The NASCAR Cup Series visited Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the Firekeepers Casino 400. Denny Hamlin started the race on the pole, with Carson Hocevar starting second. Hamlin had to start in the rear after making unapproved changes.
Carson Hocevar led the opening 14 laps. During the first stage, Connor Zilisch brought the first two cautions on laps three and 10. The cautions were two of 11 throughout the race for 54 laps. Tyler Reddick took the lead on 15. He led 33 laps to win the first stage. In the second stage, a major wreck on lap 84 involved nine cars, including Denny Hamlin, who spun but did not suffer any damage. The other drivers who were not so lucky were Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon.
Up front, Chase Elliott led 47 laps to win the second stage. In the final stage, William Byron was leading the race when, on lap 150, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell were involved in a hard crash at Turn 4. The SAFER barrier suffered significant damage, causing the race to be red-flagged while they repaired the steel barrier.
The race resumed on lap 154 with Daniel Suarez leading the race. A lap later, another multi-car crash happened on the frontstretch involving nine cars, including Shane van Gisbergen, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Michael McDowell.
Denny Hamlin took the lead on lap 162 and never looked back. He led the final 39 laps to win his third win of the season, and the 62nd of his career, which tied the late Kyle Busch for ninth on the all-time wins list. Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top five. Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe completed the top ten. Click here to see the full results.
The Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next Sunday at 3 pm on Prime Video.
