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Denny Hamlin, continued his late mastery of Michigan International Speedway, taking his fourth career victory in the Irish Hills – and his second in a row – with a third-stage comeback in the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Saturday, June 7.
Hamlin, who won last year and then claimed the pole in qualifying, recovered well after having to start at the back of the pack due to damage suffered Saturday. The vet from Joe Gibbs racing charged early and led 40 laps, with 39 of those coming in the third stage. With the win, he became the 11th driver in MIS history with at least four NASCAR Cup Series victories there.
Hamlin cruised past Michigander Erik Jones, the Byron native who picked up his second top-five finish in 14 races in Brooklyn. Jones started 10th and led nine laps.
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Bubba Wallace finished third, followed by perennial MIS contender Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar, who started the race at the front of the pack after Hamlin dropped back. Hocevar, a Portage native, was looking for his first win in his home state after picking up his first Cup Series win earlier this season, at Talladega in April.
Tyler Reddick, who opened the day in third, took Stage 1, for his first stage victory of the season. His 31 laps led (out of the first 45) were nine more than he’d led in his previous seven races at MIS combined. (Though that includes a win in the 2024 edition of the FireKeepers Casino 400.)
In Stage 2, it was Chase Elliot taking the win ahead of Jones and Daniel Suarez. A fondness for MIS probably runs in his family: While Elliott has three top-five finishes (in 15 previous races), his father – Bill Elliott – has seven wins in 61 races in Brooklyn.
Homestate hero Brad Keselowski continued his run of futility at MIS; the Rochester Hills native finished 34th following a crash iin the first half of the race (after qualifying 26th). The RFK Racing driver fell to 0-29 in the Irish Hills, though his finish was his worst at MIS since hitting 39th in the Consumers Energy 400 in August 2020. Since that race, Keselowski had four top-10 finishes in five races at MIS.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Denny Hamlin makes it 2straight at MIS with FireKeepers Casino 400 win
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Hamlin, who won last year and then claimed the pole in qualifying, recovered well after having to start at the back of the pack due to damage suffered Saturday. The vet from Joe Gibbs racing charged early and led 40 laps, with 39 of those coming in the third stage. With the win, he became the 11th driver in MIS history with at least four NASCAR Cup Series victories there.
Hamlin cruised past Michigander Erik Jones, the Byron native who picked up his second top-five finish in 14 races in Brooklyn. Jones started 10th and led nine laps.
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Bubba Wallace finished third, followed by perennial MIS contender Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar, who started the race at the front of the pack after Hamlin dropped back. Hocevar, a Portage native, was looking for his first win in his home state after picking up his first Cup Series win earlier this season, at Talladega in April.
Stage by stage
Tyler Reddick, who opened the day in third, took Stage 1, for his first stage victory of the season. His 31 laps led (out of the first 45) were nine more than he’d led in his previous seven races at MIS combined. (Though that includes a win in the 2024 edition of the FireKeepers Casino 400.)
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In Stage 2, it was Chase Elliot taking the win ahead of Jones and Daniel Suarez. A fondness for MIS probably runs in his family: While Elliott has three top-five finishes (in 15 previous races), his father – Bill Elliott – has seven wins in 61 races in Brooklyn.
Big Bad Brad? Not so much
Homestate hero Brad Keselowski continued his run of futility at MIS; the Rochester Hills native finished 34th following a crash iin the first half of the race (after qualifying 26th). The RFK Racing driver fell to 0-29 in the Irish Hills, though his finish was his worst at MIS since hitting 39th in the Consumers Energy 400 in August 2020. Since that race, Keselowski had four top-10 finishes in five races at MIS.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Denny Hamlin makes it 2straight at MIS with FireKeepers Casino 400 win
Continue reading...
