Race: Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Track Specs: 2-mile D-shaped oval / 200 laps
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 84 degrees
Race Winner: Matt Kenseth
Dale Jr.’s Finish: 10th
Dale Earnhardt Jr. persevered through a long, hot afternoon at Michigan International Speedway for a 10th-place finish in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. The finish gives Earnhardt his 14th top-10 effort in 23 starts this season and keeps him third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.
Racing NASCAR’s ‘high-drag’ aero package for the second time, Earnhardt started ninth and found making progress difficult in the early laps. When teams pitted for the first time at lap 22, crew chief Greg Ives made the call to change no tires and only take fuel. The decision moved the No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet from 10th to sixth for the ensuing restart. Earnhardt whipped his white and navy blue Chevrolet around the outside on the restart to improve another three spots to third for the next green-flag stint. Eventually, through a series of pit stops, Earnhardt made his way to second.
After the race’s next caution at lap 72, Ives called Earnhardt to pit road once again to top off on fuel again. The move dropped Earnhardt to ninth. Following a lap-77 restart, the No. 88 car drove looser than it had all day, forcing Earnhardt to chase the car all over the track on multiple occasions and subsequently drop to 18th before the car’s handling settled back into its former form.
Earnhardt spent the remainder of the event working to make up lost track position. When the final caution waved at lap 184, Ives wanted to give his driver the opportunity to go on the offensive in the late laps, so he called Earnhardt to pit road for four fresh tires. Restarting 15th, Earnhardt made quick maneuvers on the restart to charge up to 10th where he’d end the race.
Matt Kenseth dominated the event to earn his third victory of the season over Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin.