Larson Holds Off Elliott For Win At Michigan Speedway

By ESPN

Three times Kyle Larson needed to outrace the rest of the contenders on late restarts.

That's a task he's proved he can handle at Michigan International Speedway.

Larson took control on a restart with five laps remaining and held off Chase Elliott on Sunday for his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. The finish was similar to the race at Michigan last August, when Larson took the lead on a restart with nine laps left en route to his first Cup win.

Larson won this year at Fontana and has five second-place finishes. He also was second in the All-Star Race, which doesn't count in the standings.

"We've been so close to so many other wins," the 24-year-old Larson said. "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."

It was the third Cup win of Larson's career and 14th by Chip Ganassi Racing. Elliott was second in both Michigan races last year, and again Sunday. He's winless in 56 career Cup races, but he's fifth in points in 2017.

"We had a couple of opportunities to get the lead, and unfortunately, it just didn't work out, but we'll move on. Congratulations to Kyle," the 21-year-old Elliott said. "He had a fast car today, and we'll try to go get 'em next week."

Joey Logano finished third. He beat Elliott in last June's race at MIS. Then Elliott was leading the August race comfortably before a yellow flag gave Larson a boost.

This time, there were three cautions toward the end. The first was for debris, and Larson beat Kyle Busch on the inside for the lead on the restart with 15 laps to go.

Then Clint Bowyer went into the wall, bringing out another caution flag. Larson was first off that restart, too, only to be slowed by another caution after a multicar incident on the backstretch that included Danica Patrick being knocked off the track and into the wall.

Finally, with five laps remaining, the race restarted, and Larson took the lead on the outside. He won by 0.993 seconds in his No. 42 Chevrolet.

Martin Truex Jr. won the first two stages of the race but finished sixth, ceding the points lead to Larson. Truex has 10 stage victories this year. Nobody else has more than four.

Truex and Larson were 1-2 in the Cup standings coming into the race, and Truex was second to Larson in qualifying Friday. Their dominance carried over to the race Sunday, at least at the start. They were the only drivers to lead during the first half of the 200-lap, 400-mile race.

Denny Hamlin, who won Saturday's Xfinity Series event, finished fourth Sunday, followed by Jamie McMurray and Truex. Busch ended up seventh, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jimmie Johnson, who started at the back after going to his backup car, finished 10th.

Some other things to note from Sunday's race:

His type of track

Larson's three Cup victories have all come at 2-mile tracks, although there are some differences between racing at MIS and Fontana.

"Michigan and Fontana are very, very similar in shape and size, but the racing surface is way different," Larson said. "Fontana's rough and bumpy, and it's [a] wore-out surface -- you have to really, really take care of your tires and move around, find different lanes that work. Here at Michigan, your tires don't wear out quite as bad, not nearly as bad, and your line doesn't move around a ton, but it's really fast, got a lot of grip.

"They're both a lot of fun."

From the front

This was the fifth time in the past eight races at Michigan that the pole-winner also won the race. It has happened three times in the Cup series this year -- Larson also did it at Fontana, and Stenhouse pulled it off at Talladega last month.

Still, Larson didn't feel he had the dominant car Sunday.

"The 78 [Truex] was by far the class of the field, I thought," Larson said. "I thought the 18 [Busch] was next best, the 20 [Matt Kenseth] was better than I was on the long run. I thought we were probably a third- or fourth-place car, and then to come out a winner, it makes it that much more exciting, I guess."

Hamlin Noses Out Byron For Xfinity Race

The Xfinity race at Michigan began with instant drama -- contact between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch that sent Busch spinning.

The ending was just as compelling.

Denny Hamlin inched ahead of William Byron on the final turn and nosed out the rookie at the finish line, winning Saturday in the closest NASCAR Xfinity race at Michigan International Speedway since the advent of electronic scoring in the series.

"We went so low down the back straightaway that there was dust and stuff flying off the tires," Hamlin said.

It was Hamlin's 16th career Xfinity victory and first in three starts this year, but the 19-year-old Byron made him earn it. Byron led after a restart with two laps remaining, but Hamlin pressured him the rest of the way, and the Cup Series veteran eventually prevailed by 0.012 seconds in his No. 20 Toyota.

The two cars crossed the finish line next to each other, with Hamlin barely ahead on the inside.

"It was a lot of fun," Byron said. "He just had enough air down there to get to the side of us, and it was just a race to the line after that."

The previous track record for closest victory margin was 0.192 seconds by Todd Bodine on Aug. 19, 2000.

Elliott Sadler was also in the mix during the final lap and finished third in the 125-lap, 250-mile race. He took over the series points lead from Justin Allgaier.

Busch and Keselowski were 1-2 after qualifying, giving this Xfinity race a couple of big names at the front. Seconds after the start, Busch drifted slightly to the right, and Keselowski made contact from behind on the outside.

"I don't think he knew I was there," Keselowski said. "I lifted the best I could, I guess I just didn't do a good enough job lifting. I was already pulling up alongside of him."

Keselowski finished fourth and Busch was fifth. Keselowski and Sadler were in first place after the first and second stages, at 30 laps and 60.

Hamlin was ahead by about three seconds before a late caution for debris, and the restart with nine laps remaining kicked off a wild finish. Byron came away with the lead, only for another caution to come when Matt Tifft went spinning.

Byron held on gamely after the last restart, but the 36-year-old Hamlin was too tough.

"Super glad to have the experienced guy in the seat," said Chris Gabehart, Hamlin's crew chief. "William Byron, with years, will gain that, but a guy like Denny Hamlin is able to think through every second of that at 190 miles an hour and know exactly where he needs to be at each second, and that's why we're here today.

"We had a fast car, and think we were going to win it either way, but when it came down to experience at the end, I'll take him."

Hamlin will try to add another win for Joe Gibbs Racing when he competes in Sunday's Cup race. Byron, meanwhile, will have to keep trying for his first Xfinity win. His best previous finish was fourth, and this effort earned him quite a bit of respect.

"Let's see: I was 19, I think I was working at Subway making sandwiches. That or working at my dad's trailer shop," Hamlin said. "I can't relate, honestly. To be at this level at the age that he is, it's a huge advantage for him for the next 20 years, 25 years. He's going to be starting his curve a lot earlier. ... I'm sure by the time he's 24, 25, he'll be contending for Cup championships."