Kyle Larson showed impressive speed and was able to pick up a key win in Michigan at the 2017 Firekeepers Casino 400.
It’s not always about what is going on at the front of the track that determines the outcome of a race. Overcoming what goes on in the back is just as important. At the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan on Sunday, the drivers up front had to deal with those behind them bringing out the caution on multiple occasions over the final stretch.
At Dover, Kyle Larson wasn’t able to overcome what happened behind him and lost to Jimmie Johnson as a result in overtime. He didn’t let the same problems take a win away from him at Michigan on Sunday.
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After Martin Truex Jr. won the first two stages of the race, Truex Jr. took over in the final stage racing to the front in his Cars 3-inspired car. A late wreck that sent Danica Patrick into the wall meant he would have to hold off Chase Elliott and the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs racing chasing their first win on the season.
It wasn’t much of a battle as NASCAR’s own Lightning McQueen car raced into victory lane. He topped it off with a burnout in victory lane of all places before taking a victory lap around the track. Here are the complete results from Michigan.
| 1 | Kyle Larson | ||
| 2 | Chase Elliott | ||
| 3 | Joey Logano | ||
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | ||
| 5 | Jamie McMurray | ||
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | ||
| 7 | Kyle Busch | ||
| 8 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | ||
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | ||
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | ||
| 12 | Kurt Busch | ||
| 13 | Erik Jones | ||
| 14 | Kevin Harvick | ||
| 15 | Ryan Newman | ||
| 16 | Brad Keselowski | ||
| 17 | Trevor Bayne | ||
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger | ||
| 19 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | ||
| 20 | Ty Dillon | ||
| 21 | Kasey Kahne | ||
| 22 | Paul Menard | ||
| 23 | Michael McDowell | ||
| 24 | Daniel Suarez | ||
| 25 | Ryan Blaney | ||
| 26 | Clint Bowyer | ||
| 27 | Austin Dillon | ||
| 28 | Matt DiBenedetto | ||
| 29 | David Ragan | ||
| 30 | Corey LaJoie | ||
| 31 | Cole Whitt | ||
| 32 | Landon Cassill | ||
| 33 | Ryan Sieg | ||
| 34 | Reed Sorenson | ||
| 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | ||
| 36 | Chris Buescher | ||
| 37 | Danica Patrick |
Next week, NASCAR goes road racing at Sonoma. It’s a different breed of racing as drivers that might not typically dominate the oval, step up and take their spot on the road. It should be interesting.