Jeff Gordon drove to his third victory so far this year at the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday. Gordon and his No. 24 Chevrolet SS also won at Kansas Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway and are now in a four-way tie for the championship lead with Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The race started off with Kyle Busch hitting the wall on Lap 4, prompting a yellow flag. Once the green flag was back out, another multi-car wreck almost immediately put the race back under caution. When the track was finally cleared, Gordon and Logano proved they were the fastest on the grid that day, with both drivers leading for more than a quarter of the race.
Racing continued until a yellow flag was put out for Brad Keselowski, who came in contact with the wall on lap 165. When racing resumed, Kurt Busch put his car into the barrier while attempting to gain position, putting out another caution. The yellow flags left Gordon, Logano, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard fighting for the lead with only a handful of laps left.
Gordon crossed the finish line 1.413 seconds ahead of Harvick, who made a last-minute pass on Logano for second place. Menard finished fourth, while Team Chevy’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth ahead of Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin. After her small wreck early on in the race, Danica Patrick finished a disappointing 18th behind Casey Mears. Kyle Larson too had a tough day after hitting Earnhardt in the pitlane and hitting the wall during the race, setting his No. 42 Chevrolet SS on fire.
Only three races remain before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in September at Chicagoland Speedway. Drivers will be scrambling to win and secure a spot in the chase in the coming races, the next of which will be the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 23.
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