Ryan Blaney holds off hard-charging NASCAR Cup field to squeak out win at Michigan
weekend sweep of NASCAR and IndyCar races and ended Kevin Harvick’s reign as the Michigan champ. Harvick had won thee last three Michigan races and four of five at the track. The consolation prize for Harvick after finishing 14th on Sunday, was wrapping up the 15th spot in the 16-car Cup Series playoff that begins in two weeks.
Joey Gase smacked into the outer wall on turn two on lap 32 for the first caution flag of the race.
Then as Stage 2 concluded, Austin Dillon, contending for one of the final spots in the playoffs, got spun by Brad Keselowski and hit the outer wall destroying his No.3 Chevrolet.
“I was just trying to get as many stage points as I could get right there,” Dillon said after exiting the infield care center. “It was a heck of a wreck but I feel fine.”
FireKeepers Casino 400 Results
Sunday at thee 2-mile Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. (starting position in parentheses):
1. (3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200 laps, 40 points.
2. (18) William Byron, Chevrolet, 200, 43.
3. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200, 51.
4. (6) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 200, 36.
5. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200, 45.
6. (4) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 200, 36.
7. (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 42.
8. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200, 46.
9. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200, 33.
10. (5) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 200, 27.
11. (21) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 200, 26.
12. (12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 200, 25.
13. (28) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 200, 33.
14. (8) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 200, 23.
15. (11) Chris Buescher, Ford, 200, 22.
16. (10) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200, 21.
17. (23) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, 20.
18. (13) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 200, 19.
19. (15) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 200, 18.
20. (25) Michael McDowell, Ford, 200, 17.
21. (32) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 200, 16.
22. (30) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 200, 15.
23. (27) Cole Custer, Ford, 200, 14.
24. (16) Ryan Newman, Ford, 200, 13.
25. (17) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
26. (24) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
27. (37) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 199, 0.
28. (36) BJ McLeod, Ford, 198, 0.
29. (14) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 198, 11.
30. (31) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 196, 7.
31. (29) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 195, 6.
32. (33) Garrett Smithley, Ford, 194, 0.
33. (19) Joey Logano, Ford, garage, 188, 9.
34. (35) Anthony Alfredo, Ford, 178, 3.
35. (22) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 152, 2.
36. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, accident, 120, 14.
37. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, accident, 29, 0.
––– Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.467 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 27 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.077 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 29 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Larson 0-2; M.DiBenedetto 3; K.Larson 4-22; D.Hamlin 23-26; C.Elliott 27-63; K.Larson 64-65; A.Dillon 66-67; K.Larson 68-79; C.Elliott 80-110; Ky.Busch 111-113; C.Bell 114-115; Ky.Busch 116-122; K.Larson 123-126; Ku.Busch 127; K.Larson 128-158; D.Hamlin 159-164; Ky.Busch 165-167; B.Keselowski 168-173; C.Bell 174; W.Byron 175-192; R.Blaney 193-200
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Larson, 6 times for 70 laps; C.Elliott, 2 times for 68 laps; W.Byron, 1 time for 18 laps; Ky.Busch, 3 times for 13 laps; D.Hamlin, 2 times for 10 laps; R.Blaney, 1 time for 8 laps; B.Keselowski, 1 time for 6 laps; C.Bell, 2 times for 3 laps; A.Dillon, 1 time for 2 laps; Ku.Busch, 1 time for 1 lap; M.DiBenedetto, 1 time for 1 lap.
Wins: K.Larson, 5; M.Truex, 3; A.Bowman, 3; Ky.Busch, 2; C.Elliott, 2; R.Blaney, 2; W.Byron, 1; J.Logano, 1; B.Keselowski, 1; Ku.Busch, 1; C.Bell, 1; M.McDowell, 1; A.Almirola, 1.
Top 16 in Points: 1. K.Larson, 1004; 2. D.Hamlin, 976; 3. Ky.Busch, 838; 4. W.Byron, 833; 5. C.Elliott, 820; 6. M.Truex, 789; 7. R.Blaney, 787; 8. J.Logano, 772; 9. K.Harvick, 756; 10. B.Keselowski, 729; 11. T.Reddick, 677; 12. A.Bowman, 674; 13. A.Dillon, 652; 14. Ku.Busch, 643; 15. C.Bell, 595; 16. M.DiBenedetto, 557.