Harvick picks up victory at Sonoma

The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series made its first visit to a road course this year, and Kevin Harvick made his first visit to victory lane.

The win was Harvick’s first since Kansas in October of last year.

Harvick won the race under caution after Kasey Kahne made a vicious impact with the jersey barriers between the finish line and the first turn. The barriers were moved three feet from the impact.

That part of the track did not have SAFER barriers, but Kahne was able to walk away from the accident without injuries.

Martin Truex won the first stage and led the most laps in the race before his engine expired on lap 86, relegating him to a 37th place finish of the 38 drivers in the race, finishing ahead of only Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

Stenhouse retired on lap 30 after an accident which also involved Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick.

Polesitter Kyle Larson finished in 26th position, one lap off the pace.

A few drivers made their first starts in the top series : Billy Johnson, subbing for Aric Almirola in Richard Petty Motorsports’ 43 car, Kevin O’Connell and Tommy Regan, both who drove for Jay Robinson’s program, Josh Bilicki in the Rick Ware No. 51 entry and Alon Day, who drove the No. 23 for BK Racing.

Day made history as the first driver born in Israel to start a race in NASCAR’s top series.

Out of the five drivers who made their debuts, Johnson fared the best of them with a 22nd place finish.

Despite finishing 26th, Larson was able to extend his point lead over Truex from five to 13 points.

Jimmie Johnson leads the Chase standings with three wins, despite being 7th in points.

The Cup series will return to Daytona for the beginning of the second half of the season for the Coke Zero 400 July 1. The race is scheduled to start at 7:30 in the evening.

Can Dale Jr. win one for Dad on Father’s Day?

With the last race of the spring two days away, drivers will be looking to hit a hot streak at Michigan International Speedway.

Ryan Blaney picked up his first Monster Energy Cup Series win last Sunday at Pocono — the first win for the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford since Trevor Bayne pulled off an upset in the 2011 Daytona 500.

Blaney’s victory moved him one spot up in the standings to 12th, currently 224 points behind points leader Martin Truex Jr.

Kyle Larson won the last event just outside the Motor City after claiming the lead from Chase Elliott with 10 laps to go.

Despite Larson’s win last year, he currently holds a 14.2 average finishing position in six starts, with only three top 10 finishes, including the win.

Out of current drivers with 10 or more starts, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski have had the most success at Michigan. Kenseth has an average finish of 10.4 with 20 top 10 finishes, 14 top 5 finishes and three wins. His top 5 and top 10 rankings are leaders among current drivers, and his win total is tied for first with Kurt Busch.

In 15 starts, Keselowski has an average finish of 12.3 in 15 starts. Although he does not have a victory, he has five top 5 and eight top 10 finishes.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in his last race on Father’s Day weekend, so it is his last chance to win a race on Father’s Day for the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. Junior has an average finish of 15.8 at Michigan and two victories — 2008 and 2012. Those wins were his first two wins driving for Rick Hendrick and they both ended winless streaks of more than 36 races.

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Green-White-Checkered Section

• Matt Kenseth has finished on the lead lap in 32 of his 35 races at Michigan.
• Chase Elliott finished second in both races at Michigan during his rookie campaign in 2016.
• Only one of Ryan Newman’s 51 career poles to date have been earned at Michigan. (The 2005 Father’s Day race)