NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 takeaways: Denny Hamlin goes back-to-back with emotional Michigan win

Now, Hamlin finds himself just 51 points behind Tyler Reddick in the standings and within striking distance after 15 races. If you include his All-Star Race win at Dover, Hamlin has won three of the last four races and appears primed for another title run.

Tyler Reddick suffers first DNF after restart crash

While Reddick won the first stage from the pole, he did not have the finish to show for it. As the inside line checked up on a Lap 83 restart, Hocevar made contact with the rear bumper of John Hunter Nemechek, igniting a multi-car wreck. Reddick was ultimately clipped by a spinning Ty Gibbs and spun backwards into the inside wall before coming back across the nose of Austin Dillon.

The speed was evident in Reddick's No. 45 Toyota on Sunday, but the season-long consistency that he has showed did not back it up this time. He still holds the points lead over Hamlin, but the premature ending at Michigan was a rare setback during what has been a career season.

Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell involved in violent crash

Elliott scored the most stage points (17) of any driver in the race and appeared to be in a great position for his first Michigan win. After taking four tires during a caution on Lap 144, Elliott restarted on the second row and tried to use that to his advantage when his car snapped loose and sent him up the track into Bell.

The impact was so severe that it forced NASCAR to red flag the race for over 20 minutes due to cleanup and SAFER barrier repair. Both drivers were checked and released from the infield care center, but it was a crushing end to an otherwise promising day for the two.

Elliott had two finishes outside the top 20 in the last three points-paying races entering Michigan, while Bell had been the runner-up each of the last two weeks. Neither had anything to show for their speed on Sunday.