Rain has been throwing a wrench into NASCAR's plans at Michigan all weekend long, and Sunday was no different.
After a two-hour delay, the race finally got underway with Denny Hamlin leading the field. Kyle Larson quickly charged to the point, leading most of the stage. After several laps of trying to get alongside, he finally got under the Hendrick Motorsports driver with 11 laps to go in the stage.
Once side-by-side, all the momentum stalled, allowing Bubba Wallace to rocket past both drivers. Hamlin eventually cleared Larson and set his sights on the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota he co-owns.
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While Hamlin looked for a way around Wallace, he got a bit too high at the exit of Turn 4 in the wake of the leading car. On Lap 38 of the 45-lap opening stage, Hamlin spun and slid through the infield grass, forcing the first caution flag of the race.
"Sorry about that (crew chief) Chris (Gabehart)," radioed Hamlin. "Should have taken what I had."
To pit or not to pit
The yellow flag set-up an interesting fight to the stage end. A handful of drivers chose to stay out, aiming to collect as many stage points as possible. Among them were bubble drivers Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs.
A hectic restart followed under darkening skies with Ryan Blaney stealing the stage win. Chase Elliott was second, William Byron third, Wallace fourth and Buescher fifth. Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain rounded out the top-ten.
The points scored helped to (momentarily) break a tie for the final playoff spot between Buescher and Chastain. The RFK Racing driver now edges 5pts ahead of the pilot of the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet.
Those who stayed out for points then filed down pit road for fresh tires and full load of fuel. Elliott inherited the race lead. Unfortunately, Stage 2 never really got underway as the rain finally returned. The red flag waved after 51 of 200 scheduled laps, forcing the event to be pushed to Monday just after 6pm EST.
All 36 starters remain in the race and on the lead lap with the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Elliott in control.
