Van Gisbergen surges late for Michigan top 20

Van Gisbergen hovered around 20th in the final stanza of the race and benefited from a handful of cars running out of fuel towards the finish.

The #99 Chevrolet Camaro ended Stage 1 in 25th and Stage 2 in 27th before rebounding in Stage 3, climbing his way through to 18th from 27th in the final 49 laps.

His teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez finished sixth and 14th respectively.

The 200-lap contest was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who enjoyed a late surge.

The final 49-lap green flag run to the chequered flag proved decisive. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar shot to the lead on the last restart from second with a pass on the #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang of Zane Smith and held sway for the lion’s share of the final run.

However, he raced the #77 Chevrolet Camaro knowing he was going to be several laps short on fuel to get to the chequered flag.

Behind him sat the Hendrick Motorsports Camaros of William Byron in the #24 and Kyle Larson in the #5 while Ty Gibbs and Hamlin looked on in fourth and fifth respectively in the #54 and #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camrys.

Hocevar need not wait to run out of fuel. Instead, he lost the lead when his left rear tyre went down with 19 laps to go.

That gifted Byron the lead, who himself was short on fuel. Hamlin began his charge and made quick work of Gibbs and Larson before setting about hassling Byron.

They jockeyed over the lead but with four laps to go, Hamlin took top spot. Byron’s battle was ultimately in vain as he ran out of fuel and was forced to pit for a splash and dash.

Unchallenged, Hamlin crossed the line one second clear of late charger Chris Buescher in the #17 RKF Racing Ford Mustang who made moves late.

Gibbs was fourth ahead of 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace in the #23 Toyota Camry while Larson completed the top five.

“I wanted to get the lead and obviously he (Byron) was doing a good job defending,” said Hamlin.

“Chris Gayle, this whole team has just done an amazing job. We’ve been so fast throughout the entire year. Just haven’t finished it for one reason for another.

“It feels good to come here to Michigan where we’ve been so close a couple of years and get a victory for Toyota.

“This is such a gratifying day to restart 11th or 12th, something like that, and drive to the front.”

The NASCAR Cup Series continues June 16 (AEST) with its inaugural visit to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at Mexico City.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway