In front of his own father and son, Kyle Larson gave himself the best Father’s Day gift he could get — victory at Michigan.
Larson pulled away from Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps remaining at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday and held on to capture his second win of the season.
Without a wreck or spin until Lap 149 of 200, the final quarter of Sunday’s race brought out aggressive driving from those jockeying for a win.
A caution flag was shown with 21 laps remaining for debris, resetting the field and setting up an all-important decision: To pit or not to pit. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski among others, stopped for tires and fuel while the top-14 drivers stayed out for track position.
Kyle Busch and Larson led the 37-car field to the line with 15 laps to go on the ensuing restart but Clint Bowyer brought out the seventh caution of the day just one lap later.
Drivers didn’t even complete a lap until the next caution, a multi-car wreck on the backstretch of the two-mile track that sent Danica Patrick and Daniel Suarez for a wild ride. Last Sunday’s race-winner Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick were also caught up in the wreck setting up a restart with five laps remaining.
Elliott finished second for the third consecutive race at Michigan and is still without a win in his young Cup Series career. Logano was third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray.
Martin Truex Jr. dominated three-fourths of the race but on a restart with 49 laps remaining he had trouble getting up to speed, dropping to ninth. He finished sixth but managed to win Stages 1 and 2.
In his first race since signing an extension through 2020, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson finished 10th. He had to start from the rear after opting for a backup car before the race.
Results from the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Elliott
- Joey Logano
- Denny Hamlin
- Jamie McMurray
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Matt Kenseth
- Kurt Busch
- Erik Jones
- Kevin Harvick
- Ryan Newman
- Brad Keselowski
- Trevor Bayne
- AJ Allmendinger
- Darrell Wallace
- Ty Dillon
- Kasey Kahne
- Paul Menard
- Michael McDowell
- Daniel Suarez
- Ryan Blaney
- Clint BOwyer
- Austin Dillon
- Matt DiBenedetto
- David Ragan
- Corey LaJoie
- Cole Whitt
- Landon Cassill
- Ryan Seig
- Reed Sorenson
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Chris Buescher
- Danica Patrick
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Stage 1 winner: Truex
Stage 2 winner: Truex