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From the drop of the green flag to the wave of the checkered flag, the plot of Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 from Michigan International Speedway was simple.

Matt Kenseth was dominant.

Kenseth, who started from the pole, led 146 of the race's 200 laps to take home his third victory of the season and the eighth for team owner Joe Gibbs. 

Kenseth believes it was obvious his car was best not only on Sunday but throughout the weekend.

"We had, obviously, a dominant car since we got here," Kenseth said. "It showed up in qualifying and Jason had it tuned up today where the handling was great as we had enough speed to stay up there. You never like to see late-race restarts, especially at Daytona and Talladega, and this was almost a cross between that from the restart zone until the middle of 1 and 2, a lot of the guys would draft pretty good, and I had a hard time getting that to happen. The Chevys could lock up pretty good, so I was pretty worried about that last one and Denny gave me a nice push there. 

"Our TRD engine ran really good and was able to stay alongside Kevin at least and clear him off of Turn 2, so that was obviously a big key for us."

Kenseth's win was also the first win for Toyota at Michigan, a track which is known for being the hometrack for NASCAR's auto manufacturers.

Toyota Racing Development president and general manager David Wilson believes this is one of the most special victories in Toyota racing's history.

"This is truly a special day," Wilson said. "I remember when Roger (Penske) and his team rolled out this concept of a manufacturer's trophy here in Michigan and thought it was brilliant because obviously this is the home to all the manufacturers, including Toyota.  We have a major technical center in Ann Arbor, so to finally bring it home is really special. We've been coveting this.  It's funny because the first idea we had was, you know what we need to do is after we win it, we need to bring it back to Detroit, biggest auto show in the world, and proudly display it in our space. I've already been in touch with our management team, and they are reserving space for it as we speak."

Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, led 15 laps and cruised to his ninth runner up finish of the Sprint Cup season. It's also the third consecutive year in which Harvick has finished in second place in this annual race.

Harvick is pleased with his finish because of his early race struggles.

"We had an up and down day, that's for sure," Harvick said. "The first half of the race or so we really struggled with the handling of the car. The guys did a great job of getting that fixed and then we ran out of gas. But we came back and didn't lose a lap, we were able to have a good enough handling car to drive back up through there and have everything go good. I'm just really proud of my team and everything they did. 

"We didn't have anything for the No. 20 but for everything we overcame, it was still a good day."

Martin Truex, Jr, notched his seventh top ten finish of his career at Michigan and his seventh top five finish of the 2015 season by taking home third place.

Austin Dillon, who led 19 laps and challenged Kenseth on many occassions, pulled out a fourth place finish; his best finish in Sprint Cup competition.

Dillon, who has championships in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series', was forced to start at the rear of the field but credits his team for getting him up to the front.

"We had some circumstances where we had to start at the back and had to figure out a way to get our track position back, and just got to thank my guys," Dillon said. "(Crew Chief) Slugger (Labbe) and the engineers did a good job coming up with a plan. That first 20 laps was no fun for us because we had to ride around and try and stay in front of the leader, but we saved gas and decided to not come down on that first competition caution for fuel, and it worked out. It showed that our car was fast enough to stay up there, pitted, drove back up to where we needed to be, and man, it was a fun day for us, the Dow car was fast, and I felt like I passed a lot of cars, also, getting into fourth.

"We'll take this and build some more momentum. The last seven weeks have been great for us, and really enjoyed working with Slugger."

Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively. 

Joey Logano took home the seventh place finish followed by Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt, Jr rounding out the top ten. 

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch led 10 laps but only managed an 11th place finish.

Kurt Busch, who won the first Michigan race of the season, fought handling issues for most of the race and finished in 20th.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 23
Unofficial Race Results for the 46Th Annual Pure Michigan 400 - Sunday, August 16, 2015
Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 400 Miles - Purse: $5,260,905

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    1    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    200    48    5    148.8    $226,586    Running    7    146
2    7    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet    200    43    1    120.5    $185,285    Running    1    15
3    22    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    200    41        117.8    $137,130    Running        
4    4    3    Austin Dillon    Dow Chevrolet    200    41    1    112.3    $150,746    Running    2    19
5    2    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Freight Toyota    200    39        105.5    $114,000    Running        
6    3    19    Carl Edwards    ARRIS Toyota    200    39    1    106.3    $97,890    Running    2    5
7    10    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    200    37        106.8    $137,348    Running        
8    17    31    Ryan Newman    Caterpillar Chevrolet    200    36        88.3    $130,540    Running        
9    14    2    Brad Keselowski    Miller Lite Ford    200    35        98.8    $141,756    Running        
10    9    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Microsoft Chevrolet    200    34        93.3    $107,415    Running        
11    6    18    Kyle Busch    Interstate Batteries Toyota    200    34    1    90.3    $132,906    Running    2    10
12    24    27    Paul Menard    Richmond/Menards Chevrolet    200    32        90.0    $98,790    Running        
13    34    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    200    31        83.4    $118,098    Running        
14    30    43    Aric Almirola    Armour Ford    200    31    1    72.5    $126,501    Running    1    3
15    11    5    Kasey Kahne    Farmers Insurance Chevrolet    200    29        73.8    $103,615    Running        
16    18    1    Jamie McMurray    Cessna/McDonald's Chevrolet    200    28        75.7    $118,431    Running        
17    21    24    Jeff Gordon    Pepsi Chevrolet    200    28    1    78.9    $132,826    Running    1    1
18    13    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Dream Machine Online Version Toyota    200    26        69.3    $114,879    Running        
19    15    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Transportation Impact Ford    200    25        67.3    $113,610    Running        
20    16    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    199    24        88.2    $102,340    Running        
21    5    14    Tony Stewart    Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet    199    23        69.5    $113,754    Running        
22    25    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    198    22        59.7    $127,390    Running        
23    20    16    Greg Biffle    Ortho Ford    198    21        59.5    $117,023    Running        
24    19    21    Ryan Blaney(i)    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    198    0        69.8    $82,390    Running        
25    23    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    198    19        60.8    $93,415    Running        
26    27    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Zest Ford    198    18        53.3    $93,015    Running        
27    35    35    Cole Whitt    Dockside Logistics LLC Ford    198    17        50.8    $102,823    Running        
28    26    47    AJ Allmendinger    Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet    198    16        49.0    $115,573    Running        
29    28    51    Justin Allgaier    Brandt Chevrolet    197    15        50.7    $106,398    Running        
30    32    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Cosmo Motors Toyota    197    14        47.0    $98,798    Running        
31    33    7    Alex Bowman    Advanced Patient Care Chevrolet    197    13        39.6    $93,062    Running        
32    36    38    David Gilliland    MDS Transportation Ford    197    12        38.8    $88,915    Running        
33    29    26    Jeb Burton #    Maxim/Estes Toyota    197    11        40.7    $80,840    Running        
34    38    34    Brett Moffitt #    CSX Play It Safe Ford    197    10        38.7    $80,740    Running        
35    39    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    197    9        35.0    $80,565    Running        
36    31    40    Landon Cassill(i)    Snap Fitness Chevrolet    196    0        39.5    $80,515    Running        
37    41    32    Josh Wise    Skuttle Tight Ford    196    7        31.3    $80,454    Running        
38    37    23    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    194    0        28.8    $75,877    Running        
39    8    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet    190    5        71.2    $119,741    Running        
40    42    33    Travis Kvapil(i)    Chevrolet    190    0        27.3    $67,805    Running        
41    12    15    Clint Bowyer    5-Hour Energy Toyota    164    4    1    84.8    $97,963    Running    1    1
42    40    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    51    2        38.8    $67,805    Overheating        
43    43    98    Timmy Hill(i)    Premium Motorsports Chevrolet    9    0        23.2    $56,305    Parked        
 Race Comments:    Matt Kenseth won the Pure Michigan 400, his 34th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 3, 33 (engine change); No. 18 (backup car). 
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 62 Reed Sorenson.
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 47 Mins, 18 Secs.    Average Speed:    143.455 MPH    Margin of Victory:    1.722 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    8 for 31 laps: Laps: 2-5 (#55 spin turn 2 [None]); 11-13 (Debris on backstretch [None]); 22-24 (Competition [None]); 73-76 (Debris turn 2 [9]); 122-125 (Debris turn 1 [88]); 127-130 (#15, 31 accident backstretch [43]); 137-141 (#14 spin turn 4 [5]); 184-187 (#48 spin turn 4 [55]).
 Lead Changes:    16 among 8 drivers: M. Kenseth 1-22; A. Dillon 23-40; M. Kenseth 41-59; J. Gordon 60; Kyle Busch 61-62; M. Kenseth 63-75; C. Bowyer 76; M. Kenseth 77-98; K. Harvick 99-113; C. Edwards 114-116; M. Kenseth 117-122; C. Edwards 123-124; A. Dillon 125; M. Kenseth 126-164; Kyle Busch 165-172; A. Almirola 173-175; M. Kenseth 176-200.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.J. Johnson 752 (4 wins);2. Kyle Busch 395 (4); 3.M. Kenseth 751 (3);4.K. Harvick 866 (2);5.J. Logano 818 (2);6.D. Earnhardt Jr. 784 (2);7. Ku. Busch 683 (2); 8.M. Truex Jr. 755 (1);9.B. Keselowski 754 (1);10.D. Hamlin 670 (1);11.C. Edwards 628 (1);12.J. Mcmurray 663 (0);13.P. Menard 654 (0);14.R. Newman 649 (0);15.J. Gordon 648 (0);16.C. Bowyer 616 (0)
3M Lap Leader    : Matt Kenseth, #20 146 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Brad Keselowski, #2 
Coors Light Pole Award    : Matt Kenseth, #20 197.488 mph    Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Matt Kenseth, #20 
Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Ryan Newman, #31 5 positions    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #20 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Matt Kenseth, #20     Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Kevin Harvick, #4 R Childers, .300 sec
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Austin Dillon, #3     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Matt DiBenedetto, #83 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Aug. 22, 2015 - Bristol Motor Speedway
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