NASCAR’s Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace to host Michigan meet-and-greets before race goes wrong

The top stars of NASCAR are coming to Michigan this week, and a few of them will be making public appearances prior to the race.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott will be at FireKeepers Casino, 11177 E. Michigan Ave. in Battle Creek, for a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16. Fans can meet the 2021 series champion prior to him heading over to the Irish Hills for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Elliott will be available at Dacey’s Sportsbook & Taphouse from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The Georgia driver is having a bounce-back season after a disastrous 2023 campaign. Through 23 races, Elliott has 12 top-10 and seven top-five finishes, including a win at Texas Motor Speedway in April. He’s third in points, six points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who leads the standings.

Also Friday, drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick are making a public appearance at the Brooklyn McDonald’s, 206 S. Main St.

That event is at 12:30 p.m. and include a show car, McDonald’s giveaways and a live radio broadcast.

Reddick is second in points, while Wallace currently holds the final playoff spot, but only has a 3-point advantage with three races left. Both drivers are part of 23XI Racing, which is owned by Denny Hamlin and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan