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Lower downforce means higher speeds at Michigan, topping 200 mph

Kyle Larson was first; Carl Edwards followed. Their cars topped 200 mph in Friday's practice laps at Michigan.

Go faster? Sure thing, said Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney. As the year's first Michigan race showed, lower downforce and less drag created by reducing spoiler height by an inch had cars flying down the backstretch at the two-mile D-shaped oval. The corners, however, were tricky. And that's just want NASCAR wanted to see.

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Drivers asking for less downforce and thus more need to manually control their cars got their wish.