Kyle Larson was able to enjoy his time in Victory Lane with his son on Father’s Day after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in the FireKeepers Casino 400.
Kyle Larson started the race from the pole and it was obvious quickly that he and Martin Truex Jr. were likely the cars to beat. Truex Jr. was able to score the win in the first to stages of the 200 lap race while Larson was able to lead the most laps during the race.
There were only eight caution periods including a debris caution for a large plastic bag that blew out onto the track, a competition caution due to rain that had rinsed the track before the race and the first two stages of the race.
The most important caution was the final one for a five-car accident on the track that happened on lap 191. By the time the track was cleared for the race to re-start, there were only four laps left in the race.
Larson was able to race out to the hold the lead on that re-start. He remained the leader for the final few laps to capture the win, his second career and consecutive win at Kentucky Speedway following his fall 2016 win there. It is also his second win of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season following his win at Auto Club Speedway in March. Kyle’s son Owen was on hand to celebrate the win on Father’s Day with his dad.
Chase Elliott grabbed a runner-up finish behind Larson as he did last fall at Michigan International Speedway. Joey Logano finished in third place with Denny Hamlin in fourth and Jamie McMurray rounding out the top five. See the complete race results for the FireKeepers Casino 400 here.
The win allows Kyle Larson to move a spot to take over as leader in the point standings. Martin Truex Jr. drops back a spot to second place following the Michigan race. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick also swap spots in the point standings with Busch moving up to third and Harvick falling back to fourth place. Chase Elliott moves up to take over fifth place. See the complete Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings here.
The NASCAR drivers and team head to the west coast for the first road course race of the season. This weekend will be the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in California Sunday afternoon, June 25th.
By: Buck Stevens
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