Take 5: What we learned from Michigan

Dale Jr.'s day

Dale Earnhardt Jr. knocked away some of the disappointment from his self-imposed engine failure last weekend at Pocono with a ninth-place finish Sunday at Michigan. Aided by some pit-road strategy and restarting in the more advantageous outside lane down the stretch, Earnhardt notched just his third top-10 finish of the season, his final in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

'A couple of those guys were just faster than us,' Earnhardt said. 'We're going to have to get circumstances to work in our favor and a little bit of luck when we come back to Michigan, but it's a good opportunity for us to win. We had a little bad luck today, but we still ended up OK. I think if we come back and qualify better and give ourselves a better opportunity on track position, we can have a shot at it, but it's three or four of them guys just way faster than us.'

Two-mile high

There's been a common thread to Kyle Larson's three career victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: All three have come on 2-mile tracks. Sunday's win in the FireKeepers Casino 400 was his second at Michigan International Speedway; his other triumph came at the similar layout of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

'They're both fun, because we seem to have good race cars, especially when we come here,' said Larson, who regained the series' points lead. 'Seems like since my rookie season, we've always had fast cars here at Michigan.'

Love for Logano

Joey Logano saved his biggest news of the weekend for after his post-race media obligations were over -- that he and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their first child in the offseason. But before that family bombshell dropped, Logano had reasons to cheer his third-place finish at Michigan, one that stemmed a five-race streak of heartache.

'Feels great. You have no idea how good this feels,' Logano said after posting results of 32nd, 37th, 21st, 25th and 23rd before Sunday's top five. 'Feels like a win, just to stop the bleeding.'

Stages set for Truex

Martin Truex Jr. led three times for 62 laps, a total second only to Larson's 96 laps spent out front. But Truex was in the lead at the end of both stage breaks, his ninth and 10th stage wins of the season.

Those two mid-race prizes bumped the Furniture Row Racing driver's playoff points total to a series-best 20. It's not exactly an unimpeded path to the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Truex's current clip gives him a significant advantage as the 10-race playoffs approach.

Chevy prevails

Larson's victory helped Chevrolet hoist the Michigan Heritage trophy, presented to the winning manufacturer after every NASCAR premier-series race at the 2-mile track. Alba Colon, manager of Chevy's NASCAR program, said that though the three automakers often collaborate on ways to improve the sport, the spirit of competition ultimately drives the friendly rivalry.

'All the teams knew it was important to go back and get it back for all of us, and for all of them, for all of the hard work we do,' Colon said, sitting beside the 3-foot-tall trophy after Sunday's presentation. 'So this baby is coming back home tonight with me. Looking forward to that.'