Weekend Wrap-up: Michigan/Mid-Ohio

Harvick Goes Back-to-Back at Michigan

Coming off eight wins and a championship four appearance last season, the No. 4 team of Kevin Harvick got off to an unexpectedly slow start in 2019. The 2014 championship team didn't reach victory lane until the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway four weeks ago, but since then, Harvick has rattled off two top tens at Pocono and Watkins Glen, as well as stretching his fuel this past weekend to win his second consecutive Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Kevin Harvick celebrates with son Keelan following his
second straight Michigan win (Google Images)

The driver known as "Happy" Harvick started on the front row, inside of Ford Performance teammate Brad Keselowski who was gunning to be the first Michigander to enter victory lane at MIS. But despite leading laps early, it was Martin Truex Jr. who would race from the rear of the field to the Stage One victory.

The race's first stint also saw Jimmie Johnson's promising day go south for the second week in a row. The seven-time champion brushed the outside wall off turn two on lap 15 and blew a tire as a result of the damage. Johnson would go on to finish 34th on the day, dropping from 16th to 18th in points, just 12 markers outside of playoff contention with three races remaining.

Truex established himself as a contender early on, while Keselowski would have to battle back from adversity. On lap 115, the No. 2 Mustang lost a right rear tire entering turn three. Normally a one-way ticket to the outside retaining wall, Keselowski kept his car clean, spun it to the infield grass, and was able to limp to pit road without any major damage.

In the backyards of Ford and Chevrolet, Toyota was flexing their muscles, as Kyle Busch edged out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Truex for the victory in Stage Two. But, as the field came back to the green checkered flag, Aric Almirola slid up the racetrack into Richard Childress Racing teammates Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon. The contact sent Dillon spinning through the infield grass, as Almirola and Hemric rode the outside wall across the start/finish line.

Stage Three went green and the field raced three, sometimes four wide for position. However, at the rear of the pack, Paul Menard made contact with Clint Bowyer, which sent the No. 14 into the wall. The rear of Bowyer's Mustang was demolished in the lap 138 incident, ending his day and severely damaging his playoff hopes. A driver thought by many to be in jeopardy of losing his ride next year, Bowyer sits 16th in points, with only a slim six point margin between he and teammate Daniel Suarez for the final playoff spot.

Keelan Harvick waves the checkers after his father's
second win of 2019 (Google Images)

As is typically the case at Michigan, the Menard/Bowyer crash set up a fuel mileage race. It looked as though Joey Logano would sweep Michigan in 2019, but both he and teammate Ryan Blaney needed to pit for fuel with just a handful of laps remaining. Kurt Busch, as well as a few other drivers also ran out of gas as the race wound down.

This opened the door for Harvick, who was hotly pursued once again by Hamlin. But, unlike their battle one month ago in Loudon, Hamlin could not get close enough to Harvick to do anything with him, enabling the No. 4 Mobil 1 team to cruise to their second victory of 2019. That also meant that, like this race one year ago, fans in the Irish Hills got to see Harvick's son Keelan ride shotgun out to the frontstrech to celebrate with his father.

“Takes a lot of people to make these cars go around, and winning races is what it's all about,” Harvick said. “Just can't do it without all you (fans). I mean, to come here to Michigan and win for Ford, and I know how much Mobil 1 likes to beat that Shell car [driven by Joey Logano], so that was cool.”

Kyle Larson and Truex finished behind the two leaders in third and fourth respectively, while Suarez finished a very impressive fifth. Kyle Busch finished sixth, Ryan Preece finished seventh, followed by the Hendrick Motorsports trio of William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman to round out the top ten.

With just three races left in the regular season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Bristol for the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Cindric Doubles Down on Road Courses, Wins Mid-Ohio

One week after scoring his first Xfinity Series win at Watkins Glen International, Austin Cindric earned the pole for the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and rode that momentum to his second consecutive win.

Austin Cindric score his second win in a row this weekend
(Google Images)

However, while Cindric was able to dominate this event at the track once owned by his grandfather, the race wasn't as easy for everyone else in the field. On lap 15, title contender Cole Custer spun after making contact with road course expert Jack Hawksworth, filling in as the driver of the No. 18 Toyota.  Meanwhile, Custer's teammate Chase Briscoe would go on to win the stage and collect another playoff point.

On a 33 restart following a spin by Brandon Brown, Chris Dyson rear-ended Custer as the field took the green flag. While Custer was able to continue, Dyson's chances at a good finish went up in a cloud of smoke.

After restarting on lap 37, Justin Allgaier spun in turn two. The incident also collected his JR Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson, as well as Aaron Quine. While both Allgaier and Gragson were able to finish the event, the same could not be said for Quine, who was forced to park his No. 74 Camaro behind the wall. This incident also handed the Stage Two victory to Hawksworth.

While it looked like Briscoe was in position for his second road course victory, Cindric tracked him down and passed him with 13 to go. Never looking back, the No. 22 PPG Ford easily rolled into the winner's circle for the second straight week.

“To get my first two wins within a week is incredible,” Cindric said. “To win on a road course like this obviously gives you a lot of confidence.”

Title favorite Christopher Bell finished an impressive second place, while road course ace A.J. Allmendinger came home third, Tyler Reddick got fourth, and Gragson battled back for fifth. Allgaier finished in sixth, Briscoe got seventh, Custer was eighth, Justin Hayley was ninth, and Brandon Jones rounded out the top ten.

The Xfinity Series will be the second feature of the NASCAR triple-header this weekend at Bristol. The Food City 300 will go green at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, August 16, and can be seen on NBCSN, as well as heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Hill Scores Second Win of 2019, Truck Playoff Field Set

The Monster Energy Cup and Xfinity Series' may still be a few weeks away from setting their playoff fields, but the Gander Outdoors Truck Series will have eight drivers fighting for a championship when they roll into Bristol Motor Speedway tomorrow night.

Austin Hill parties with his team after their second
win of the year (Google Images)

Ross Chastain won the pole for the Corrigan Oil 200, his first in the truck series, and led every lap in Stage One. However, the Melon Man's luck would run out during their first pit stop. As Chastain left his pit stall, Johnny Sauter and Codie Rohrbaugh made contact which sent Rohrbaugh's No.9 into Chastain's door. The damage behind the right front tire was too much to continue, and the Alva, Florida native was relegated to a 30th place finish.

Aside from a few single truck spins and Brett Moffitt winning Stage Two, the race was fairly clean. That is, until the Big One broke loose late in the race on lap 98.

Matt Crafton got into the back of second place Tyler Ankrum on a restart, in an attempt to shove the No. 17 past leader Austin Hill. However, Crafton's Ford caught Ankrum's Toyota in a bad spot, sending the Kentucky winner sliding down into traffic. Nine trucks were involved in the wreck, including Sauter, Sheldon Creed, and Natalie Decker.

But once the race went back green, Hill was able to hold off a quickly closing Creed for his second win of the year. Tyler Dippel finished in third, Moffitt was fourth, and Austin Wayne Self was fifth. Bayley Currey came home sixth, Grant Enfinger was seventh, last week's winner Stewart Friesen was eighth, Ray Ciccarelli finished a very impressive ninth, and two-time series champion Crafton rounded out the top ten finishers.

Your 2019 truck series playoff contenders (L-R Ankrum,
Crafton, Hill, Enfinger, Moffitt, Friesen, Chastain, Sauter)
(Google Images)

So, as the tailgate brigade heads to Bristol, their playoff grid is set and eight drivers will begin racing for a championship. Enfinger won the Regular Season championship, as well as the 15 extra playoff points that go along with it. Here is how the standings shook out once the dust settled at Michigan International Speedway:

1. Brett Moffitt
2. Grant Enfinger -3
3. Stewart Friesen -8
4. Ross Chastain -10
5. Austin Hill -10
6. Matt Crafton -11
7. Johnny Sauter -13
8. Tyler Ankrum -17

The UNOH 200 will go green tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.