Denny Hamlin makes the fuel last for a dramatic Cup win at Michigan

Michigan is known for its classic fuel mileage races and Sunday was no different, with drivers desperate to stretch the fuel tank for the final 48-lap run of the race.

As the laps clicked away, Denny Hamlin hit his fuel number and ran down the leaders who were still saving what they could. Carson Hocevar was in control and while the fuel situation was grim, he never got that far as a cut left rear tire forced him down to pit road.

Hamlin cut a path to William Byron who was now in control of the race and the two drivers battled fiercely for the race lead. As they went back-and-forth, Hamlin finally cleared Byron with about four laps to go.

Byron ran out as the field took the white flag, falling from second all the way down to 28th in the final running order. Hamlin took the checkered flag with about a second between himself and Chris Buescher in second. 

Hamlin now has 57 career wins with three this year, which matches both Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson.

“It’s fantastic,” said Hamlin. “Chris Gayle [crew chief], this whole team, has done a great job. We’ve been so fast throughout the entire year. Just haven’t finished it for one reason or another. Feels good to come here to Michigan where we’ve been so close over the years. To get a victory for Toyota, Yahoo, Sport Clips, Shady Rays, the Jordan brand, everyone. This is such a gratifying day to restart 11th or 12th, something like that, and drive to the front.”

Ty Gibbs finished third, Bubba Wallace fourth, and Kyle Larson fifth. Ross Chastain, Zane Smith, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Buescher also won the first stage of the race Byron claimed the Stage 2 win, taking home some extra stage points to help soften the blow of the bad result. Hocevar, who has been knocking on the door of his first win every week as of late, ended up 29th.

The race was nonstop action with lots of passing throughout the pack. While there were several heart-stopping moments, luck finally ran out early in the second stage as Alex Bowman slammed the outside wall head-on. Thankfully, he was okay despite it being described as one of the biggest hits of his career.

The final stage ran green until Todd Gilliland lost control and crashed. This happened just outside of the fuel window but everyone was determined to go the distance as the race resumed on Lap 152 of 200.

Hamlin restarted ninth while Hocevar took over the lead from Zane Smith, who had taken just two tires. Hamlin was cruising in fifth for several laps before finally making his charge, taking the win.

Photos from Michigan – Race