Michigan NASCAR: Dominant Matt Kenseth takes third win of season
Joe Gibbs Racing's Matt Kenseth claimed his third victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season with a dominant performance at Michigan
The polesitter was never far from the front of the field, ultimately leading 146 of the race's 200 laps.
A late caution period provided a threat, but Kenseth got the jump on Kevin Harvick at the restart and went on to win by nearly two seconds.
As the Chase title playoff approaches, the victory takes the Toyota team's run of form to six wins from the last eight races.
Harvick settled for second, having been fortunate not to lose more time coasting back to the pits when he ran out of fuel at the end of a stint just after the halfway mark.
Martin Truex Jr was third, having come from 22nd on the grid, while Austin Dillon finished fourth, where he qualified.
Dillon had to work harder than that suggests, though, as he started at the rear of the grid due to a pre-race engine change and was delayed by a slow pitstop.
Kyle Busch joined him at the back, in a spare car following a practice incident, and wound up 11th, both drivers leading laps while running out-of-sequence.
Between Dillon and Busch, Carl Edwards was sixth, ahead of Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jimmie Johnson had a race to forget, finishing 39th having started eighth.
A flat right-rear tyre was followed by the six-time champion overshooting his pit bay during the next round of stops, while a late spin compounded the misery.
On the bubble of the Chase cutoff, Clint Bowyer was classified 41st after a mid-race crash and subsequent repairs.
RESULTS - 200 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2h47m18.s |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 1.722s |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 2.537s |
| 4 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5.934s |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6.511s |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7.363s |
| 7 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9.404s |
| 8 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 11.059s |
| 9 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 11.260s |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 12.731s |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 13.112s |
| 12 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 13.760s |
| 13 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 13.922s |
| 14 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 14.966s |
| 15 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.726s |
| 16 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 17.102s |
| 17 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 17.657s |
| 18 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 25.011s |
| 19 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 56.782s |
| 20 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
| 21 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
| 22 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 23 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 24 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 25 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 27 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 Laps |
| 28 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
| 29 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
| 30 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 3 Laps |
| 31 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
| 32 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 Laps |
| 33 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 3 Laps |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 Laps |
| 35 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
| 36 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 Laps |
| 37 | Josh Wise | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 4 Laps |
| 38 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 6 Laps |
| 39 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 Laps |
| 40 | Travis Kvapil | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 10 Laps |
| 41 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 36 Laps |
| 42 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | Overheating |
| 43 | Timmy Hill | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | Withdrew |
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS:
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 866 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 818 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 784 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 755 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 754 |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | 752 |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth | 751 |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 683 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 670 |
| 10 | Jamie McMurray | 663 |
| 11 | Paul Menard | 654 |
| 12 | Ryan Newman | 649 |
| 13 | Jeff Gordon | 648 |
| 14 | Carl Edwards | 628 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | 616 |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 593 |
| 17 | Kasey Kahne | 590 |
| 18 | Greg Biffle | 553 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 548 |
| 20 | Austin Dillon | 533 |
| 21 | Danica Patrick | 508 |
| 22 | A.J. Allmendinger | 497 |
| 23 | Casey Mears | 495 |
| 24 | David Ragan | 487 |
| 25 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 450 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 441 |
| 27 | Trevor Bayne | 414 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 411 |
| 29 | Kyle Busch | 395 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 377 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 372 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 354 |
| 33 | Alex Bowman | 292 |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | 289 |
| 35 | Michael Annett | 270 |
| 36 | Matt DiBenedetto | 252 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 193 |
| 38 | Michael McDowell | 148 |
| 39 | Jeb Burton | 136 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 93 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 41 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 39 |
| 43 | Brian Vickers | 32 |
| 44 | Michael Waltrip | 26 |
| 45 | Mike Wallace | 8 |
| 46 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 |
| 47 | Will Kimmel | 6 |
| 48 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | 2 |
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