Kyle Larson Wins Michigan Race While Leading the Most Laps

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BROOKLYN, MI – RIS - Kyle Larson scored his second consecutive win at Michigan International Speedway when he took the checkered flag in Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400.

Larson held off the field in a restart with five laps to go and went on to score his second win of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. He won last year’s August race at Michigan and his victory on Sunday made it back-to-back victories at the two-mile track.

“What a great Father’s Day present for myself and all the other fathers out there,” Larson said in Victory Lane. “My dad is here today, too. So, I’m looking forward to celebrating with him. We’ve been so close to so many other wins. This is our second Cup win of the year, but we’ve had six second place finishes. All-in-all, it’s a good season so far and we’ll continue to keep building on what we’ve got.”

Chase Elliott tried to mount a challenge for the win but had to settle for second, his third consecutive runner-up Michigan finish.

Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five.

“Proud of the effort,” said Logano, who took fresh tires on late caution while the leaders stays out.” I wish I could have the last restart back. I think I could have gotten to second. I wasn’t able to stay attached to the 42. I had a good start but the whole bottom lane was able to stack up really good and push ahead and then Denny (Hamlin) slid up in front of us; just racing there. Turning the momentum a bit and bringing home a solid top-five and change things.”

Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson completed the first 10 finishers.

Larson led four times for 96 laps, including the final 15.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the Sonoma Raceway road course next Sunday afternoon.

Unofficial Race Results for the 49Th Annual Firekeepers Casino 400 - Michigan International Speedway - Sunday, June 18, 2017

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, St1, St2, Playoff Pts
1) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Cars 3/Target Chevrolet, 200, 57, Running, 4, 96, 2, 3, 5
2) 10, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 200, 40, Running, , , 8, 9, 
3) 7, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 200, 36, Running, , , 9, , 
4) 5, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 200, 44, Running, , , 4, 7, 
5) 8, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet, 200, 32, Running, , , , , 
6) 2, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 200, 51, Running, 3, 62, 1, 1, 2
7) 4, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Red White & Blue Toyota, 200, 47, Running, 3, 40, 3, 2, 
8) 21, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, 200, 29, Running, , , , , 
9) 17, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, 200, 28, Running, , , , , 
10) 13, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 200, 28, Running, , , 10, , 
11) 9, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Freightliner Toyota, 200, 39, Running, , , 5, 4, 
12) 15, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 200, 28, Running, , , , 8, 
13) 14, Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 200, 24, Running, , , , , 
14) 11, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Ford, 200, 28, Running, , , , 6, 
15) 19, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Velveeta Chevrolet, 200, 22, Running, , , , , 
16) 12, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 200, 22, Running, 1, 2, , 10, 
17) 27, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 200, 20, Running, , , , , 
18) 25, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 200, 19, Running, , , , , 
19) 26, Darrell Wallace Jr.(i), No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 200, 0, Running, , , , , 
20) 37, Ty Dillon #, No. 13 Twisted Tea Chevrolet, 200, 17, Running, , , , , 
21) 16, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 200, 16, Running, , , , , 
22) 30, Paul Menard, No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, 200, 15, Running, , , , , 
23) 22, Michael McDowell, No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet, 200, 14, Running, , , , , 
24) 20, Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 Stanley Toyota, 200, 13, Running, , , , , 
25) 6, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Omnicraft Auto Parts Ford, 200, 16, Running, , , 7, , 
26) 3, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Haas-Automation Ford, 200, 22, Running, , , 6, 5, 
27) 18, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, 199, 10, Running, , , , , 
28) 28, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Keen Parts Ford, 199, 9, Running, , , , , 
29) 29, David Ragan, No. 38 Shriners Hospitals for Children Ford, 198, 8, Running, , , , , 
30) 32, * Corey LaJoie #, No. 83 JAS Expedited Trucking Toyota, 197, 7, Running, , , , , 
31) 33, Cole Whitt, No. 72 RTIC Coolers Chevrolet, 197, 6, Running, , , , , 
32) 36, Landon Cassill, No. 34 MDS Ford, 196, 5, Running, , , , , 
33) 31, Ryan Sieg(i), No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota, 196, 0, Running, , , , , 
34) 34, Reed Sorenson, No. 15 Corrigan Oil Chevrolet, 195, 3, Running, , , , , 
35) 35, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Hulu Chevrolet, 195, 2, Running, , , , , 
36) 24, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kingsford Chevrolet, 194, 1, Running, , , , , 
37) 23, Danica Patrick, No. 10 TaxAct Ford, 190, 1, Accident, , , , , 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) Non-charter team

Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 47 Mins, 24 Secs, Average Speed: 143.369 MPH, Margin of Victory: 0.993 Seconds
Race Comments: Kyle Larson wins the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Before the start of the event, the following car(s) dropped to the rear of the field for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 34, 47, 48 (backup cars) 41, 4 (unapproved body modification) and 19 (unapproved tire change).
Caution Flags: 8 for 34 laps: Laps: 8-10 (Debris Frontstretch [None]); 27-29 (Competition [None]); 62-67 (Stage 1 Conclusion [32]); 122-127 (Stage 2 Conclusion [47]); 151-154 (#23 Spin Turn 4 [10]); 181-185 (Debris Frontstretch [13]); 188-190 (#14 Incident Turn 2 [27]); 192-195 (#4, 10, 19, 21, 43 Incident Backstretch [95]).
Lead Changes: 10 among 4 drivers: K. Larson 1-34; M. Truex Jr. 35-62; K. Larson 63-108; Kyle Busch 109-112; B. Keselowski 113-114; K. Larson 115; M. Truex Jr. 116-126; Kyle Busch 127; M. Truex Jr. 128-150; Kyle Busch 151-185; K. Larson 186-200.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kyle Larson, #42 
Coors Light Pole Award: Kyle Larson, #42 202.156 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Kurt Busch, #41 6 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #42
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Larson, #42 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Jimmie Johnson, #48 0.151 secs
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Busch, #18 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Erik Jones, #77