Official Release

Consistency All-Around Leads Paul Menard to Top-10 Finish at Michigan International Speedway "We had a really solid day all the way around in our No. 2 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet Camaro. I was able to race inside the top five for a majority of the race and really had some good speed on long runs and exiting the corner."

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 17, 2017) – Denny Hamlin used a pass coming off of turn four on the last lap to win the Irish Hills 250. He beat rookie William Byron to the line by just 0.012 seconds. It was the closest NASCAR XFINITY Series finish ever at Michigan International Speedway.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang (Finished 4th) “Good race. Denny was the class of the field there at the end. I just couldn’t get the back underneath the Discount Tire Ford. That was a bummer. The next to last restart, I thought that I had the 9 cleared but he just got a big pull. I don’t know if he got a push from behind and got up beside me and pulled a side-draft, and then Denny got behind. I would have been okay if it was just him, but the two of them together, I couldn’t defend it. It was good run all-and-all. A lot to be proud of.”

Brandon Jones spun, then he won the 36th running of the Corrigan Oil 200 Friday afternoon at Michigan Int'l Speedway. But it was way more than that. Jones, fighting a wicked-loose race car, had to track down Kyle Weatherman in the closing laps to secure his fourth career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory and second consecutive at Michigan.

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Martin Truex Jr. thought he had the pole for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 — until Kyle Larson made the last run in the final round of Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.

MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - Starting Position: 2nd - How was your final qualifying round? “Little bit disappointed there, but Kyle (Larson) went out late and got us, so it was a good day. Excited to have Auto-Owners back on the car this weekend. They’ve been a really good luck charm for us – we’ve won two out of four races running this blue car, so we’re excited about that."

Alon Day will become the first driver from Israel to ever compete in NASCAR’s top series next weekend in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 driving the BK Racing No. 23 EarthWater Limited Toyota Camry. Day, a 25-year-old native of Tel Aviv, Israel, was named Israel’s 2016 “Athlete of the Year”.

Following up his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) victory at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) last fall, Kyle Larson, piloted the No. 42 Cars 3 Target Chevrolet SS to the pole for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino at the 2-mile super-fast MIS.

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion (Qualified 3rd) DID YOU REALIZE YOUR CAR WAS THAT FAST IN PRACTICE? “Yeah, it was. I think we ended third in practice. Real proud of the guys. They did a great job. We had a little bit of a hiccup on the first lap and made some adjustments and got the most out of the second and third sessions. Real proud of everyone on the Stewart-Haas Fords. I think they’re all strong. (Kevin) Harvick must have gone for it and probably washed up on him."

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CARS 3 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – Pole Winner “We made some good adjustments there for that final round. I was pretty good in the first round and a little bit tight in the second round. They went a step further on freeing it up for the final round and the Cars 3 Chevy drove good. I could tell by the rpm and the engine it was going to be a pretty good lap so I was happy about that to get the pole after winning here last year. So, hopefully we can keep it going. So far, it’s been a really good weekend leading in practice and then getting the quick time here. So, yeah; it’s an exciting weekend and hopefully we can keep it going.”