NASCAR at Michigan live updates: Ryan Blaney holds on — barely — for the Cup race win

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is today. The race is at 3 p.m. on NBCSN.

The race is 400 miles (200 laps) with stages ending on laps 60, 120 and 200. All times are Eastern.

Follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

NASCAR race results

Final stage

6:10 p.m., Lap 200: Game set match, and Ryan Blaney has managed to BARELY hold off Byron and Larson to earn the win at Michigan. What a final 10 laps! Blaney, Byron, Larson, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin your Top 5. DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. round out the Top 10.

6:09 p.m., Lap 198: Larson looks inside now out of second position as Blaney keeps the lead. Blaney needs this win. He’s holding on. Byron slides in front of Larson for second, teammates working together against Blaney in front.

6:07 p.m., Lap 195: Reddick spins but manages to stay out of the way. Huge loss for Reddick, though. He needs to finish this race for playoff points. Meanwhile, up front, Blaney holding off Byron still with 5 to go.

6:06 p.m., Lap 193: Ryan Blaney with a HUGE boost from Kyle Busch to stay in front from the bottom line. Kyle Larson with a run behind him and Byron holds on tight to second position.

Story continues

6:04 p.m., Lap 192: Back to green. Again. Eight to go as William Byron leads the field to the line. Blaney, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Keselowski now complete the Top 5.

6:00 p.m., Lap 189: Under caution, here are the Top 10: William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Dave Blaney, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe.

5:57 p.m., Lap 187: Looks like Logano was trying to be nice and not spin the 8 of Tyler Reddick, who is fighting for the playoffs, and Logano then got run into from behind because he was too slow. They collecetd a whole bunch of cars mid-pack. The 20, 22, 6 and 7 all affected.

5:55 p.m., Lap 186: Green flag waves. The top three in the race all chose the outside line, which puts Kurt Busch on the inside to start. On that start, Hamlin splits into the middle of everyone and makes it three wide all the way around. BIG wreck here as there were just too many cars in one place at one time.

5:53 p.m., Lap 185: Now with 15 to go, still under the weather-induced yellow flag. William Byron’s crew chief tells NBC TV that they plan on working together with teammate Kyle Larson “as long as they can,” which sounds like until the last lap. After that… a win is a win is a win.

5:45 p.m., Lap 180: Inside of 20 laps to go, and some spotters are relaying the feel of raindrops. The yellow is out. There is blue sky in one direction, ugly clouds in the other. Meanwhile, William Byron runs in front, Kyle Larson in second and Denny Hamlin in third. More Top-5-without-a-win drama for Hamlin?

Kurt Busch and Dave Blaney round out the Top 5

5:40 p.m., Lap 175: “Tell William I’m not going to try to pass him.” That was Kyle Larson on the radio about William Byron on his radio. . Larson wants to run the top.

5:35 p.m., Lap 172: Hamlin tells his team that something hit his windshield and cracked it.

5:25 p.m., Lap 153: Denny Hamlin is still the best driver this season without a win. He’s sitting in fourth position at the moment, with a tightly bunched top group. Kyle Larson leads the way, with Byron, Kyrt Busch and Hamlin right behind. Blaney and Truex Jr. are also within three seconds of the lead on this fast track.

Stage 2

5:05 p.m., Lap 120: Kyle Busch wins the second stage on pit strategy as Austin Dillon WRECKS with Brad Keselowski after crossing the line. Dillon slid up the track as Keselowski simultaneously moved down and they collected. Dillon’s car is totaled and he exits the race after a sixth place stage finish.

“I’m an old man, but I can kick his ass,” No. 3 car team owner Richard Childress says on the radio.

Both Dillon and Keselowski take partial responsibility, with Dillon telling NBC: “Just hate it. I don’t know why it happened really. I thought I had a little room to come up and he just held me down there a little too long I guess.”

4:54 p.m., Lap 115: Green flag pit stops are underway. Kevin Harvick pits early from mid-pack, then the leaders Kyle Larson (from second) pits, followed by Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin overshoots his pit box! He reverses quickly and comes back out in fourth. Kyle Busch leads.

4:43 p.m., Lap 101: Kevin Harvick makes a green flag pit stop for four tires and fuel. Harvick hasn’t liked where his equipment has been today.

4:39 p.m., Lap 94: Christopher Bell is up to fifth behind Kyle Busch after charging ahead suddenly. The Gibbs cars of Bell, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are in the top six. Martin Truex Jr. is in 13th after the earlier issues.

4:31 p.m., Lap 82: There’s a battle for the lead between Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon, but Dillon doesn’t move high for the position. He falls into third. A few laps later, Elliott takes the lead.

4:25 p.m., Lap 74: Austin Dillon passes Chase Elliott on the inside and Elliott gives up the spot in third. Kyle Larson continues to lead.

4:22 p.m., Lap 69: Kyle Larson takes the lead off the restart followed by Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon. Further back, the field goes three-wide and there’s contact between Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto, but Busch saves it! No caution and Busch is told that the “damage is good.”

Stage 1

4:10 p.m., Lap 60: Chase Elliott wins the first stage at Michigan. In the top 10 for points are Elliott, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Larson edges Dillon at the checkered flag for points, but Dillon is now even on the points bubble.

4:06 p.m., Lap 53: Martin Truex Jr. is back into the top 15 after the earlier tire damage that knocked him to the bottom five. Chase Elliott continues to lead, but Austin Dillon is half a second back.

4:04 p.m., Lap 41: Austin Dillon is in the top five, then into the top two in a matter of minutes, leapfrogging Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. Dillon is fighting for points and is -28 points from the cutoff.

3:52 p.m., Lap 36: Race leader Chase Elliott says he’s having radio trouble and can’t hear his spotter well. Elliott starts on the outside with Kurt Busch in the inside, and the two cars race side-by-side for a lap, until Busch eventually slides behind Elliott.

3:49 p.m., Lap 31: Joey Gase smacks the outside wall hard, saying a suspension or something broke in his car. The caution comes out after his car stops on the track. He’s able to walk out of the car without needing assistance.

3:45 p.m., Lap 27: Chase Elliott passes Denny Hamlin on the inside to take the first place spot, as Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and William Byron run in the top five.

3:41 p.m., Lap 20: Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road taking no tires. The next set of drivers is Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and William Byron on two tires. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. got together earlier to cause that damage to Truex’s car. (Busch has some nose damage.)

3:31 p.m., Lap 16: Kyle Larson continues to lead as defending MIchigan winner Kevin Harvick drops out of the top 10, telling his team that his car is, “F*****g terrible. No rear grip, won’t turn in the center.” Bubba Wallace is also not happy with his car. He’s in 27th. Martin Truex Jr. is still 33rd.

3:27 p.m., Lap 10: Martin Truex Jr. continues to drop spots. He’s down to 33rd and earlier said he was “wrecking loose.”

3:23 p.m., Lap 4: Ryan Blaney tries to make that three-wide move, but he quickly falls back to 14th. He tells his team that his car has a “Chattering front” and Hit the splitter.” Martin Truex Jr. says he has left rear damage and is all over the place. Kyle Larson is the leader followed by Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin.

3:21 p.m., Lap 2: The field goes three-wide through the first turns! Chase Elliott lines up on the inside, with Kyle Larson on the pole getting the early lead with a huge push from Matt DiBenedetto behind him.

Pre-race

3:19 p.m.: Cars are rolling for pace laps, and come down pit road to check pit road speed just before the flag.

3:10 p.m.: Engines fired for today’s race. There will be a competition caution on Lap 20 (pit road speed is 55 miles per hour).

3 p.m.: Pre-race ceremonies are underway at the track. The Canadian national anthem is performed live ahead of today’s race along with the United States national anthem. Hendrick motorsports team owners Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon stand with driver Chase Elliott on the grid before the flag. Team owner Richard Childress stands with driver Austin Dillon and Dillon’s family.

1:50 p.m.: NASCAR announced that pre-race technical inspection is complete with no multi-time failures. Kyle Larson is starting on the pole with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in the front row. A full starting lineup and pre-race predictions can be found here.

1:25 p.m.: During a pre-race media availability at the track, Joey Logano told reporters that he canceled all public appearances for the foreseeable future, including three this week, and got vaccinated this week in response to Corey LaJoie missing this weekend’s race due to COVID-19 protocols, according to NBC Sports. LaJoie is sidelined for the weekend due to NASCAR’s contact tracing policy. The protocols do not require a quarantine period for vaccinated individuals (although those individuals must receive a negative test 3-5 days after the exposure). Individuals who are not vaccinated must quarantine at least seven days before returning with a negative test and without symptoms.

According to FOX Sports, drivers lobbied NASCAR to change the policy so that a non-vaccinated individual who has an exposure be allowed to race with a negative test, but NASCAR is reportedly maintaining its previously stated policy.

1 p.m.: Ahead of today’s race, Michigan native Erik Jones announced that he signed a deal to remain with his Richard Petty Motorsports team next year. Although Jones’ contract with RPM was previously announced as a multi-year deal, Jones and RPM agreed to exercise a contract option for next season, the team told the Observer.

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