Contested over 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it was the 24th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) approximately four miles (6.4 km) south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan.

Michigan is the fastest track in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) and corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 mph (346 to 354 km/h) after the 2012 repaving of the track.

[14] The preliminary entry list for the race included 40 cars and was released on August 22, 2016, at 3:36 p.m. Eastern time.

Alex Bowman drove in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. this weekend as he recovers from a concussion.

[15] Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 35.724 and a speed of 201.545 mph (324.355 km/h).

… In qualifying trim, I didn’t think we would make it happen today, but on the last run, Todd Gordon (crew chief) made some good adjustments and gave me a pep talk, and game on.

[21] Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 36.386 and a speed of 197.878 mph (318.454 km/h).

[22] Under mostly cloudy Michigan skies, Joey Logano led the field to the green flag at 2:18 p.m.

Chris Buescher reported engine issues early on that turned out to be a broken spark plug.

We will have to get it back at the shop and tear it down and take a look at it — and diagnose from there to see if it was a freak accident or something we need to look at going forward.”[24] The first caution of the race flew on lap 21.

Brian Scott was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon and restarted the race from the tail end of the field.

By lap 39, Alex Bowman – who was subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. – fell from sixth to out of the top-10 in what was later determined to be an ignition issue.

Truex lost time on pit road after his car fell off the jack.

After that, the field settled into place until Logano kicked off the final round of green flag stops with 47 laps to go.

During the pit cycle, Aric Almirola was black-flagged for an uncontrolled tire and was forced to serve a pass through penalty.

[27] Larson said in victory lane that his team has "worked hard to get a win, and we just haven't done it Finally, all the hard work by everybody, the hundreds of people at our race shop, people who have gotten me to the Cup Series all paid off.

They bailed me out a few times today, and I gave it right back.’’[30] All in all, a lot to be proud of,” Keselowski said of his third-place finish.

I think it’s a smaller improvement in showcasing driver talent to win races.”[31] On the Wednesday following the race, the No.

Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race.

Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.