Hamlin Wins Michigan, RAM Makes It NASCAR Official Finally, and Hocevar and Byron Close But Not Quite

Denny Hamlin survives fuel strategy chaos and tire concerns to take a long-overdue win at Michigan — his 57th career win, now just three away from 60 and all but locked for the Hall of Fame. But that wasn’t the only big headline from Michigan. Before engines even fired, Ram officially announced its return to NASCAR, and it’s already sending shockwaves across the Truck Series.

• Denny Hamlin gets win No. 3 on the season, ties Larson and Bell, and makes a bold prediction about hitting 60 wins this year.
• Chase Elliott went from race leader to mid-pack after a misstep on pit strategy. Why didn’t he recover?
• Carson Hocevar claps back at his critics with a career-best performance, until a blown tire ended it.
• Ram is officially back in NASCAR, but where are the teams, the drivers, the details?

It was a race shaped by strategy, tire blistering, and fuel mileage, something we haven’t seen at Michigan in years. Ford’s domination at this track has ended for the second year in a row, and Toyota has taken control. Meanwhile, the playoff bubble just got tighter, as Kyle Busch and Ryan Preece are now tied for the last spot, while Alex Bowman’s bad day may have buried his chances unless he wins out. And speaking of winning, Ram may have won the press day, but with zero confirmed teams or drivers, fans are still left guessing what their comeback really means. One thing’s certain: the final stretch of this regular season just got even more dramatic.

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