BROOKLYN, MI: Mother Nature would not let the cup race on Sunday due to rain, but Monday it was time to go. For this driver, he won the pole on Friday and dominated the race throughout the day. This defending champion would get his second win of the season.
Joey Logano has won the FireKeepers Casino 400 in the 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang GT for Team Penske. This is Joey Logano’s second win of the season, his third win at Michigan while starting on the pole each of the three times as well, and his 23rd career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Logano would also lead 163 out of 200 laps in this race and would win stage one.
Both of Logano’s teammates finished in the top 10 as well. Brad Keselowski in the 2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang led six laps and finished sixth while teammate Ryan Blaney in the 12 Wrangler Riggs/Menards Ford led a lap and finished ninth.
Joe Gibbs racing has two of their cars in the top ten. Martin Truex Jr in the 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry would not lead a lap, but would still come home finishing third, while teammate Kyle Busch in the 18 Hazelnut Spread M&M’s Toyota finished fifth. The only two cars that did not finish in the top ten were Denny Hamlin in the 11 FedEx Freight Toyota who finished 11th leading five laps, and Erik Jones in the 20 Craftsman/Sports Clips Haircuts Toyota who hit the wall with four laps to go. Jones finished 31st.
Hendrick Motorsports struggled a lot during this race, as only one of the four cars would finish in the top 10. The only car to finish in the top 10 was Alex Bowman in the 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro who finished 10th. The others would finish 15th or worse. Jimmie Johnson in the Ally Chevy finished 15th, William Byron in the 24 Hendrick Autoguard Chevy led two laps and finished 18, and Chase Elliott in the 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy led a lap and would finish 20th.
Stewart Haas Racing had an up and down day during the race. Daniel Suarez in the 41 Haas Demo Day Ford Mustang would lead one lap and finish fourth, and his teammate Kevin Harvick in the 4 Busch Light Ford, led 15 laps and would finish seventh. The two cars who finished outside the top 10 were Aric Almirola in the 10 Smithfield Ford who finished 17th and Clint Bowyer in the 14 Haas/IT Savvy Ford who finished 35th after making contact with Erik Jones.
Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon in the 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevy would win stage two but finish 26th while teammate and rookie of the year contender Daniel Hemric in the 8 Chevrolet Accessories Chevy would finish 12th.
Chip Ganassi Racing two cars finished in the top 15, with one of them finishing second. Kurt Busch in the 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro was so close yet again to getting that first win of the season, but would not have the power to catch Logano. Kyle Larson in the 42 would have an up and down day. Larson finished 14th.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will head to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart350 which will not only be the final race of the season for Fox until next year, but also, broadcaster and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip’s last time being in the booth. The race will start at 3:00pm on Fox Sports 1.
Results
1.) Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
2.) Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
3.) Martin Truex Jr. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
4.) Daniel Suárez 41 Haas Demo Day Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
5.) Kyle Busch 18 Hazelnut Spread M&M’s Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
6.) Brad Keselowski 2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang Team Penske
7.) Kevin Harvick 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
8.) Ryan Newman 6 Coca-Cola Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
9.) Ryan Blaney 12 Wrangler Riggs/Menards Ford Mustang Team Penske
10.) Alex Bowman 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
11.) Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
12.) Daniel Hemric (R) 8 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
13.) Paul Menard 21 NIBCO/Menards Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
14.) Kyle Larson 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
15.) Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
16.) Chris Buescher 37 Kroger “Thrill of the Grill” Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
17.) Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield/Meijer Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
18.) William Byron 24 Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
19.) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 NOS Energy Drink Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
20.) Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
21.) Matt DiBenedetto 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
22.) Ty Dillon 13 Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
23.) Corey LaJoie 32 Harvest Investments Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
24.) Matt Tifft (R) 36 Surface Sunscreen Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
25.) Ryan Preece (R) 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
26.) Austin Dillon 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
27.) Michael McDowell 34 Melling Engine Parts Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
28.) Bubba Wallace 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
29.) Landon Cassill 00 Superior Essex Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
30.) Garrett Smithley (R) 15 Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
31.) Erik Jones 20 Craftsman/Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
32.) Quin Houff (R) 77 Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
33.) Josh Bilicki (R) 52 Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
34.) David Ragan 38 Citgard Heavy Duty Engine Oil Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
35.) Clint Bowyer 14 Haas/IT Savvy Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
36.) Kyle Weatherman 51 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network website. Follow him @Ianthekicker41 on Twitter.