Matt Kenseth wins the 2015 Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway

In race where track position was paramount and passing difficult, Matt Kenseth didn’t have to worry himself too much about the high-drag aerodynamic incorporated Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Completing a near-perfect weekend, Matt Kenseth started on the pole and turned in a dominating performance to win the Pure Michigan 400. Rarely challenged, he led 146 of a possible 200 laps to score his second win in three weeks and sixth in the past eight races for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kevin Harvick finished second, Martin Truex Jr. third, Austin Dillon a career-best fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.

“It’s been a great week and we’ve had a great couple months,” Kenseth said. “We definitely have some momentum built. The guys gave us a rocket today and gave us rockets the last couple months. We’re just going to work hard to try to keep it rolling.”

For much of the afternoon, Harvick and Dillon were the only two who were able to keep pace with Kenseth, though neither could maintain the necessary speed over long green flag runs.

The best chance to unseat Kenseth came when Jimmie Johnson spun to bring out a caution with 16 laps remaining, tightening the field. But on the ensuing restart, Kenseth quickly separated himself and drove away to a 1.7-second margin of victory.

Michigan was the second of two races this season where NASCAR utilized a high-drag package designed to increase passing opportunities. Similar to July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the other high-drag package race, the rules configuration failed in its intent, however.

Drivers struggled to race side-by-side and in packs due to the turbulence created, and the field ran primarily strung-out over the 2-mile track. And like Indianapolis, the majority of passing occurred immediately following restarts.

“I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t see much of the race, which was totally fine with me,” Kenseth said of the package. “We were up front the whole time, and that’s what you want, right? Obviously I had to pass some lapped cars, I passed some cars for position off of pit strategy, things like that, so certainly was able to kind of mix it up and see what it was like a little bit, but I really didn’t get to see much of the racing except what I saw in my windshield.”

Of those who were mired in traffic much of the day, they expressed largely negative reviews. Hamlin, Kenseth’s teammate, said it was, “Tough, definitely tough to pass,” while Harvick and Keselowski each evaded questions pertaining to the package. Harvick provided a non-answer, with Keselowski stating: “It doesn’t matter what my thoughts and observations are, it is what NASCAR wants. Whatever they want to do.”

NASCAR will return to its original 2015 rules package for Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kenseth’s win continued JGR’s summer upswing. The four-driver team has won a series-best nine of 23 races -- seven since Memorial Day weekend -- and with three regular season races remaining, they are peaking in time for the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs.

“It’s early to talk favorites -- there’s so much racing to do and there are 16 teams that are capable of winning races on a weekly basis as well as a championship,” Kenseth said. “It’s one week at a time like always.”

Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top 10 finishers.