Harvick Wins Michigan and Finishes a Sweep at the Track for SHR

Harvick Celebrates Michigan Win/Twitter

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BROOKLYN, MI – RIS – Kevin Harvick dominated the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.  Harvick won all three stages and led 108 of the 200 laps for the victory.  With Clint Bowyer’s win in the spring race, that means a sweep for Stewart Haas Racing and Ford at the track.

Harvick started third – his 16th top-10 start at MIS – and won both the first two Stages and gained a pair of playoff points in impressive fashion. He took the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 30, and by Lap 50, he grabbed a 3.6-second lead over Busch and the field. Harvick led for 108 laps. 

Michigan native Brad Keselowski, who started 18th, took second and finished 3.233 seconds behind Harvick. It was the second time Keselowski placed second at MIS.

Busch and Austin Dillon finished third and fourth, respectively. Austin Dillon had been running second to Harvick but reported that he had a flat tire with two laps remaining. Dillon was able to coast home in fourth behind third-place finisher Kyle Busch.

For Harvick, it was his second career victory at the 2-mile oval in the Irish Hills of Michigan and the 44th of his Cup Series career, tying Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time list.

"What a car," Harvick said in victory lane. "The most important thing is winning races right now and positioning yourself for Homestead. And that's all we want to do. We don't want to learn anything, we don't want to work on anything, we want to win."

Harvick's son, Keelan, came out onto the track to grab the checkered flag and wave it to the fans in the grandstand before Harvick drove both his son and the flag back to victory lane.

"He told me before the race, 'Dad, if you win, I want to go out and wave the checkered flag.' And I said, 'Well, if you do that, you've got to take the victory lap with me.'

"It's pretty awesome to a part of NASCAR and bring your kids to work and experience these kinds of things with them.”

Ryan Blaney finished fifth, followed by Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

Only three races remain before the 10-race playoff commences on Sept. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Next is Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday night in the night race that so many love to attend.

Kyle Busch continues to lead the points race by 62 markers over Harvick, but Harvick’s 7 wins and 40 playoff points outdistance Busch’s 6 wins and 35 playoff points.

Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 400 Miles

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 3 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford 200 1 1 60 Running 5 108 7
2 18 2 Brad Keselowski Discount Tire Ford 200 9 9 39 Running
3 2 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 200 2 2 52 Running 3 22
4 5 3 Austin Dillon Dow WE Are Innovators Chevrolet 200 5 39 Running 1 5
5 8 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford 200 3 3 48 Running
6 12 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Ford 200 4 4 45 Running
7 11 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 200 7 8 37 Running
8 1 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 200 6 34 Running 1 13
9 21 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 28 Running
10 9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 200 6 32 Running 1 1
11 40 19 Daniel Suarez Stanley Toyota 200 26 Running
12 16 14 Clint Bowyer Haas 30 Years of the VF1 Ford 200 7 29 Running
13 4 20 Erik Jones Doosan Toyota 200 24 Running
14 7 78 Martin Truex Jr. 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota 200 5 29 Running 1 25
15 6 31 Ryan Newman Grainger Chevrolet 200 8 25 Running 1 12
16 14 21 Paul Menard Earn While You Learn/NewFordTech.com Ford 200 21 Running
17 17 42 Kyle Larson DC Solar Chevrolet 200 10 21 Running
18 13 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 200 19 Running
19 10 88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet 200 10 19 Running
20 23 37 Chris Buescher Slim Jim Chevrolet 200 17 Running
21 15 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet 200 16 Running 1 1
22 25 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 199 15 Running
23 22 43 Bubba Wallace # Medallion Bank/Petty's Garage Chevrolet 199 14 Running
24 30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Harvest Investments & Properties Ford 199 13 Running
25 29 34 Michael McDowell Dockside Logistics Ford 199 12 Running
26 28 95 Kasey Kahne WRL General Contractors Chevrolet 199 11 Running
27 24 38 David Ragan Louis Kemp Crab Delights Ford 199 10 Running
28 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet 198 9 Running 2 13
29 31 00 Landon Cassill Mane n Tail Chevrolet 197 8 Running
30 39 23 Blake Jones Tennessee XXX Moonshine Toyota 194 7 Running
31 33 51 BJ McLeod(i) Jacob Companies Ford 194 0 Running
32 36 7 * Garrett Smithley(i) Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet 193 0 Running
33 34 99 * Gray Gaulding StarCom Fiber Chevrolet 191 4 Running
34 26 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford 189 3 Engine
35 35 15 Ross Chastain(i) Solomon Plumbing Chevrolet 187 0 Axle
36 20 24 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet 187 1 Running
37 37 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Rewards.com Chevrolet 138 0 Electrical
38 27 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet 131 1 Accident
39 38 96 * Jeffrey Earnhardt Xtreme Concepts/Project K9 Hero Toyota 102 1 Engine
40 32 72 Corey LaJoie Schluter Systems Chevrolet 37 1 Engine
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 50 Mins, 51 Secs. Average Speed: 140.474 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.233 Seconds
4,18,12,41,78,11,10,31,2,88
4,18,12,41,3,22,14,10,2,42
Race Comments: Kevin Harvick won the 49th annual Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway, his 44th victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 15 (driver change), 23, 38 (transmission change), 22 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Caution Flags: 8 for 37 laps: Laps: 10-13 (#20 Spin Turn 4 [51]); 17-19 (#24, 78 Incident Turn 2 [20]); 27-29 (Competition [24]); 62-66 (Stage 1 Conclusion [13]); 76-79 (#31 Spin Turn 2 [42]); 85-87 (#20 Spin Turn 2 [00]); 122-126 (Stage 2 Conclusion [32]); 134-143 (#13 Incident Turn 3 [78]).
Lead Changes: 15 among 9 drivers: D. Hamlin 1-13; K. Harvick 14; Kyle Busch 15-26; K. Harvick 27; Kyle Busch 28-29; K. Harvick 30-63; J. Johnson 64-67; Kyle Busch 68-75; J. Johnson 76-84; M. Truex Jr. 85-109; K. Harvick 110-170; A. Dillon 171-175; J. Logano 176; R. Newman 177-188; J. McMurray 189; K. Harvick 190-200.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Kevin Harvick, #4 Busch Pole Award : Denny Hamlin, #11 202.794 mph
Fastest Lap : Kevin Harvick, #4 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Roush-Yates Engines, #4
Moog Go the Extra Mile : Brad Keselowski, #2 crew chief Paul Wolfe, 0.346 seconds Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Bubba Wallace, #43
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Aug. 18, 2018 - Bristol Motor Speedway