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NASCAR Michigan: Biffle takes first Cup win of the season

Greg Biffle claimed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win of the season with victory at Michigan

The Roush Fenway Ford driver took control in the final round of pitstops and held firm to triumph ahead of Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.

Jimmie Johnson looked like he would mount a last-gasp attempt for an incredible win but he hit the wall with just a handful of laps remaining, damaging the right front tyre of his Hendrick Chevrolet.

Biffle's teammate Carl Edwards did not lead for long from pole, making contact with fellow front row man Kurt Busch, which knocked him back to fifth.

Busch led the early stages but spun his Furniture Row Chevrolet at Turn 2 on lap 29, before Joey Logano, Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had turns leading.

Kasey Kahne then passed Earnhardt and proceeded to pull out a near-four second lead.

However, a blown right front tyre led to a hefty impact with the wall for Kahne at Turn 2 just after the halfway mark.

Earnhardt then assumed the lead but capped a miserable afternoon for the Hendrick squad by blowing his engine, causing the seventh caution of the race.

Johnson's decision to fit four new tyres at the penultimate round of stops while the remainder - led by Edwards, Logano and Biffle - fitted just two would prove crucial for track position.

Biffle then set about passing the pair in front of him and a timely caution just after a green flag stop had him in front for the restart, as Logano took on four tyres and Johnson - who had recovered yet again to run at the front - lost time filling up with more fuel.

Biffle extended his lead in front as Johnson worked his way back through to second - again - and he had closed to 0.5s behind Biffle before his incident three laps from home.

That left Biffle clear to take the win - his second in a row at Michigan, and Ford's 1,000th as a NASCAR manufacturer.

Results - 200 laps:

Pos Driver              Team/Car                 Time/Gap
 1. Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford        2h52m19s
 2. Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet       +2.989s
 3. Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota            +3.243s
 4. Kyle Busch          Gibbs Toyota             +10.165s
 5. Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet   +11.933s
 6. Matt Kenseth        Gibbs Toyota             +12.114s
 7. Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota           +15.450s
 8. Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford        +15.914s
 9. Joey Logano         Penske Ford              +16.383s
10. Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet      +16.925s
11. Austin Dillon       Childress Chevrolet      +17.618s
12. Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford              +17.900s
13. Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet   +18.586s
14. Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet      +19.054s
15. Trevor Bayne        Wood Bros. Ford          +22.469s
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford        +22.838s
17. Aric Almirola       Petty Ford               +24.757s
18. Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet   +27.241s
19. AJ Allmendinger     JTG Daugherty Toyota     +27.478s
20. Juan Pablo Montoya  EGR Chevrolet            +28.942s
21. Casey Mears         Germain Ford             +28.974s
22. David Gilliland     Front Row Ford           +30.176s
23. Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford               +32.327s
24. JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevrolet        +32.469s
25. David Ragan         Front Row Ford           +34.701s
26. Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota           +36.098s
27. Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                +39.129s
28. Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet         -1 lap
29. David Stremme       Swan Toyota                -1 lap
30. Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota               -1 lap
31. Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet          -1 lap
32. David Reutimann     BK Toyota                 -2 laps
33. Jamie McMurray      EGR Chevrolet             -4 laps
34. Ken Schrader        FAS Lane Ford             -5 laps
35. Kurt Busch          Furniture Row Chevrolet   -7 laps
36. Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota              -7 laps

Retirements:
   Dale Earnhardt Jr    Hendrick Chevrolet       131 laps
   Kasey Kahne          Hendrick Chevrolet       103 laps
   Jeff Gordon          Hendrick Chevrolet        52 laps
   Josh Wise            Front Row Ford            51 laps
   Mike Bliss           Humphrey Smith Toyota     50 laps
   Michael McDowell     Phil Parsons Ford         36 laps
   Bobby Labonte        Phoenix Chevrolet          5 laps

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