Pole-sitter, Jeff Gordon took the lead from Logano with 17 laps remaining in the Pure Michigan 400 to take his third win of the season, and regain the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points lead.
“The last one, I thought he had a good start. But I had a good one, too,” said Gordon. “I really think what happened to him on that last restart was Kevin was having some trouble getting going. This is a big, fast place. There’s a draft there. My lane moved along as a group. Even though Joey got out there, he was sort of sitting on an island by himself. We kind of tracked him down. I was able to get to his left rear. When I got to his left rear, drug him back, gave me a ton of momentum. I was able to get to the bottom and get by him.”
Gordon ranks first among active drivers with 91 career wins, and third all-time. This is his third win at Michigan International Speedway and the first time he has won in the Irish Hills in over 13 years.
Becoming the fourth driver this season to win three series’ races, Gordon joins Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski.
Following Gordon to the checkered flag was Kevin Harvick by 1.413 seconds. Logano slipped back to third, followed by Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr in fourth and fifth.
Logano led the most laps of the race – 86 laps – and Gordon led 68 laps of the 200 lap event. There were 20 lead changes among eight drivers and eight cautions for 37 laps.
Rounding out the top-ten were Clint Bowyer in sixth, Denny Hamlin seventh, Brad Keselowski eighth, Jimmie Johnson, who won at Michigan in June came in ninth, followed by Greg Biffle in tenth.
After Rookie contender, Kyle Larson had mechanical issues with his No. 42 car early in the race, Austin Dillon was the highest finishing rookie with his 22nd-place finish.
Next up for the Sprint Cup Series is Saturday night under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 23rd, with a green flag at 7:50 pm ET. Television coverage begins at 7 pm ET on ESPN on ABC with their pre-race show.
Race Results
Point Standings