Denny Hamlin ran it back at the NASCAR Michigan race on June 7 at Michigan International Speedway.
Hamlin defended his victory from 2025 after starting at the rear of the field, claiming the FireKeepers Casino 400 after a dominant final run.
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The No. 11 pulled away with emphasis in the final 40 laps, creating an 11-second margin of victory over Erik Jones.
He did so a week after driving through the field last weekend at Nashville following a Lap 1 penalty to claim the win with a last-lap pass.
Hamlin earned the 63rd Cup victory of his career, tying with Kyle Busch for ninth all-time. It’s his third win of the season.
Bubba Wallace erased a terrible May with a third-place finish, while Carson Hocevar finished 4th at his home track.
Here are the winners and losers from the NASCAR Michigan race:
MICHIGAN RESULTS: Who won NASCAR Michigan race? Winner is Denny Hamlin, plus full results
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NASCAR Michigan winners and losers as Erik Jones pushes into Chase contention
Winner: Erik Jones
Jones ran well last weekend at Nashville, and his 11th-place result was not quite indicative of his performance.
But Jones earned that result for Legacy Motor Club at Michigan, driving through top-10 in the final laps to finish second.
Jones’ long-run speed was evident all day. He drove up to the rear bumper of Chase Elliott in the second stage, falling just short of claiming the stage victory but compiled needed points.
In what is rapidly becoming a softer Chase bubble, Jones will have a chance to push forward toward a Chase berth this summer. He leaves Michigan in 18th in points, 18 points behind 16th.
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Jones’ speed over the last two races is the real deal, and at two different tracks and surfaces. Pocono should be another opportunity for the team.
Winner: NASCAR’s safety regulations
NASCAR may or may not release the numbers behind Christopher Bell’s wall impact on Lap 148 during his incident with Chase Elliott.
But from a visual standpoint, few collisions have looked as violent and physical as Bell’s head-on contact at near-full speed in turns 3 and 4.
The infield camera inside the No. 20 showed how caved in the right side and front-end was inside the Toyota, with damage shoved up above the camera viewpoint.
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The collision also damaged the wall and required a lengthy repair under a red flag. The wall did its job, with the SAFER barrier absorbing the massive impact.
The best news: Elliott and Bell both exited their cars under their own power and walked away to the safety vehicle for a trip to the infield care center. Both were released from the care center shortly after the crash.
“Tireless work from (NASCAR executive John Patalak) and his team at the NASCAR R&D Center to make a dangerous sport as safe as possible,” NASCAR communications VP Mike Forde tweeted after the wreck.
Loser: Brad Keselowski
Keselowski earned his four finish of 30th or worse in the last six races after two separate incidents ended his day early.
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Keselowski was running inside the top 15 on Lap 65 when his left-rear tire cut down. He lost a lap, then regained it via the free pass on the next caution.
Two restarts later, Keselowski, still toward the back, spun after contact from John Hunter Nemechek and smacked the outside wall.
The Michigan native was done for the day with a 34th-place finish.
The points margin is now slim going into Pocono, with Keselowski in 15th with a 21-point cushion to the Chase cutline. And with two road course races later this month, it could be a nervous summer for the RFK Racing driver-co-owner.
Loser: Ryan Preece for a third straight race
Preece was caught up in an incident not of his own doing after contact from Michael McDowell to Ricky Stenhouse triggered a multi-car crash.
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The No. 60 suffered its third straight DNF with a 28th-place result. Preece is as low in the points standings as he’s been in weeks, leaving Michigan in 19th in points.
RFK as a whole needs to reverse this late-spring malaise. Pocono has been a good track for the team as a whole, and it needs to be next weekend.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Michigan winners, losers: Denny Hamlin wins, Erik Jones trending
