Kevin Harvick took his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season at Michigan International Speedway in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400, leading 108 laps and sweeping all three stages for the third time in 2018. The win gave Stewart-Haas Racing a season sweep at Michigan, as Clint Bowyer took the win there in June.
It was his 44th Cup Series win which ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time wins list.
Harvick took the checkered flag 3.23 seconds ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski.
“We kind of clawed all day and had some good restarts with the Discount Tire Ford and got all we could get out of it but just ended up one spot short and that is so frustrating,” Keselowski said after the race.
Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five with Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano rounding out the top-10.
The race was slowed by eight cautions for 37 laps, while there were 15 lead changes among nine drivers.
“What a car,” Harvick said. “The most important thing is winning races right now and positioning yourself for Homestead. And that’s all we want to do. We don’t want to learn anything, we don’t want to work on anything, we want to win.”
Harvick was met on the start-finish line by his son Keelan, who walked up the track and retrieved the checkered flag from the starter’s stand before riding along with his father on the way to Victory Lane.
“He told me before the race, ‘Dad, if you win, I want to go out and wave the checkered flag.’ And I said, ‘Well if you do that, you’ve got to take the victory lap with me,'” Harvick said of Keelan’s post-race antics.
He went on to describe the importance of sharing the experience with his son.
“For him to be here and able to do that and be a part of NASCAR and bring your son to work and do all the things that we get to do with our kids, I have had him with me by myself the last three weeks and we have had a ball. I couldn’t be happier to be a dad and be a part of NASCAR where they let your family come to the race track and be a part of it.”
There are three races left before the championship Playoffs begin in Las Vegas next month. The MENCS tour goes under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 18, on NBC Sports.
Unofficial Race Results for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race
- Kevin Harvick
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Busch
- Austin Dillon
- Ryan Blaney
- Kurt Busch
- Aric Almirola
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Elliott
- Joey Logano
- Daniel Suarez
- Clint Bowyer
- Erik Jones
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ryan Newman
- Paul Menard
- Kyle Larson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Alex Bowman
- Chris Buescher
- Jamie McMurray
- AJ Allmendinger
- Bubba Wallace
- Matt DiBendetto
- Michael McDowell
- Kasey Kahne
- David Ragan
- Jimmie Johnson
- Landon Cassill
- Blake Jones
- BJ McLeod
- Garrett Smithley
- Gray Gaulding
- Trevor Bayne
- Ross Chastain
- William Byron
- Timmy Hill
- Ty Dillon
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Corey LaJoie
