NASCAR – Michigan Recap

It came down to a couple of good drivers unfamiliar with victory lane. That's the best summary of Sundays hard fought race at Michigan.

As the laps wore down, the # 42 Chevy of Kyle Larson held the lead. Not surprising considering he has been the best driver in 2016 that has been unable to seal the deal and get the win. He was followed by the # 24 of Chase Elliot and the # 2 of Brad Keslowski. The leaders pitted for the final time under green on lap 156 of 200 and Elliot beat Larson out of the pits and took the lead. As Elliot started to pull away, it looked like the same old story for the #42 team, but a caution on lap 187 brought the field together one last time.

On the ensuing restart on lap 192, Elliot spun the tires and Keslowski pushed Larson into the lead. He held on as Keslowski and Elliot battled for the runner up spot and later admitted to tearing up in the final laps before taking the checkerd flag and notching his first Sprint Cup victory. This was his 99th Sprint Cup start and the first win for car owner Chip Ganassi since Jamie McMurrays win at Talladega in October 2013.

The win for Larson puts him in the Chase for the first time in his career and the 2nd place finish by Chase Elliot puts him in the standings as the highest non-winner (11th), 27 points ahead of Ryan Newman. With only 2 races left, there are plenty of drivers in contention to qualify for the chase, but only 3 spots left.

Next up, the throw-back themed race at Darlington!