Kevin Harvick returned to relevance Sunday when he won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

The victory was the first of the season for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver and his first since he won at Bristol in 2020.

“Just good timing for sure,” Harvick said. “We’ve had several good runs the last few weeks – Loudon and Pocono where the car ran good and just didn’t have everything work out. I’m just really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang. They’ve been digging all year long trying to make these Mustangs run faster. They haven’t been great this year, but our guys have done a good job in trying to take what we have, maximize it and do the things that we need to do.”

Bubba Wallace of 23IX Racing started up front in his  after earning his first pole, and led the first 22 laps. He came on to finish second.

Denny Hamlin finished third while Joey Logano was fourth and Ryan Blaney fifth.

A big early wreck on Lap 24 collected nine cars, including those of two-time champion Kyle Busch, impressive rookie Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Aric Almirola.

“I don’t know what started all of it,” Cindric said. “I saw the 15 car (J.J. Yeley) sideways and everything stacked up. I got tagged in the left-rear and shoved me up the racetrack and then got turned head-on into the fence. It looked like the 15 just got loose and backed everybody up and then got ran into the back.

“It’s not Ty’s (Gibbs) fault, just everybody stacking up. Obviously, it was a complete mess. I hit the outside wall head-on. I’m glad to be OK. It’s such a waste to do all of this and finish last. It’s pretty unfortunate. I hate it for the guys on the team and for Discount Tire.”

(This story will be updated shortly)

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – 54th Annual FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway

Brooklyn, Michigan

Sunday, August 7, 2022

1. (16)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 200.
2. (1)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 200.
3. (9)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.
4. (4)  Joey Logano, Ford, 200.
5. (24)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.
6. (7)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 200.
7. (8)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (10)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 200.
9. (30)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (11)  Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 200.
11. (13)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (20)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (26)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
14. (25)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
15. (33)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.
16. (19)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 200.
17. (21)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (31)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 200.
19. (32)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 200.
20. (23)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 200.
21. (35)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 200.
22. (34)  Cody Ware, Ford, 200.
23. (36)  BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 199.
24. (22)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.
25. (15)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 198.
26. (2)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 193.
27. (37)  Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 188.
28. (14)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 187.
29. (6)  Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, Engine, 110.
30. (12)  Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 109.
31. (17)  Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 94.
32. (27)  Harrison Burton #, Ford, Accident, 29.
33. (28)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 25.
34. (18)  Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 25.
35. (29)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, Accident, 24.
36. (3)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 24.
37. (5)  Austin Cindric #, Ford, Accident, 24.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  137.825 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 54 Mins, 8 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.903 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 36 laps.

Lead Changes:  15 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Wallace 1-21;C. Bell 22-48;T. Gibbs(i) 49-50;R. Chastain 51-79;D. Hamlin 80-93;C. Bell 94-96;E. Jones 97-101;C. Buescher 102;D. Hamlin 103-122;D. Suarez 123-137;C. Bell 138;D. Suarez 139-156;D. Hamlin 157-160;B. Wallace 161;B. McLeod(i) 162;K. Harvick 163-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin 3 times for 38 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 38 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 33 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 31 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 29 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 22 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 5 laps; Ty Gibbs(i) 1 time for 2 laps; BJ McLeod(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Chris Buescher 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,11,43,19,17,1,24,4,22,14

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,99,5,20,6,43,3,48,24,22

 

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