NASCAR Michigan: Larson trumps Truex on restart after late red flag
Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson passed NASCAR Cup points leader Martin Truex Jr on a final restart after a red flag stoppage to claim his third successive win at Michigan

Larson led just two laps of Sunday's race but hit the front at the right time to deny Truex a second win in as many rounds and score his third win of the season in the process.
Having started the race from ninth, Larson made a poor getaway and spent the early part of race around the two-mile oval recovering to work his way back towards the front of the pack.
Larson had worked his way back to his starting position by the end of the first 60-lap stage, and was eighth at the end of the second.
He was again in that position on a restart with 10 laps of the race to go, but had worked his way up to fourth before a red flag was shown with four laps of the now extended race to go after Michael McDowell dropped oil on the track after a collision with Paul Menard.
Larson then muscled his way past Furniture Row Racing duo of Truex and Erik Jones on an overtime restart to snatch the victory.
Truex had also started poorly, but came back into contention late on in the second stage as a strong run during the pitstop window allowed him to jump both Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick to win the stage.
Truex then dominated much of the run to the flag but ultimately came up short and finished second ahead of team-mate Jones - who recorded his best result to date in his rookie season.
Ryan Newman worked his way up to fourth place at the finish, ahead of leading Ford runner Trevor Bayne.
Chris Buescher beat Austin Dillon to finish sixth, while Chase Elliot - still yet to win a NASCASR Cup race - dropped back at the finish to eighth.
Jamie McMurray and Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch completed the top 10.
Polesitter Brad Keselowski dominated much of the early stages of the race and resisted a challenge from Harvick - who finished 13th - to win the first stage, and was second to Truex at the end of stage two, but fell back on the final restart and ended up only 17th.
Rookie Daniel Suarez had worked his way into the leading pack by the end of the second stage despite running on older tyres, which he finished in fifth, but had his race brought to an early end after he was caught up in an incident with Kasey Kahne that eliminated the pair.
Race result
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 2h40m38.s |
2 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 202 | 0.310s |
3 | Erik Jones | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 202 | 0.970s |
4 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 1.308s |
5 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 202 | 1.632s |
6 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 1.777s |
7 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 2.074s |
8 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 2.206s |
9 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 2.270s |
10 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 2.706s |
11 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 2.932s |
12 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 202 | 3.533s |
13 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 3.755s |
14 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 3.926s |
15 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 202 | 3.976s |
16 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 3.993s |
17 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 202 | 3.998s |
18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 202 | 4.066s |
19 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 4.208s |
20 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 4.400s |
21 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 4.516s |
22 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 4.644s |
23 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 5.010s |
24 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 5.010s |
25 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 2 Laps |
26 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 200 | 2 Laps |
27 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 2 Laps |
28 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | 2 Laps |
29 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 3 Laps |
30 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 199 | 3 Laps |
31 | Corey LaJoie | BK Racing | Toyota | 199 | 3 Laps |
32 | Brett Moffitt | BK Racing | Toyota | 198 | 4 Laps |
33 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | 5 Laps |
34 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Accident |
35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport / TMG | Chevrolet | 196 | 6 Laps |
36 | B.J. McLeod | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 178 | 24 Laps |
37 | Daniel Suarez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 138 | Accident |
38 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 138 | Accident |
39 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 107 | Engine |

Chevrolet reveals new Camaro ZL1 for 2018 NASCAR Cup season
Truex didn't consider giving Jones victory shot for NASCAR playoffs

Latest news
Double F1 race winner Jean Pierre Jabouille has died
Former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille has died on Thursday at age 80, French media have reported.
IMSA champion Jarvis to contest full ELMS season with United Autosports
Reigning IMSA Sportscar Championship title-winner Oliver Jarvis will contest the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports alongside Formula 2 convert Marino Sato, in addition to the World Endurance Championship.
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
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
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.