Matt Kenseth cruises to victory at Michigan

“I didn’t see much of the race, which was totally fine with me”, Kenseth said.

Second-place finisher Kevin Harvick said: “I’m really proud of my team and the things that they did to prepare for the race, and we had a good, strong day”. That means drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray and the rest will be desperate to get a win and solidify their position. “Just started to get a little free up off of (turn) four”. The NASCAR postseason starts in six races, the next of which is at Watkin’s Glen next weekend.

On an all-but-underwhelming afternoon, the final laps became a final challenge for Kenseth.

Twice, Austin Dillon made attempts to pass Kenseth and did so, but Kenseth found himself back in familiar territory – up front.

Kenseth took it to the field the first half of the race, leading 76 of the first 100 laps.

At the top of the standings, Kevin Harvick keeps going about his No. 1 business, comfortably defending his championship, and potentially on his way to another.

Martin Truex Jr. would have swept Pocono for the 2015 season if he’d had two or so more quarts of fuel.

“You really need to enjoy it, because about 10 races back, we were struggling, trying to get there”, Gibbs said. “Started hydrating a couple days ago and drinking a lot of Gatorade and tried to eat right and get some sleep….” Just overcame a lot today. “Then I saw the people and was like ‘Man, you guys better take off running.’ I’ve never been in anything like that before”. The green flag returned on Lap 70, but came back out almost immediately, as Cole Whitt bumped Earnhardt Jr., sending him around and bringing out the caution.

Why did Matt Kenseth stay out front?

Jimmie Johnson, AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards placed sixth through 10th. Wild restarts (one of which caused Bowyer’s accident) were common, however the “pack racing” and “drafting” the governing body desperately wished for was nowhere to be found. Single-file racing began shortly after these restarts, with passing appearing hard all around the track. For all but 54 laps, he found himself looking at an open course in front of him. “It would have been nice to see if we could have fought it out with him”.

NASCAR says it will review the data from the race and talk to the drivers about the future of the high-drag package, most noticeable because of the bigger rear spoiler topped by a wickerbill facing forward that is designed to increase wind resistance as the vehicle moves forward. It was the third time the yellow caution flag waved.

“I believe our performance as a whole, not just within JGR, but with all the Toyota teams, it’s been trending upward”, said Edwards, who also sat on the pole for the New Hampshire and Indianapolis races.

With Kenseth winning the Pure Michigan 400, here are the updated Sprint Cup Standings.

When it came to the use of the “high-drag” aerodynamic package in Sunday’s race at Michigan worldwide Speedway, NASCAR’s view appears much in line with most observers of the race.