With an Exciting Restart in Overtime, Kyle Larson Wins Third Straight at Michigan

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BROOKLYN, MI – RIS – When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway went to overtime, Kyle Larson was running fourth with three strong Toyotas in front of him.  On the restart, Larson made a daring move to get past three of the cars, and later passed Martin Truex, Jr. in the two-lap shootout to win his third straight race at the speedway.

“This win feels amazing to steal one in a way,” Larson told The Associated Press. “My other three wins I felt like we had the first- or second-best car, but today at times I didn’t think we were a top-10 car. But to get the win that way is awesome.”

Larson seemed surprised that he wound up in victory lane when asked how he managed to bat the odds and win the race.

“I have no idea,” Larson said. “I was running a few options through my head ... and it worked out perfectly.

Truex was in front of the pack, but Michael McDowell spun out, sparking a late caution and forcing overtime.

“When you’re in my position of this past week’s activities with all the talk about Knoxville and going to Knoxville last night and not getting back here until two in the morning, I’m out on the end of the diving board there a lot of times,” Ganassi, the owner of Larson’s team that also includes driver Jamie McMurray, told AP. “So, I appreciate when Kyle steps up and does what he did today. It makes it all worthwhile, obviously.”

Overall, it’s Larson’s third victory at Michigan. He got his first career win in NASCAR’s top tier last year, winning at MIS on Aug. 28, 2016. He has four wins overall, the other coming earlier this season in Fontana. He’s also won the last three Cup races there. That’s one behind Bill Elliott, who won four in a row there between 1985 and 1986, according to AP.

The win snaps a three-race stretch of Larson finishing outside of the top 20.

The first two stages of Sunday’s race were won by Brad Keselowski and Truex.

Despite the victory, Larson remains 129 points in the standings behind Truex, who is at 933. Kyle Busch is third with 797, just seven behind Larson

Ryan Newman finished fourth, with Trevor Bayne, Chris Beuscher, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, and Kyle Busch rounding out the top 10.

The drivers next head to Bristol Motor Speedway on August 19th for the Irwin Night Race.

Unofficial Race Results for the 48Th Annual Pure Michigan 400 - Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Pts, Playoff Pts, Status
1) 9, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 202, 9, 8, 2, 1, 5, 45, Running
2) 13, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, 202, 4, 1, 57, 3, 1, 52, Running
3) 8, Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 202, 5, 4, 5, 2, , 47, Running
4) 25, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Velveeta Shells & Cheese Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 21, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Roush Performance Ford, 202, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 20, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Bush's Grillin' Beans Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 17, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Automotive Magna Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 5, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 202, 3, , , , , 37, Running
9) 7, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 202, , 7, , , , 32, Running
10) 6, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 202, 8, 9, 14, 2, , 32, Running
11) 15, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 202, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 24, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 202, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 3, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 202, 2, 3, , , , 41, Running
14) 19, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/SKF Ford, 202, , 6, , , , 27, Running
16) 10, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 202, 10, 10, 16, 1, , 23, Running
17) 1, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 202, 1, 2, 105, 5, 1, 39, Running
18) 14, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Go Bowling Ford, 202, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 22, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 29, AJ Allmendinger, No.  202, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 33, Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 18, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford, 202, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 11, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Nature's Bakery/Feeding America Ford, 202, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 4, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DEWALT Flexvolt Toyota, 202, 7, , , , , 17, Running
25) 32, Landon Cassill, No. 34 MDS Transport Ford, 200, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 27, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Can-Am/Kappa Ford, 200, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 26, Michael McDowell, No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 2, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 200, 6, , , , , 14, Running
29) 31, Cole Whitt, No. 72 Bad Boy Mowers Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 28, David Ragan, No. 38 Overton's Ford, 199, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 34, Corey LaJoie #, No. 23 JAS Expedited Trucking Toyota, 199, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 35, * Brett Moffitt(i), No. 83 Northwestern Technological Institute Toyota, 198, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 38, * Reed Sorenson, No. 55 Low T Center Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 30, Paul Menard, No. 27 Dutch Boy/Menards Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 36, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Hulu Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 39, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 51 Corrigan Oil Chevrolet, 178, , , , , , 0, Running
37) 16, Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 ARRIS Surfboard/McAfee Toyota, 138, , 5, 3, 1, , 7, Accident
38) 23, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Liftmaster Chevrolet, 138, , , , , , 1, Accident
39) 37, Derrike Cope, No.  107, , , , , , 1, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) non-charter team

Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 40 Mins, 38 Secs.
Average Speed: 150.903 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.310 Seconds
Race Comments: Kyle Larson won the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, his fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Before the start of the event, the following car(s) dropped to the rear of the field for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 5 and 48 (backup car); No. 32 (multiple pre-qualifying inspection failure).
Caution Flags: 5 for 28 laps: Laps: 62-66 (Stage 1 Conclusion [10]); 122-127 (Stage 2 Conclusion [47]); 140-147 (No. 5, 19 Incident Turn 2 [21]); 187-191 (Debris On The Backstretch From No. 22 [11]); 197-200 (No. 95, 27 Incident Turn 2 [Red Flag 5:39] [14]).
Lead Changes: 14 among 7 drivers: B. Keselowski 1-42; E. Jones No.  43-46; B. Keselowski 47-63; D. Suarez No.  64-66; B. Keselowski 67-110; Kyle Busch 111-113; M. Truex Jr. 114-127; B. Keselowski 128; M. Truex Jr. 129-159; E. Jones No.  160; B. Keselowski 161; D. Hamlin 162-177; Kyle Busch 178-188; M. Truex Jr. 189-200; K. Larson 201-202.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Martin Truex Jr, No. 78 
Coors Light Pole Award: Brad Keselowski, No. 2 203.097 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Chase Elliott, No. 24 6 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, No. 42 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Larson, No. 42 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Jamie McMurray, No. 1 -0.040 secs
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Matt Kenseth, No. 20 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Erik Jones, No. 77