restarts and also told drivers not to lay back.

Drivers have been warned
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 8, 2025

Michigan is a track that drivers are excited to race at. It is wide, fast, and passing is relatively easy in the Next Gen car compared to others on the schedule. That means today the race is in the drivers’ hands.

On the other hand, things get spread out pretty easily. There might not be that many close battles on track as this race goes green for multiple laps.

NASCAR welcomes Ram Trucks as new manufacturer

Finally! After all of the reports and leaks and teaser videos, Ram Trucks has announced a return to the NASCAR Truck Series. The 2026 season is going to have a little Hemi-power behind it! Elton Sawyer had said that V8 engines aren’t the thing anymore, but Ram has other ideas.

From an activation stage at Michigan International Speedway, Ram Trucks made it official. We have heard so much about this announcement leading up to today. Now it is here, and NASCAR fans can rejoice about the Ram and Hemi coming back to the sport.

Ram Trucks in NASCAR. This is the moment fans have waited for since Dodge left after 2012 and Ram left the Truck Series in 2014. Step one in getting the fourth manufacturer back in the sport is complete.

Stellantis is doing the whole deal. We have the Hemi V8 engine back! Ram is coming back to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. There is so much to love about this announcement from a consumer and motorsports standpoint.

For those wondering about a Cup Series return for Dodge, that is in the works. Stellantis wants to put Dodge or another brand under their umbrella into the top-tier of the sport. However, the timeline for that remains unclear. Ideally, it would be 2027, but that would be a very quick turnaround to get a program up and running by then.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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