NASCAR Michigan: Dominant Harvick claims seventh Cup win of 2018
Kevin Harvick claimed his seventh NASCAR Cup series victory of the season with a dominant performance at Michigan

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was at the front of the pack when the race restarted after a late safety car, brought out after Ty Dillon ran over a piece of debris that severely damaged the front of his Chevrolet.
Dillon's brother Austin was Harvick's closest rival in the final quarter of the race, and a quick stop for two tyres in his final stop of the race briefly handed the Richard Childress Racing driver a net lead.
But Harvick, who had pitted a few laps earlier, quickly passed Dillon and had built an advantage by the time the pit-cycle put him back at the front of the field.
Dillon was running comfortably in second when he suffered a flat tyre on the penultimate lap. He managed to keep going but dropped back to fourth, finishing behind Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Busch had been at the front of the order in the first stage. He picked up the lead after passing Denny Hamlin at the restart after the first caution of the day but dropped back to second after a competition caution late in the stage.
Race winner Harvick instead won the first (and second) stage, ahead of Busch and Ryan Blaney.
Defending series champion Martin Truex Jr had an eventful day, having been forced to pit in the first stage after making contact with William Byron's Chevrolet.
Truex managed to climb back to fifth at the end of the stage only for a slow stop to drop him back down the order, but a strategy call to stay out when Ryan Newman caused another caution allowed him to climb to second behind Jimmie Johnson.
Truex then picked up the race lead after Johnson pitted for fresh tyres, but came under pressure from Harvick as he tried to save fuel.
Harvick and Busch both passed the Toyota late in the stage as Truex attempted to keep going, but he was forced to come into the pits on the final lap of the stage after the pitlane was closed and incurred a penalty.
He ended the race 14th. Blaney finished fifth overall, falling backwards in the closing stages of the race, ahead of Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Hamlin.
Joey Logano was forced to work his way from the back of the grid, having sacrificed his ninth place in qualifying when he came into the pits to adjust his suspension before the race. He managed to finish 10th, two seconds behind Chase Elliott.
Result - 200 laps
Pos | Driver | Team | Car |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
3 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
4 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
5 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
6 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
7 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
8 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
10 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
11 | Daniel Suarez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
12 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
13 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
14 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
15 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
16 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
17 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
19 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
20 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
21 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
22 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
23 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
24 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go FAS Racing | Ford |
25 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
26 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
27 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
28 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
29 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
30 | Blake Jones | BK Racing | Toyota |
31 | B.J. McLeod | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
32 | Garrett Smithley | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
33 | Gray Gaulding | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
35 | Ross Chastain | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
36 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
37 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet |
38 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
39 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
40 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |

Kurt Busch set to leave Stewart-Haas for 2019 Ganassi NASCAR seat
Harvick's Michigan-win NASCAR Cup car used in windtunnel tests

Latest news
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes