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Tag: Michigan International Speedway

  • Harvick Claims Pole at MIS with New Track Record.

    Harvick Claims Pole at MIS with New Track Record.

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. – “I don’t want to be the new 48; I want to be the new 88.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. – “I don’t want to be the new 48; I want to be the new 88.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought home his second win of the season at Pocono Raceway and cemented his spot in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. As his success continues, his confidence rises.

    In the media center after the race, Earnhardt was asked if the 88 team was the new 48. He laughed and said, “Easy now.”

    “They just come off of two straight wins, and everybody was about to crown him the champion. You know, two weeks before they were wondering what the hell was wrong with him, and then two weeks later he’s the best thing on the block,” he continued. “We just got to keep everything in perspective. Jimmie is an awesome teammate. We’re successful because of their success and vice versa. I think we really work well together.”

    But, laughter aside, there was no doubt that Earnhardt is determined to stamp out his own identity when he said, “They’re the 48 and we’re the 88 and I don’t want to be the new 48. I want to be the new 88. We’ll definitely try to continue to work hard and try to win some more races and try to leave our own mark and not a mark similar to anyone else.”

    The Sprint Cup Series is headed to Michigan International Speedway next week, where he has two previous victories in 2008 and 2012.

    When questioned about the possibility of back-to-back wins, Earnhardt said, “That would be awesome. I haven’t done that since the Nationwide days back in ’98 or ’99. We won a couple there back to back, I think. That’s a really good feeling, puts you right on top of the world. A win gives you a lot of confidence, but you know and realize how difficult those are to come by and how competitive this garage is, but man, when you win two in a row, man, that sets you apart a bit from your competition. That would be a great thing for us.”

    Despite the success Earnhardt and the No. 88 team has achieved this season; he doesn’t think they have reached their full potential.

    “I think we have not peaked as a team performance-wise, but we’re certainly at our highest ceiling. We’re doing some of our best work certainly right now. We have a lot of passion and there’s a lot of emotion, considering this is Steve’s last year, and I think that also adds some drive and determination to the team to do as well as we can. So that can be dangerous, I think, for everyone else if we win.”

    As Earnhardt and his crew chief Steve Letarte strive to make the most out of their last year working together, momentum is on their side and the possibilities are endless. Perhaps, more importantly, the two have formed a bond that has impacted Earnhardt both professionally and personally.

    “We’ll continue to be such great friends after working together this year. I still have him as a big part of my life, and I think that’ll continue to positively affect me in whoever I work with in the future,” Earnhardt emphasized. “I’ll work hard to continue to maintain a great relationship with him because he has such a positive effect on me, and I still think even though we aren’t working together next year, throughout the rest of my career together, he can still have that effect on me and still do things for me that help me on Sunday even though he’s not there.”

    This year may be Earnhardt’s best chance at capturing the elusive Championship trophy. He’s already referring to it as a “storybook” season and his fans can’t wait to see how this story ends.

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  • He’s Back….Juan Pablo Montoya is Back in NASCAR

    He’s Back….Juan Pablo Montoya is Back in NASCAR

    Juan Pablo Montoya, whose contract was not renewed by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing last year in favor of rookie Kyle Larson, will make his return back to NASCAR with Team Penske for two races this year.

    Montoya will add the NASCAR Cup starts at Michigan and the Brickyard at Indy to his Verizon IndyCar Series full-time schedule. The 38 year old Columbian will pilot the No. 12 SKF Ford at Michigan International Speedway on June 15th and the sponsor-to-be-named No. 12 car for the Brickyard 400 on July 27th.

    Greg Erwin, a veteran NASCAR crew chief, will be atop the pit box of Montoya for both races.

    “Juan is a proven winner in multiple racing disciplines and he is one of the most versatile racecar drivers competing today,” Roger Penske, team owner, said. “Michigan and Indianapolis are two important races for Team Penske. We know Juan has the ability to race for wins in both of those events while still focusing on his full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series.”

    Juan Pablo Montoya is also back on the NASCAR circuit with one of the most successful teams to date. Team Penske, whose two drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have both visited Victory Lane this year, will no doubt welcome their newest teammate to the fold.

    “This opportunity is pretty unique,” Montoya said. “This year, it will be nice to be in a Penske car because they are so competitive week in and week out. Both Keselowski and Logano are running up front.”

    One place that Montoya really wants to go back to is the Brickyard, where he has come so close to winning in a stock car. JPM has mastered the Indianapolis Motor Speedway having won the Indy 500 in 2000.

    “It’s one of those places where I feel like I got robbed a few times,” Montoya said. “To be able to come here and be able to close that deal will be really, really nice.”

    Montoya is also back as he is on a mission to get take team owner Roger Penske to Victory Lane for the first time ever at the Brickyard.

    “It’s hard to believe, but Roger Penske has never won the Brickyard 400,” JPM said. “I think that Brad, Joey and I will give Roger and Team Penske a great opportunity to check that off the list and we should be strong at Michigan as well.”

    Montoya is also back with a vengeance to attempt something that no one else has done, winning three feature races at Indy in the same season. He is scheduled for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10th, the Indy 500 a week later, and then the Brickyard 40 in July. So, if JPM qualifies for each one, he would be the first to do so.

    “Three chances gives me a better chance of winning one of them now,” Montoya said.

    So, just how will Montoya get back in shape to get back on the NASCAR Cup tracks?

    “I had a chance to test a car last week at Nashville and I felt like it was a good test,” Montoya said. “I was very happy that I got up to speed very easy. Within five laps I was comfortable in the car.”

    “I think running Michigan and Indy are two tracks where running open wheel helps you, especially Michigan, which is a lot like an open-wheel car because you don’t slow down much but use momentum and a lot of high speed.”

    “To just run the Brickyard would be a pretty big ask of our team and of Juan, without having spent much time in our cars or with having been out of a Cup car for a while,” Tim Cindric, Team Penske President said. “So, we felt like we needed to give him another shot at Michigan prior to the Brickyard so he could get ready for Indy.”

    While Montoya has been enjoying being back in the IndyCar Series, where he is 11th in the point standings currently, he is equally thrilled about this new opportunity back in his old stomping ground of NASCAR where he spent six year.

    “It will be fun to get back behind the wheel of that Cup car,” Montoya said simply.

     

  • Preview and Predictions: Auto Club 400

    Preview and Predictions: Auto Club 400

    After bumping and grinding at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the 2-mile, low-banked oval of Auto Club Speedway. Despite being very similar in shape to its sister track Michigan International Speedway, the two tracks drive very differently. Since the repave at Michigan, the low and middle groove are the only fast ways of getting around the track. Auto Club Speedway has never been repaved since 1997, so it is one of the oldest surfaces on the Sprint Cup schedule.

    In qualifying, I saw drivers using the high line to try and find some grip, even though it isn’t the shortest way around the track. Winning at Auto Club not only requires great horsepower to pull you down the straightaways, but also a great suspension package to help you get a good drive off the corners. We know that someone will get it exactly right on Sunday, and here’s three drivers that probably will.

    Jimmie Johnson

    There are some instances where it is actually difficult to pick a definitive favorite to win the race. This is not the case with the Auto Club 400. Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last 10 races at his home track, and five overall including his first victory back in 2002. He’s also finished in the top five 12 times and has an astounding average finish of 5.7. Some may argue that he’s lost his touch over the past couple of years, and that his prime at Auto Club came in the Car of Tomorrow era, but I believe they’ve found the magic yet again. Johnson was fastest in the first practice and ended up third in qualifying. There’s no question he’ll be a factor in Sunday’s race.

    Matt Kenseth

    Although Kenseth hasn’t won a race at Auto Club since 2009, his record at the track has been pretty solid over the past few years. His average finish over the past 10 races of 9.5 is third only to Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Joe Gibbs Racing has found some speed at the past few visits to the track, mainly with Kyle Busch, who won the race last year. However, looking at the first practice speeds, it appears that Kyle Busch may not have the speed he did last year. Kenseth, who qualified on the pole, will pick up the slack for his teammate.

    Jeff Gordon

    The inaugural winner at Auto Club Speedway is back at it again with a fast Hendrick Chevrolet. In practice, Gordon was second behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson, and he actually ran faster than the track record. In qualifying, he was consistently at the top of the charts until the final round, where he ended up sixth. The four-time Sprint Cup champion hasn’t even had a top-five at Auto Club since 2009, but I believe they have found the magic yet again. Although it looks like his teammate will be leading the way on Sunday, Jeff Gordon won’t be far behind.

    Whoever shines brightest at Auto Club will be the driver that effectively communicates where the car is losing speed. That’s why Jimmie Johnson is so good here, because it isn’t just about pure speed. It’s about adjusting the chassis, the tire pressures and the wedge throughout the race so that you can develop a perfect drive off the corner. Then it’s all about what you’ve got under the hood to pull you down those long straightaways. There’s always one driver that hits the set up exactly right, and whoever that driver is, rest assured that they will be unstoppable on race day.

    Statistics retrieved from racing-reference.info.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Sporting some of the fastest speeds at any track this season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th running of the Pure Michigan 400 in the Irish hills.

    Surprising:  While the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford did his job in qualifying, scoring the pole position for the race start, it was all about team Penske when the 23 year old Joey Logano took the checkered flag and found his way to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway.

    “This was a hard-fought win throughout this whole Penske team,” Logano said. “This 22 team gave me a great Shell Pennzoil Ford that was capable of winning.”

    “This race team did a fabulous job,” Todd Gordon, crew chief, said. “Really proud of this whole team.”

    “As I go back probably 30 years here at the track, this is probably one of the biggest wins,” Roger Penske, team owner, said. “It’s clearly a team effort.”

    This was Logano’s first victory of the 2013 season, his first victory at Michigan International Speedway and his first victory with team Penske Ford.

    Not Surprising:  Because the race was at Michigan, it was not surprising that fuel mileage, tires and track position played critical roles in how the race unfolded.

    In fact, fuel mileage bit one of the sports veterans, who was racing all out for the ‘W’.

    “We were just hoping for one more yellow,” Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota said, after running out of gas while leading to finish 27th.

    “Just stayed ahead of Joey there, but if he would have slowed down, I could have maybe saved enough,” Martin said. “I had to go that fast just trying to stay in the lead.”

    Tires also played a significant role in the Pure Michigan 400, to which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could definitely attest.

    “It’s just the tire; we’ve had a lot of problems with,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet said after experiencing a right-front tire problem on lap 135. “I think this is the same tire we struggled with the last race.”

    Because of his tire troubles, Junior finished the race in the 36th position and fell one position to seventh in the point standings.

    Track position was also key as is so often the case at Michigan, a point driven home for young substitute driver Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for the recuperating Tony Stewart.

    Dillon wrecked early in the race and had to work diligently with crew chief Steve Addington to garner the track position that led to their respectable 14th place finish.

    “Definitely scared myself at the beginning as it was too early to be wrecking out there,” Dillon said. “Luckily we had saved enough car where we could work on it and get some track position.”

    “Steve made some great calls on track position and them guys did a great job.”

    Surprising:  In addition to Austin Dillon’s comeback, Clint Bowyer made a surprisingly good comeback to finish 5th in his No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota after a first lap spin. Bowyer was the highest finishing Toyota and the only Toyota in the top ten at the finish of the Pure Michigan 400. And while Bowyer struggled, he took great pride in his ability to bounce back from the adversity.

    “Man, what a long day,” Bowyer said. “Beats the hell out of me how I recovered to finish fifth.”

    “Spinning out on the first lap I’m like – I couldn’t figure it out,” Bowyer continued. “Hard fought battle.”

    “Those days are what wins championships.”

    Bowyer took over second in the point standing and is 41 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Not Surprising:  But for a tricky restart, the driver known as the ‘Closer’ almost closed the deal in the Irish hills of Michigan. Kevin Harvick, piloting the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, finished second, his 10th top-10 finish at MIS and his 12th top-10 finish in 2013.

    “I just mistimed the last restart there,” Harvick said. “I had to check up and that allowed the No. 22 to kind of make it three-wide and get under me and then we had to fight back from there.”

    “But all in all it was a good day.”

    Surprising:  The points leader and five-time champ had a surprisingly challenging day at Michigan, having to drive through the field in his back up car due to a practice lap wreck. Although he looked strong and even led two laps, Jimmie Johnson experienced engine failure and ended up his day finishing 40th in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet.

    “The engine broke there,” Johnson said. “When we came in for a green flag pit stop, something started then it definitely dropped a cylinder.”

    “This track is hard on engines,” Johnson continued. “Days like today am thankful for the big points lead and the bonus points in the Chase.”

    “We’ll dust ourselves off and go on to next week.”

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch, who after the race reportedly received an offer to driver for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, proved the caliber of his driving abilities and the value of his team with a third place finish. This was Busch’s ninth top-10 finish in 26 races at MIS and the good finish moved him up two spots to ninth in the point standings.

    “To be in position and run well, to post a top-three finish, just got to thank the guys,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet said after the race. “Furniture Row is acting like a big-time player right now.”

    “We had a little bit of weaknesses here and there but overall, we keep positing good results and it’s very satisfying.”

    Surprising:  Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, surprisingly scored his first top five of the season.

    “We really needed a good run,” Menard said. “We have been crashing a lot.”

    “We had a good car all weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Burton, who has been running better and better as the season progresses, finished top-10 in his No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet. And even with that, Burton ended up both happy and disappointed.

    “It’s good to be disappointed with eighth,” Burton said. “That is a good thing.”

    “That’s a step in the right direction, no drama, got what we deserved and we will go on.”

    Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose had a surprising bump up into the top-10 finishing order after a tough run at Watkins Glen, finishing sixth in his No. 9 Dewalt Ford.

    “We ran in the top-10 for a lot of the day and it was a better day for us,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) for calling a great race.”

    “He got us up there with track position and we were able to hold on.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no surprise in seeing Greg Biffle, who is usually strong at Michigan, finish in the ninth position in his No. 16 3M Ford. And according to the Biff, he would have done even better had it not been for some problems in the pits.

    “We bumped the No. 2 coming out of the pits in that scramble at the end and hurt the left front fender,” Biffle said. “That was really tough for us.”

    The next race will be tough for all of the drivers as they head to the beating and banging at Bristol Motor Speedway under the Saturday night lights.

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – Pure Michigan 400 – Michigan International Speedway – August 18, 2013

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – Pure Michigan 400 – Michigan International Speedway – August 18, 2013

    Off to Michigan this week for the second and final stop in The Great Lakes State this season and Michigan International Speedway is the 2.5-mile D-shaped superspeedway with 18 degrees of banking in the corners, 12 on the frontstretch, and 5 on the long backstretch. We see speeds top 210 MPH at MIS, making it the fastest track on the schedule.

    Qualifying is fairly important this week, but not nearly as important as last week as 16 of the 88 races at Michigan have been won from the pole – unlike 9 of 30 last week at Watkins Glen. 66 of the 88 have been won from inside the top 10 however, but Mark Martin won from the furthest back – 32nd – in the spring race of 2009.

    As far as the manufacturers go, Ford has the edge by winning 33 of the 88 races all-time but only three of the last 10 races with the next best being Chevrolet with 20 wins. Ford driver Greg Biffle will go for his 3rd straight victory at MIS this week, also for Roush Fenway Racing who happens to have the most wins of any team at Michigan, with 13 wins all-time.

    In news outside of Tony Stewart, it was announced on Tuesday, Juan Montoya would not return to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2014. Juan came to EGR in 2007, his first ride in a stock car – he made The Chase in 2009, but has not finished better than 17th in the points since then for car owner Chip Ganassi.

    My thought is the departure could open the seat for it’s 21-year-old development driver Kyle Larson, who currently competes in the Nationwide Series for Turner Scott Motorsports. Chip Ganassi was actually at Larson’s car, giving him a pep-talk for the majority of the pre-race at Watkins Glen this past weekend before the Nationwide race, so to me he’s probably at the top of the list to replace Juan next season.

    We’ve seen these mid-season announcements before – this season even with Kevin Harvick going to Stewart-Haas – we’ve seen what he’s done sitting 4th in points for RCR and even Ryan Newman losing his ride at SHR and winning the Brickyard. Bottom line is these guys are competitors and they want to win today, next week, next month, and next year. There are no discounted parts put on these cars to guys who are leaving at the end of the season, and these guys without rides next season want a win now more than ever.

    Watkins Glen Recap

    It was a fantastic weekend last week for me at my hometown track, and I was 50/50 on my picks last week at Watkins Glen.

    It was extremely difficult to go to The Glen and not look at Marcos Ambrose to win. He had won back-to-back races at Watkins Glen and was the overwhelming favorite going into last week’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen for a number of reasons, mainly because he had won those two previous races and because he put his No.9 Ford on the pole, the most proficient starting spot for race-winners over the years at Watkins Glen.

    Well, if the race last week was 51 laps instead of 92, Marcos Ambrose would have been a fantastic pick last week as he completely dominated the early stages of the race last week at Watkins Glen. An unfortunate caution for Ambrose came out in the middle of pit sequences for the majority of the field, and Ambrose was shuffled back in the pack after leading the majority of the early stages of the race.

    Being shuffled back at Watkins Glen is never a good thing, due to the limited passing opportunities, and Ambrose learned the hard way after being tangled up in an accident between Turn 2 and 3 on lap 84. The wreck would end Ambrose’s march towards the front last week and would land him a disappointing 31st place finish.

    As far as my Dark Horse goes, Martin Truex Jr’s. race at Watkins Glen was much less eventful, running in the top 5 all day, and being in the front of the field for the majority of the day paid its dividends as Truex would score a 3rd place finish behind Kyle Busch and Brad Kesolowski. I’m not sure I’ll be allowed to call Truex a Dark Horse next season with his win at Sonoma in June and his 3rd place finish at The Glen last week, bringing his season road-course average finish to runner-up finish.

    Michigan Picks
    Winner Pick

    Up until this year, Matt Kenseth added to the dominance of Roush-Fenway Racing at Michigan International Speedway, winning twice for Jack Roush in 2002 and 2006. On top of the wins, he’s got 12 Top 5’s and 18 top 10’s at MIS in 28 races, making him the 2nd best driver overall at Michigan all-time.

    Kenseth is in the top 5 in ALL BUT ONE….of the pre-race loop stats, he’s second in Average Running Position and Driver Rating, he’s third in Average Green Flag Speed, Laps in the top 15, and quality passes, and the one loop stat he’s not in the top 5……Fastest Laps Run – he’s got 159 and that’s good enough for 6th on the list. He’s qualified 12th which doesn’t scare me because of the great passing stats he has over the years at Michigan.

    He was 7th at California in March, 6th at Michigan earlier this year in June, and with the way he’s running this season, it’s been 5 weeks since he’s won and without a win this week, he’ll tie his longest stretch this season without a win….so I’m going with Matt Kenseth as my top pick this week.
    Dark Horse Pick

    On Thursday while previewing this week’s race at Michigan with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, I picked Joey Logano as my longshot play of the week. Qualifying has really helped my cause with Logano because yesterday in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Logano shattered the track record at Michigan International Speedway and captured the Coors Light Pole, another week for me picking the pole-sitter before any cars hit the track.

    Logano won the Nationwide race at Michigan last season, but MIS hasn’t been too kind to him in the cup series. Besides his 9th earlier this season, he’s finished 31st, 35th, and 21st in his previous 4 starts at Michigan. He did lead 21 laps in that race in June race, the only laps he’s ever led at Michigan, and with his teammate Brad Keselowski coming alive down the stretch here this season, I think this team is only going to get better. Considering 16 of the 88 races at Michigan have been won from the pole position, I like my chances this week with Logano, he’ll stay my longshot play of the week.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head for the Hills of Tennessee…..You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    After a wild weekend of turning left and right at the fast road course at Watkins Glen, the three national NASCAR series head their separate ways this weekend with the Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series heading to Michigan to take on the 2 mile Michigan International Speedway and the Nationwide Series heading to their second road course race in a row for their inaugural race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway

    With only four races left until the cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins at Chicago, the battle between those fighting for a spot in the 12 driver playoff keeps ratcheting up with only 31 points separating the drivers between 10th and 17th in the standings. From this point on every race, every position, and every point matters that much more. Drivers at Michigan will have a balancing act between playing it safe for points or gambling for a win and putting themselves in position for a Wild Card Chase berth.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 18 2 9 14 1 291 19.9 8.2
    Matt Kenseth 28 2 12 18 0 284 17.9 9.4
    Greg Biffle 21 4 10 13 1 565 13.5 11.3
    Jeff Gordon 41 2 18 25 5 954 11.5 12.4
    Danica Patrick 1 0 0 0 0 0 37.0 13.0
    Mark Martin 55 5 18 31 1 965 11.9 14.2
    Kevin Harvick 25 1 4 9 0 149 18.2 14.3
    Denny Hamlin 15 2 5 7 0 149 14.3 14.7
    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 28 2 6 10 2 327 14.9 15.6
    Kyle Busch 17 1 4 6 0 169 14.6 15.6

    Who To Watch: Coming off of an eighth place finish in the first race at Michigan in June, Carl Edwards boasts the best statistics in the Sprint Cup Series at the track with two wins, nine top fives, 14 top tens, one pole, 291 laps led, and an average finish of 8.2 in 18 races.

    Matt Kenseth comes up next with two wins, 12 top fives, 18 top tens, 284 laps led, and an average finish of 9.4 in 28 starts. Kenseth finished in sixth in June in his first race at Michigan for new car owner Joe Gibbs.

    Others who run well at the track include: Greg Biffle, who won in June and has a total of four wins at the track, along with 10 top fives, 13 top tens, one pole, 565 laps led, and an average finish of 11.3 in 21 starts; Jeff Gordon, with two wins, 18 top fives, 25 top tens, five poles, 954 laps led, and an average finish of 12.4 in 41 starts; and Danica Patrick, who finished in 13th in her first start at the track in June.

    The remainder of the top ten statistically (Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kyle Busch) also run well at Michigan and have a total of 11 wins between them.

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – Inaugural Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio

    Since there have been no Nationwide Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, there are obviously no statistics to pull from to see who will run well at the track. So, the best bet for Saturday’s race will be to go with drivers who run well on road courses. Drivers such as Ron Fellows in the JR Motorsports No. 5, Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 for Richard Petty Motorsports, A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 22 for Penske Racing, and Max Papis in the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing should find themselves up front along with Nationwide regulars Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Michigan National Guard 200 at Michigan

    After a few weeks off since last racing at Pocono, the Camping World Truck Series makes their return at Michigan with points leader Matt Crafton holding onto a commanding 52 point lead over rookie Jeb Burton in the standings. The race also marks the return of the Truck Series for consecutive weekends and the debut of Fox Sports 1 for the broadcast of the Truck Series race on Saturday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 3 5.0 6.0
    Miguel Paludo 2 0 1 2 0 3 6.0 6.5
    Kyle Busch 6 0 4 5 1 149 5.8 6.8
    Brendan Gaughan 7 1 3 4 0 48 18.4 8.9
    Joey Coulter 2 0 0 1 1 7 10.5 12.5
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 9 0 1 6 0 15 10.3 12.7
    Dakoda Armstrong 2 0 1 1 0 0 20.5 13.5
    Johnny Sauter 4 0 0 0 0 1 8.0 13.5
    James Buescher 4 0 2 2 0 5 7.8 14.5
    Timothy Peters 6 0 1 3 0 0 16.7 14.8

    Who To Watch: Championship contender Ty Dillon leads all active drivers at Michigan with three laps led and a sixth place finish in his lone start at the track last season.

    A driver who has been running strong as of late is Miguel Paludo and he falls in second statistically at Michigan. Paludo has two starts at the track and in the two starts has one top five, two top tens, 3 laps led and an average finish of 6.5.

    Others who could find their way to Victory Lane include: Kyle Busch, who has six starts at the track, and in those six starts has four top fives, five top tens, one pole, 149 laps led and an average finish of 6.8; Brendan Gaughan, who has one win, three top fives, four top tens, 48 laps led and an average finish of 8.9 in seven starts; and Joey Coulter, who has one top ten, one pole, seven laps led and an average finish of 12.5 in two starts.

    Last, but certainly not least would be the promising crop of rookies in the series this year (Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney, Darrell Wallace, Jr.), who are giving the veterans a run for their money. It certainly would not be a surprise to see one of those drivers win either.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 15 Coke Zero 400 – Daytona International Speedway – July 6, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 15 Coke Zero 400 – Daytona International Speedway – July 6, 2013

    Daytona needs no introduction this week. Since it’s the Crown Jewel of NASCAR, everyone knows the history of the track and the races its produced over the years, so I’ll keep it short and talk a little bit about what I was able to gather from the February races – including that “HISTORIC” Daytona 500.

    If you got past the fact that Danica was on the pole for the Daytona 500 and all the hoopla that surrounded that story, you would have seen that the Daytona 500 this year was pretty boring as far as plate races go. It could have been because of that early crash that put a lot of the top guys out of contention – Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Brad Kesolowski, and Kyle Busch, – that was all about 30 laps in, so a lot of the heavy hitters were out early.

    The race was boring in the sense that nobody could really pass. Matt Kenseth led 86 laps before he blew up, and it seemed like anyone who stepped out of line really paid the price, even if they had a car to help push. It was pretty much follow the leader and a lot of the guys complained over the two weeks about not being able to pass in the then brand new Gen6 racecar.
    One word of caution this week is with the Toyotas, and there has been talk about their engine issues the past few weeks. These engines haven’t been tested since Michigan where it was announced they would not be scaling back the horsepower any further, but the series hasn’t been at tracks where engine longevity has been a factor since Greg Biffle’s win at Michigan. Toyota has won JUST ONE points race at Daytona in 132 races. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch both blew up in the Daytona 500, and Martin Truex Jr. had engine issues as well, certainly something to consider this week when making your picks.

    Kentucky Recap

    I picked Kyle Busch last week at a place where it is impossible not to mention him where his performances over the years have been nothing less than exemplary. Busch started his No. 18 Doublemint Toyota in fourth and raced inside the top five through the early portion of the race before he got loose and caused a caution. Busch would have to restart in 37th but would climb all the way back to the top 15 by lap 83 and great work by his Doublemint team and a little pit strategy would help him get back inside the top five for a restart on lap 93. Busch would continue to run up front with the leaders while battling changing handling conditions. Despite the challenges all night, Busch and the Doublemint team managed to scrape together another Top-5 at Kentucky.

    As for my Dark Horse, Joey Logano, also known as the hottest driver in NASCAR not named Kevin Harvick, had another solid week in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion. The team qualified 11th for the Quaker State 400, and with solid pit stops and consistent adjustments by Crew Chief Todd Gordon, Logano began to climb through the front of the field by lap 110. Logano never ran outside the Top 5 in the second-half of the race, until the final restart with about 20 laps to go. He restarted 7th and made a bold move on the restart, moving up to 4th where he would cross the finish line, netting himself his 5th top-five of this 2013 season.

    Daytona Picks

    Winner Pick
    I didn’t pull out my dice and roll them to pick my winner this week, but I did, I think the dice would have revealed the numbers two and nine meaning the guy I’d be looking at this week is the hottest guy in the sport right now and that’s Kevin Harvick.

    Harvick was unlucky earlier this year when he crashed early in the Daytona 500. He won the Sprint Unlimited, won his Duel race, and was certainly one of the cars to beat. As far as the stats go, he’s won two races at Daytona and if you throw in the duel races he’s won, the count is 7 wins on restrictor plate tracks – 5 of which coming in the last 3 years.

    This team brings 7-straight top-10’s to Daytona and considering he’s due for a good restrictor plate finish (finished 42nd in the Daytona 500 and 40th at Talladega in May) Harvick was my top pick on Thursday and remains my top pick for the win tonight.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Paul Menard is a guy who manages to stay out of trouble at Daytona. He has completed 99.3% of the 2148 laps of his 12 starts at Daytona, leading 38 laps in the meantime. Daytona is second on his list of tracks with an average finish of 17.3 and that number comes with a 38th place finish averaged in those numbers (2009 Daytona 500). He’s been good at Daytona, might not be the BEST longshot pick this week with the Front Row Motorsports teams showing speed in both practice sessions, but working with Harvick in the draft will prove to be beneficial for this team tonight.

    That’s all for this week, be sure to tune in on Thursday as Greg and I preview next week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    So until next time, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    Awash in tributes to the memory of Jason Leffler and to all the dads for Father’s Day, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surprising:  For the first time since June of 2005 at Sonoma, every Hendrick Motorsports car finished outside the top 25.

    Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson finished 28th after hitting the wall in the remaining laps of the race, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. blew an engine to finish 37th. The next HMS driver to finish was Kasey Kahne in the 38th position after blowing a tire and hitting the wall, followed by Jeff Gordon, who was caught up in an early wreck with Bobby Labonte to finish 39th.

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who himself experienced his second DNF in a row at MIS, summed up the disappointing finishes of all of Hendrick Motorsports teams best.

    “It’s testing my frustration level,” Gordon said. “I don’t want to see the team get down.”

    “I have a lot of fight and so does the team,” Gordon continued. “I’m looking forward to going to Sonoma.”

    Not Surprising:  Since it was Michigan, a track that has been known as a Ford playground and where Roush Fenway Racing has such deep roots, it was no surprise that the race winner was Greg Biffle, the driver of the No. 16 3M/Give Kids a Smile Ford.

    It was also not surprising that Biffle scored the 1,000th win for the Ford Motor Company as well as giving the Ford Motor Company a happy 110th birthday. And for the Biff, he was also able to celebrate his very first win of the 2013 season.

    But what was not surprising in the least was the emotion of the driver in Victory Lane as he held his daughter Emma tight, celebrated Father’s Day, and honored the memory of a fellow competitor who was lost too soon, leaving his beloved five year old son behind.

    “It is Emma’s first victory lane on Father’s Day,” Biffle said as the confetti rained down upon them. “I am thinking about my dad that couldn’t be here who is hopefully watching.”

    “We are also thinking about little Charlie Leffler that doesn’t have a father today.”

    Surprising:  In spite of an engine failure on Lap 132 and the resulting poor finish, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was surprisingly upbeat when all was said and done. In fact, he actually took on the role of team leader and chief cheerleader, especially when it came to the performance of his car.

    “We just had something come apart in the motor,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Man of Steel Chevrolet said. “Really happy though with the engine.”

    “Happy with the way the car performed,” Junior continued. “We had an awesome car.”

    “We had a first or second place car there.”

    Not Surprising:  He may not have closed the deal, but Kevin Harvick was indeed happy with his second place finish in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. And he even managed that great finish in spite of having an ill-handling car to start off with and a vibration at the end of the race.

    “I didn’t wake up thinking that we were going to even run in the top ten,” Harvick said. “I was pretty nervous about our car.”

    “But everybody on this whole Budweiser team did a great job,” Harvick continued. “We just kept our head in there and kept digging.”

    This was Harvick’s fifth top-10 in a row and his fifth top-five finish of the season. His good run also moved him up one spot in the point standings to the fourth position.

    Surprising:  The rest of Richard Childress Racing had a surprisingly good day at the race track, with all of their other drivers in the top 15 at Michigan International Speedway. Jeff Burton finished 10th, Austin Dillon finished 11th and Paul Menard finished 14th for team RCR.

    “The No. 31 Caterpillar team fought hard all day to bring home another solid finish,” Burton said. “We continue to make progress with our mile-and-a –half and two-mile track programs.”

    “Overall it was a good points day,” Burton said, moving four spots up to 17th in the standings.

    Not Surprising:   Smoke, who has been on fire as of late, continued to rip off good finishes now that the summer has arrived. In spite of a crash on Friday, the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished top-five and moved up into the top ten in the point standings.

    “We had some breaks go our way,” Stewart said. “I’m proud of these guys.”

    “We weren’t very good all weekend so this team had to work hard to get us where we were today.”

    Surprising:  After all the talk of engine woes and failures and the ratcheting up and down of horsepower, Toyota had a surprisingly good day, scoring a third place finish with Martin Truex, Jr., a fourth place with Kyle Busch, a sixth place with Matt Kenseth and a seventh place finish with Clint Bowyer.

    “The power in the engine was definitely better than last week,” Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “They’re working on that.”

    “We were very competitive horsepower-wise and all that was good.”

    “That was a crazy day,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said. “We got off to a rough start but we worked on it all day long and made the absolute best of the situation.”

    “Not the way we would have drawn it up, but I’ll take it.”

    Not Surprising:  There was indeed some drama between teammates, from a restart issue with Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as well as  a disagreement about trash between Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

    “Yeah, he spun his tires and almost ran into the side of me trying to control his car,” Johnson said of teammate Junior on a restart. “I wasn’t going to get burned on that again so I jumped off the gas and got drilled from behind.”

    “There is a game to be played there and you can cause a heck of a pile up if you are trying to give it back.”

    Biffle and Edwards, on the other hand, had a major disagreement about of all things trash on the grille.

    “It’s his job to help me,” Edwards said of Biffle, who he felt should have backed up to help him dislodge trash that was causing significant overheating.

    “I didn’t know when I passed him he had something on his grille or I’d let him get it off then,” Biffle said. “But when I looked up and he was 25 car lengths back, I said ‘I can’t help him, not right now.’ This is my chance to win today.”

    “I didn’t feel like I could take that risk.”

    Surprising:  After starting 37th, Danica Patrick scored her first top-15 finish in a Cup Series race at the big track in the rolling hills of Michigan.

    “At the end of the race, the last run was the best run I felt,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “It’s so nice to get a decent finish for the team.”

    “This will hopefully get everyone’s head up a little bit and we will go on,” Patrick said. “I think we have been strong lately.”

    “We just needed to have days like today where we finished it off.”

    Not Surprising:  Bobby Labonte, booted temporarily from his No. 47 Charter Toyota for JTG Daugherty Racing, struggled even after picking up a new ride in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet for James Finch and Phoenix Racing.

    Although Labonte was able to keep his consecutive race streak alive at 702, unfortunately his race results were not what he wanted or needed as he wrecked out early, finishing dead last.

    AJ Allmendinger, who JTG Daugherty had hired to shake down Labonte’s ride, did a little better in that car, scoring a top-20 finish.

    Allmendinger could drive a few more times for JTG, while Labonte is scheduled to return for the remainder of the schedule. Labonte’s best finish so far in the No. 47 car has been 15th in the Daytona 500.

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne showed off a surprisingly new talent, that of firefighting. The driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet was leading the race when the car took off, hit the wall and burst into flames.

    “Something broke,” Kahne said. “I would say it was a tire that went down but I don’t know for sure.”

    “I was just going into the corner and then it went ‘boom’ and turned right straight into the wall.”

    Kahne’s car burst into flames and he was able to exit quickly. He then, however, reached back into the car and initiated the fire extinguishing equipment, putting out the fire well before any of the safety professionals arrived at the scene.

    Kahne later tweeted, “First time I have ever pulled the fire extinguisher. That was cool.”

    Not Surprising:  As with every driver, team and owner, hearts were heavy for the loss of Jason Leffler, who died in a sprint car from blunt neck trauma at a dirt track in New Jersey. Team owner Jack Roush put it best with his hope that Leffler would live on through new and improved safety at those local race tracks.

    “Every time somebody gets hurt in racing, we need to look behind it and see what we can learn about the tragedy and see what we can do to establish some safety thing that would make it survivable for somebody else in the future,” Roush said. “If there was something to be learned from this, Jason will have an impact, as Dale Earnhardt’s death did, on the generation of drivers that follow him.”

  • Greg Biffle Gives Ford their 1000th Win on Their Birthday at Their Home Track

    Greg Biffle Gives Ford their 1000th Win on Their Birthday at Their Home Track

    Greg Biffle could not have written a more perfect story on Sunday in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.  Partnering with the American Dental Association’s Give Kids A Smile Campaign, grabbing the 1000th victory for Ford Motor Company, and celebrating his victory with his daughter on Father’s Day all made for an unforgettable weekend.

    Capturing the 1000th Ford Win was made all the more special that it happened at Michigan.  Not only is Michigan the “home track” for team owner, Jack Roush, it is also home to the headquarters of Ford Motor Company.  Today’s win was a great birthday present for the Ford Motor Company, who is celebrating their 110th birthday today.

    When asked about today’s victory, Biffle replied, “It is a pretty special day for us all together.  It is Emma’s first victory lane on Father’s Day.  I am thinking about my dad that couldn’t be here who is hopefully watching.  We are thinking about little Charlie Leffler that doesn’t have a father today.  It is a hard fought battle.  It wasn’t easy.  I kept working on this car and working on this car.  The guys did a great job.  The pit stops were flawless.  You know, we beat the 48 today and that says a lot.  He was really, really fast.  Once we got out in clean air we could match up fairly well with the 48.  He made a small mistake trying to catch us.”

    Car owner, Jack Roush, commented on Ford’s 1000th Victory.  He said, “I have been with Ford Motor Company and they have been supporting me for almost 50 years now and we expect to be at our best when we come to MIS and I am glad we could pull it off.  I was a little nervous for a minute there, but I am glad it worked out and glad we could give Ford their 1000th win.

    Biffle has secured his spot in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race with his win today at Michigan.  Winning the Quicken Loans 400 marks Biffle’s 19th victory in 381 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  The win also gives Biffle back-to-back wins at Michigan as he won the Pure Michigan 400 last August.

    Sunday’s race marked another strong performance for Richard Childress Racing’s, Kevin Harvick, who will be leaving the team at the end of the season.  His second place finish today marks his eighth top-10 and fifth top-5 finish this season.  He is currently fourth in the points, just thirteen markers behind third place, Clint Bowyer, and sixty two points behind leader, Jimmie Johnson.

    Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader, Jimmie Johnson, had a strong run today and was closing on leader, Greg Biffle, in the closing laps when a right front tire blew and ended his chances for a victory today.  The same fate took out Johnson’s teammate, Kasey Kahne, while leading.  Kahne had a strong car and was the pick of many in the garage area to be the car to beat today.  Johnson finished the race in 28th position while Kahne finished 38th.

    The woes for Hendrick Motorsports continued when driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, was caught up in a spin by Bobby Labonte on lap five.  When Gordon was asked what happened, he replied, “ Bobby Labonte lost it off of turn two in front of me.  It was just such a slow spin that I didn’t know which way he was going to go, so I had to guess.  I tried to go around him on the outside and that was not the right way.  I don’t know if I would have missed him even if I went to the inside.”  Gordon fell to 16th position in the points, losing five spots today.

    To complete an ill-fated day for Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost an engine on lap 103.  After leading 34 laps today, fans were hoping that Earnhardt Jr. would repeat last year’s win of the Quicken loans 400 and end another losing streak.  Earnhardt Jr. finished in 37th position, and now sits 91 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    The series now heads to the road course at Sonoma, CA for the Toyota Save Mart 350 on June 23rd.