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08.13.17

Pure Michigan 400 Race Report

Date: Aug. 13, 2017
Event: Pure Michigan 400 (Round 23 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three segments (60 laps/60 laps/80 laps)
Note: Race ended in overtime, going two laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance
Start/Finish: 18th/22nd (Running, completed 202 of 202 laps)
Point Standings: 28th (340 points, 593 out of first)

 

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

- Danica Patrick started 18th and finished 25th.

- The No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion team lost ground on the initial start and dropped back to 25th. Patrick was able to get back up to 23rd before green-flag stops started at lap 38.

- Patrick said the car felt like it was out of the track. The team elected to take right-side tires and fuel when the they pitted at lap 43.

- Patrick went a lap down to the leader at lap 59 but was awarded the free pass when the caution flag waved at the end of the stage, which put her back on the lead lap heading into Stage 2.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):

- Started 23rd and finished 20th.

- Crew chief Billy Scott called for a two-tire stop at lap 106, and Patrick raced her way up to the 20th position before the end of the stage.

- The No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford pitted for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment between stages.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-200):

-Started 20th and finished 22nd.

- Patrick was scored in the 23rd position when the caution flag waved at lap 139. A piece of debris from an accident hit the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford, so Scott called Patrick to pit road twice under caution for tires, fuel and repairs to the racecar.

- On lap 165 the team pitted under green for a fuel-only stop. When the caution flag waved at lap 186 for debris, Patrick was scored 20th, one lap down, as some teams had yet to pit. The No. 10 team took the wave-around to get back on the lead lap.

- When the caution flag waved at lap 196, Scott called Patrick down pit road for tires and fuel. She lined up 21st for the final restart and took the checkered flag in the 22nd position.

 

Notes:              

- This was Patrick’s 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Michigan and her 177th career NASCAR Cup Series start.

- Patrick earned 15 points in Sunday’s race, which puts her at 340 points so far this season. She is ranked 28th in the driver point standings.

- There were five caution periods for a total of 28 laps.

- Twenty-four of the 39 drivers in the Pure Michigan 400 finished on the lead lap.

- Kyle Larson won the Pure Michigan 400 to score his fourth career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Michigan International Speedway. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .310 of a second.

- Truex leads the championship standings with 933 points and has a 129-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Larson.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We just weren’t as good as we needed to be today. Then the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford was just too loose there at the end, and we weren’t able to make up any ground on that last restart.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday, Aug. 19 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.