Kyle Larson finally ended his 99 race losing streak and captured his first ever Sprint Cup victory in the Pure Michigan 400. The talented young driver got a late race caution that closed the gap on Chase Elliott. Furthermore, Kyle Larson took full advantage on the race’s final re-start and snatched the lead for good. Elliott, who spun his tires when the green flag was raised for the final time, settled for second.
The Chip Gnassi driver earned a slot in the Chase for the first time in his career. Kyle Larson pushed out win-less Ryan Newman, who now sits 15 points out of the last playoff spot. There are only two races left before the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship starts.
Kyle Larson was very emotional when he exited his hot-rod in Victory Lane. First he shouted out a tribute to his close friend, Bryan Clauson. Clauson passed away on August 7th from injuries sustained in a Midget car crash. Kyle Larson commented on the effort of so many participants that made this moment possible.
“After the way my rookie season started, coming close a few times, not getting it done, you can visualize the win that early in your career,” Kyle Larson said. “It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. But it just never happened. This one’s different just because of how long we had to wait and how much harder I’ve had to work for it. Finally, it’s special because all the hard work’s paid off. We also worked really, really hard to get a win, and just haven’t done it,” Larson said. “Finally, all the hard work by the hundreds of people at our race shop, people who have got me through to the Cup Series, it was all paying off.”
The runner-up Chase Elliott beat eventual race winner Kyle Larson out of the pits after a caution on Lap 156. Elliott began to pull away after the two encountered traffic while navigating around the 2.5 mile tri-oval. Unfortunately, Michael Annett blew a right front tire gave Larson the chance to close the gap. Elliott is still searching for his first Sprint Cup Series victory in his rookie campaign. He had the exact same chance to win at Michigan in June but spun his tires on the race’s late restart.
“Bummer again here,” said Elliott, making no attempt to hide his disappointment. “I hate to let my guys down is the biggest thing. Furthermore, this is the second time this has happened. I also made a mistake early on in the race. I asked my guys to bail me out on the final pit stop, and they did. Unfortunately, I didn’t do my part again.”
On the bright side, Chase Elliott’s second place finish help solidify his 11th place position in the Chase point standings. The prodigy ranks highest among drivers without a victory. Finally, the Hendrick Motorsport’s new addition is 27 points ahead of Ryan Newman. Newman stayed out of trouble and settled for a 17th place output in the Pure Michigan 400.
Brad Keselowski was lined up directly behind Kyle Larson for the contest’s final waving of the green flag on lap 192. As a result, he pushed the youngster from behind, giving Larson the momentum he needed to jump out in front. Consequently, Keselowski would get passed by Chase Elliott and finish his day in the third position.
Ryan Blaney, who is another Rookie of the Year candidate, finished off the contest in fourth. Unfortunately, he was lined up behind his friend Chase Elliott for the re-start. When Elliott spun his tires, Blaney had to hold up behind the front runner. The Woods Brother’s speedster would recover but not in time to challenge for the lead.
The Freaky Fast Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick led 33 laps and rounded out the top five in the fifth position. Six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was impressive as well. He led the second most circuits behind the race winner Kyle Larson (37). Carl Edwards would finish in seventh. Joey Logano, who sat on the pole for the start of the Pure Michigan 400, came in tenth.
The Pure Michigan 400 took two hours and 27 minutes to complete. The margin of victory was 1.478 seconds and the average speed of the field was 162.73 miles per hour. There were 20 lead changes between 10 different drivers. The race at Michigan International speedway had only four cautions for 17 laps.
