NASCAR at Michigan results, standings: Kevin Harvick wins seventh race of the season

Kevin Harvick won his series-leading seventh race of the season Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in dominant fashion. It’s his second trip to Victory Lane at the track, and first since 2010.

With the win, Harvick ties Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 16th on the all-time wins list with 44. His next win will put him one behind another NASCAR Hall inductee, Buck Baker.

Our pick to win, Harvick, swept the stages in the Irish Hills. The No. 4 driver took Stage 1 virtually unchallenged, and drove onto pass Martin Truex Jr. with less than 11 to go in Stage 2 for his second green-and-white checkered of the day. Harvick now has a series-best 12 stage wins this season. His seven playoff points added, brings his total to a series-leading 40.

Consumers Energy 400 results

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Kyle Busch
4. Austin Dillon
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Kurt Busch
7. Aric Almirola
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Chase Elliott
10. Joey Logano
11. Daniel Suarez
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Erik Jones
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. Ryan Newman
16. Paul Menard
17. Kyle Larson
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. Alex Bowman
20. Chris Buescher
21. Jamie McMurray
22. AJ Allmendinger
23. Bubba Wallace
24. Matt DiBendetto
25. Michael McDowell
26. Kasey Kahne
27. David Ragan
28. Jimmie Johnson
29. Landon Cassill
30. Blake Jokes
31. BJ McLeod
32. Garrett Smithley
33. Gray Gaulding
34. Trevor Bayne
35. Ross Chastain
36. William Byron
37. Timmy Hill
38. Ty Dillon
39. Jeffrey Earnhardt
40. Corey LaJoie

NASCAR Cup Series regular season standings

1.	Kyle Busch	18	986	LEADER	6	35
2.	Kevin Harvick	4	924	-62	7	40
3.	Martin Truex Jr.	78	842	-144	4	27
4.	Kurt Busch	41	750	-236	0	2
5.	Clint Bowyer	14	732	-254	2	10
6.	Joey Logano	22	723	-263	1	7
7.	Brad Keselowski	2	709	-277	0	4
8.	Ryan Blaney	12	687	-299	0	4
9.	Denny Hamlin	11	684	-302	0	2
10.	Kyle Larson	42	681	-305	0	0
11.	Chase Elliott	9	647	-339	1	8
12.	Aric Almirola	10	639	-347	0	1
13.	Erik Jones	20	596	-390	1	5
14.	Jimmie Johnson	48	572	-414	0	0
15.	Alex Bowman	88	542	-444	0	0
16.	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	17	480	-506	0	2
17.	Paul Menard	21	472	-514	0	1
18.	Daniel Suarez	19	460	-526	0	1
19.	Ryan Newman	31	456	-530	0	0
20.	Austin Dillon	3	451	-535	1	5

Stage 1: Harvick back in the driver’s seat

Early troubles hit Joey Logano again, after going out in the first stage last week, the No. 22 team had to forfeit their qualifying position on Sunday before the race even began. Logano noticed suspension issues on pit road as cars were rolling off, and made the fix before the green flag flew.

Denny Hamlin started on the pole and got out to an early lead with teammate Kyle Busch trailing not far behind. Another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Erik Jones, drew the first caution of the day when he got loose and went spinning into the infield grass before 10 laps were completed. Jones suffered minimal damage and was able to get back into the race.

Hamlin surrendered the lead to Busch on the restart with Kevin Harvick in hot pursuit. Before that battle could intensify, William Byron got loose and moved up the race track, crashing into Martin Truex Jr. in the process. Truex avoided the wall, while Byron took on rear damage.

This time, Busch held the lead on the restart with Harvick and Alex Bowman not too far behind. Not much happened before the scheduled competition caution came out on Lap 25. NASCAR scheduled it due to rain on Saturday night into Sunday morning. 

Chase Elliott was sent to the rear of the field after being penalized for an uncontrolled tire under yellow. Busch restarted as the race leader, but Harvick took the top spot as drivers crossed the start-finish line. Three-time race winner Kyle Larson reported a vibration and pitted with 22 laps in the stage. Things also got worse for Elliott, who also had to come down for a loose wheel. 

Harvick continued to build his lead over Busch, and inevitably went on to his his 11th stage of the season.

Stage 1 results

1. Kevin Harvick (10 points plus 1 playoff point)
2. Kyle Busch (9 points)
3. Ryan Blaney (8 points)
4. Kurt Busch (7 points)
5. Martin Truex Jr. (6 points)
6. Denny Hamlin (5 points)
7. Aric Almirola (4 points)
8. Ryan Newman (3 points)
9. Brad Keselowski (2 points)
10. Alex Bowman (1 point)

Stage 2: ‘The Big 3’ strikes again

Jimmie Johnson won the race off pit road between stages after opting to take just two tires. Kyle Busch was right behind him after a four-tire stop. The stops were mostly clean, except for AJ Allmendinger, who spun around on entry and entered his box backwards.

Johnson took advantage of the outside line on the restart and held the lead briefly, before losing the lead to Kyle Busch in a three-wide battle between the 48, 18 and 11. Once Busch took the top spot, Blaney followed in second with Harvick in third.

Before much could materialize, Ryan Newman blew a rear tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution. It was a big break for Larson, who earned the free pass and got back on the lead lap.

Johnson and Truex stayed out, leading the field to green on the restart while Harvick and Busch took tires and fuel under yellow. We didn’t stay green long however, as Jones encountered more trouble when he made contact with Blaney and went spinning again. This time during the caution, Johnson came in for fuel, forfeiting the lead to Truex.

Truex restarted from the top spot ahead of ‘Big 3’ counterparts Harvick and Busch. The No. 78 held the lead until Harvick finally caught him with less than 12 to go. Harvick would go on to sweep the stages.

Stage 2 results

1. Kevin Harvick (10 points plus 1 playoff point)
2. Kyle Busch (9 points)
3. Ryan Blaney (8 points)
4. Kurt Busch (7 points)
5. Austin Dillon (6 points)
6. Joey Logano (5 points)
7. Clint Bowyer (4 points)
8. Aric Almirola (3 points)
9. Brad Keselowski (2 points)
10. Kyle Larson (1 point)

Final Stage: Harvick puts a bow on it

Truex ran into fuel issues before the end of Stage 2 and hit the pits too soon. This drew a penalty from NASCAR, putting Truex a lap down heading into the Final Stage. Harvick again restarted on the pole ahead of Busch and Blaney.

Early in the stage, Ty Dillon ran over a piece of debris, causing his car to dive hard into the wall and sending him to the garage. Another caution flew to allow NASCAR to remove both the debris and Dillon’s No. 13 from the track.

After a lengthy yellow, Harvick restarted from the lead ahead of Blaney. The No. 4 got out to a hot start, while Blaney fell back behind Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski. Green flag pit stops occurred with 30 laps to go and while it was mostly routine for the leaders, Blaney opted to take two tires in an effort to gain track position. 

Dillon and Harvick raced through the field after their pit stops, but it was Harvick that passed the No. 3 with 22 to go. Harvick went on to cycle back to the lead before going onto win his seventh race of the season.

Miss any of the action? Check here for highlights, analysis and much more from Sunday’s race.