By Cameron Bebeau, Staff Writer

While Denny Hamlin, Corey Heim and Giovanni Ruggiero celebrated victories in the Irish Hills this past weekend, several drivers put together runs that deserve a little more attention.

Cup Series: JJ Yeley & NY Racing

JJ Yeley showed a great deal of perseverance by finishing 21st in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, earning the Cup Series’ under-the-radar performance of the week.

Enduring a record-setting 11 cautions that slowed the field for 54 laps, Yeley brought the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet home just one position shy of the organization’s best finish. The team previously finished 20th with Greg Biffle at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022 and with Joey Gase in the 2024 summer race at Daytona International Speedway.

For a team that has made just 46 Cup Series starts across 12 seasons of competition, the result stands as one of the strongest performances in organization history. NY Racing also led two laps during the event, increasing its all-time laps-led total to six.

The accomplishment becomes even more impressive when considering the attrition throughout the field. According to NASCAR’s cumulative report, 24 of the race’s 37 entries were involved in at least one on-track incident during the afternoon.

Truck Series: Parker Kligerman & Kaulig Racing

Parker Kligerman earns the Truck Series under-the-radar performance recognition, following his 16th-place finish in Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 RAM 1500 truck that functions as the teams’ “Free Agent” seat.

While his teammate, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, finished two spots higher and earned highest-finishing rookie honors, Kligerman’s run still stood out. After starting 25th, he posted an average running position of 18.23 and brought the No. 25 home one spot shy of the top 15.

The result also gave Kligerman another solid showing in the Free Agent truck, following his 11th-place finish at Texas earlier this season, where he was the highest-finishing RAM driver.

For a driver who stepped away from full-time competition after 2024 and now serves as a color commentator for NASCAR on The CW, Kligerman has continued to make the most of his select starts. His Michigan run may not have been flashy, but it was another respectable result from a veteran who can still maximize an opportunity when it presents itself.

ARCA Menards Series: Lanie Buice & Pinnacle Racing Group

Making just her sixth career ARCA Menards Series start and second of 2026, Lanie Buice brought the No. 77 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet home with a fifth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. Through two starts this season, Buice now has two top-five finishes.

What makes the result stand out is the field around her. Buice finished ahead of several notable names, including Thomas Annunziata, Ryan Vargas, Takuma Koga and Daniel Dye, while keeping herself in the mix with national-series competitors Giovanni Ruggiero and Connor Mosack near the front of the field.

The finish wasn’t just a product of survival, either. Buice was fastest in practice, qualified third and recorded the fastest lap of the race, showing speed from the moment the weekend began.

For a driver still early in her ARCA career, Michigan was another strong showing and a sign that Buice is worth watching whenever she appears on the entry list.