Denny Hamlin passed rookie William Byron on the last lap to win his second NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday. Hamlin, who has won twice here at the Cup level, benefitted from a late restart to deny Byron his first series win.
That close for @WilliamByron's first #XFINITYSeries win. pic.twitter.com/zONMGyN0lH
— XFINITY Racing (@XFINITYRacing) June 17, 2017
The finish (0.012 seconds) is the closest ever for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Brad Keselowski, who hails from Rochester Hills, Mich., edged out Hamlin in Stage 1 despite getting tangled up with rival Kyle Busch on the first lap of the race. The crash sent Busch to the rear of the field with heavy damage, forcing the 2015 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series champion to battle his way to a fifth-place finish.
Here's a closer look at the contact that sent @KyleBusch through the grass at @MISPeedway.#NASCARonFS1 https://t.co/ghDUZd9vK7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 17, 2017
Elliott Sadler was able to win Stage 2 after a late caution brought Keselowski, who was leading, onto pit road. Keselowski doesn't regularly race in the Xfinity Series and appeared to be more concerned with getting fresh tires than stage points at that time.
Busch, Hamlin, and Keselowski will each line up in the top 12 for Sunday's FireKeepers 400 at Michigan. Make sure to check out our predictions as well as the latest odds before the green flag flies.
Here's how the top 10 finished:
Irish Hills 250 Results
- Denny Hamlin (34 laps led)
- William Byron (8 laps led)
- Elliott Sadler (14 laps led)
- Brad Keselowski (54 laps led)
- Kyle Busch (1 lap led)
- Ty Dillon
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Reed
- Brandon Jones
- Cole Custer
2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Standings
POS | DRIVER | CAR # | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WIN |
1 | Elliott Sadler | 1 | 460 | LEADER | 13 | 0 |
2 | Justin Allgaier | 7 | 439 | -21 | 13 | 1 |
3 | William Byron | 9 | 388 | -72 | 13 | 0 |
4 | Daniel Hemric | 21 | 339 | -121 | 13 | 0 |
5 | Brennan Poole | 48 | 326 | -134 | 13 | 0 |
6 | Ryan Reed | 16 | 325 | -135 | 13 | 1 |
7 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | 6 | 321 | -139 | 13 | 0 |
8 | Cole Custer | 00 | 309 | -151 | 13 | 0 |
9 | Matt Tifft | 19 | 295 | -165 | 13 | 0 |
10 | Michael Annett | 5 | 273 | -187 | 13 | 0 |
11 | Blake Koch | 11 | 263 | -197 | 13 | 0 |
12 | Dakoda Armstrong | 28 | 243 | -217 | 13 | 0 |
13 | Brendan Gaughan | 62 | 228 | -232 | 13 | 0 |
14 | Ryan Sieg | 39 | 212 | -248 | 13 | 0 |
15 | JJ Yeley | 14 | 197 | -263 | 13 | 0 |
16 | Brandon Jones | 33 | 196 | -264 | 13 | 0 |
