BROOKLYN MI. – Chris Buescher had to sweat it out, but he managed to hold off a much stronger Martin Truex Jr. to win a rain-delayed FireKeepers Casino 400 on Monday afternoon in Michigan.
The race’s first 76 laps were run on Sunday before rain forced the completion of the race to Monday.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. swept both of the first two stages, including an incredible final 14 laps of Stage 2 in which he ran down and passed 14 cars that had stayed out for track position after a late caution.
Buescher found himself in the lead after not pitting during the Stage 2 break and had a great final pit stop to stay in front of Truex on track midway through the stage. He held off two stiff challenges from Truex with 12 and two laps to go, respectively to claim his second straight win.
His margin over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .152 of a second.
There were nine caution periods for a total of 34 laps. Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
This was Ford’s 724th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, its third of the season and its second straight. Buescher also won the series’ prior race at Richmond.
This was Ford’s series-leading 44th win at Michigan, which is the most at any track currently on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Ford scored its first Michigan victory with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson on Aug. 17, 1969.
This was Ford’s ninth straight win at Michigan, a streak that started with former SHR driver Clint Bowyer in June 2018.
Truex remains the championship leader after Michigan with a 57-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
- Kevin Harvick (Started 22nd, Finished 8th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
- Aric Almirola (Started 18th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
- Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 22nd / Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 21st, Finished 31st / Running, completed 197 of 200 laps)
SHR Points:
- Kevin Harvick (5th with 663 points, 136 out of first)
- Aric Almirola (24th with 405 points, 394 out of first)
- Ryan Preece (25th with 397 points, 402 out of first)
- Chase Briscoe (31st with 289 points, 510 out of first)
Harvick earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his series-leading 23rd top-10 in 43 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan. This was his fourth straight top-10. He earned back-to-back fourth-place finishes July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and July 23 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, and finished 10th July 30 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has only one finish outside the top-15 at Michigan.
This was Harvick’s 14th straight top-15 at Michigan.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Verizon 200 at The Brickyard on Sunday, Aug. 13 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
