Tag: Michigan International Speedway

  • Bad luck continues for Gordon at Michigan

    Bad luck continues for Gordon at Michigan

    To say the least, it has been a very frustrating season for Jeff Gordon. 14 races into the season, Gordon only has four top-10’s, and an average finish of 16.3. Perhaps the stat that concerns Gordon the most, however, are the three DNF’s. These stats are very uncharacteristic for a Hendrick Motorsports car, and for Gordon himself. Surprisingly, even with all of the adversity the team has faced, they were 11th in points coming into the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    The Alan Gustafson led team had high hopes this weekend. Sunday morning in the garage area Gustafson confirmed to me that, “..they have a good piece.” The team had a respectable 12th place finish at Pocono just a week ago, a track where most feel is a good indicator of how a team can perform at Michigan. Gordon also has an impressive record at the two mile oval. In forty career starts, Gordon has two wins and 25 top-10’s. Gordon also finished sixth in this race last year.

    All of those hopes came to a quick and abrupt end however. After only five laps, the #51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet driven by Bobby Labonte, spun off turn two collecting Gordon. When asked about the incident Gordon replied, “Bobby Labonte just lost it over there in Turn 2. He just did one of those slow spins where I couldn’t tell which direction he was going to go, so I had to guess and I guessed wrong way. I didn’t really have anywhere to go.” Gordon did manage to return to the track and complete a few more laps but was way off the pace.

    Gordon has seemingly has bad luck every time they have a good car. Gordon pointed out, “It seems like we can run all day long when we can’t get the car right but when we finally get the car right, something like this happens.”

    As far as Sunday’s incident, Gordon attributed it to the team’s struggles in qualifying saying, “We started back there and we were moving forward which I’m proud of, but the fact that we were back there.  I put as much blame on myself. I really struggled in this weekend when we went into qualifying trim.  I’ve struggled all year. Shoot, the last two years with qualifying and I don’t know what it is, but we have to get it better.”

    Gordon and his team will try to re-group and recover some points next week at the road course in Sonoma California, a track where Gordon has five wins and a very strong 16 top-10’s in just 20 starts.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 11 Quicken Loans 400 – Michigan International Speedway – June 16, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 11 Quicken Loans 400 – Michigan International Speedway – June 16, 2013

    I’m back after my yearly boycott of one of the two Pocono races, and I come back amidst a shake up in both the number 1 seed for The Chase, and a hot streak out of the Stewart-Hass stable has mixed up the standings for the two Wild Card spots at the end of the season. Matt Kenseth held the advantage for the top seed in The Chase with three early victories but now he’s got a companion in fellow champion Jimmie Johnson, who recorded his third win of the year last Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Remember, each win in the regular season is worth three bonus points when the Chase begins in mid-September, so winning races now can really help our your cause in September.

    Kenseth, a two-time Michigan winner, arguably has been the season’s fastest commodity leading 11 of 14 races. The 2003 champ’s pace has sometimes proved too fast for his JGR Toyota, which has suffered two engine-related DNFs – something to watch for this weekend, as Michigan tends to be rough on engines.

    Johnson peaked early, winning the Daytona 500. Nothing’s happened over the next 13 races to suggest that’s anything but a good thing for the Hendrick Motorsports team. In fact, his best vote of confidence comes from crew chief Chad Knaus following Sunday’s dominant victory at Pocono:

    “Jimmie and I are in a really good spot. Jimmie is switched on right now,” said Knaus in the post race press-conference. “He’s as good or better than I’ve ever seen him.”

    An important stat for Jimmie’s start to this 2013 season is in four of his five championship seasons, he won two or more races through the first Pocono event – he’s won 3 so far this season. Considering he has finished among the top five in 7 of this season’s 14 races and led a combined 271 laps in his past two starts, I think this team is really clicking, and when this team is clicking, WATCH OUT.

    Taking a look at the other end of The Chase field, you’ve got red-hot Tony Stewart. Stewart’s latest feat is disproving a mysterious theory that the current points system works against recovery from an early season filled with misfortune. It took Tony just 3 races to erase that misconception.
    Tony left Darlington on Mother’s Day weekend ranked 21st in the standings, but he enters Father’s Day weekend in 13th, but more importantly just 17 points out of the 10th spot in points. In just 3 races, Stewart has closed the gap on 10th by 45 points with 3 solid finishes, including the win at Dover.

    As far as Michigan goes, the track itself is a 2-mile D-shaped oval situated in the “Irish Hills” of Michigan. It was previously known as the “sister track” to Texas World Speedway, not to be confused with Texas Motor Speedway of course, which was actually used as a blueprint for the construction of California Speedway. Michigan is recognized as one of motorsports’ premier facilities because of its wide surface and fast speeds. Because there are no restrictor plates at Michigan, it’s considered the fastest track in NASCAR as corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 MPH. There’s a lot of room to race at Michigan, creating a lot of passing and great opportunities for 3 & 4 wide restarts.

    Michigan Picks

    Winner Pick
    On Wednesday, I picked Carl Edwards while previewing Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 with Greg of the Prime Sports Network. It’s a pick I am happy with considering 16 drivers have won from the pole at Michigan, making it the winningest starting spot in the field. Edwards took the pole on Friday with a qualifying speed topping 202 MPH.

    On top of taking the pole on Friday, Edwards boasts the series-best average finish of 8.2 over the course of his career, the second-best average running position, over 2,500 laps run in the top 15, and a Driver Rating of 105.2 which is good enough for 3rd best on the list of active drivers.
    Even in the horrific 2012 season for Carl Edwards, he managed to finish 11th in the June race after starting 42nd, and 6th after he started outside the front row. Considering his success here over the years, I still like Carl as a pick this week.

    Dark Horse Pick
    I didn’t have a longshot on Wednesday during the preview show with Greg, and unfortunately don’t have one for this Saturday Pick’s column this week. To me, there is so much talent starting at the front of the field this week, the top-10 finishing spots are going to be claimed by the top guys. I don’t see too much room for any drivers to “shock the world” this week in Michigan.

    A melancholy Godspeed this week to Jason Leffler, who passed following a Sprint Car crash in Bridgeport, NJ earlier this week. I was a fan of Leffler throughout his career, and am saddened by the loss of one of the true racers of the NASCAR community.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head to wine country…You Stay Classy NASCAR Nation!

  • Threat of Rain a Recipe for Exciting Nationwide Finish at Michigan

    Threat of Rain a Recipe for Exciting Nationwide Finish at Michigan

    As rain loomed over Michigan International Speedway, every driver scrambled for position, and every crew chief formulated a strategy in an effort to beat Mother Nature.  Several teams elected not to pit in an effort to gain track position hoping to be at the front of the pack in case a red flag fell on the field.   A timely caution gave No. 7 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet driver, Regan Smith the track position he needed to grab his first victory at Michigan International Speedway.

    Winning the 22nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250 is Smith’s second victory this season after winning the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway, and is his third victory in 116 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.  JR Racing driver, Smith, has finished in the top-10 in eleven consecutive races.  He now leads Sam Hornish Jr. by 58 points in the Nationwide Series points standings.

    No. 32 Cessna Chevrolet driver, Kyle Larson, posted his first top-10 finish and matched his career-best finish at Michigan International Speedway by finishing in second behind Smith.  This marks his eighth top-10 finish in 2013.

    Driver of the No. 33 Menards/Rheem Chevrolet, Paul Menard, posted his seventh top-10 finish in eight races at Michigan International Speedway by finishing third in Saturday’s race.  Primarily competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Saturday’s race marked Menard’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series start this season.

    Another Sprint Cup Series regular,  Kyle Busch, finished the race in fourth position.  When crew chief of the Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Adam Stevens, was asked if it was a difficult race to call knowing that rain was in the area, he responded, “The radar showed the rain here pretty much all day.  It wasn’t hitting the ground.  I’m glad we got to run the full distance—it took a while to make some progress, but we did and we got the car better.  We just weren’t going to make it any better on pit road.  I really felt like if we could have had a good restart on the last restart that we were in the catbird seat, but the last two restarts just didn’t go our way.  I felt like we had the balances good and we were going to get it, but we were just missing something with overall speed—kind of missing it in qualifying and missed it today in the race too.  All in all, we finished and we don’t have a scratch on it so we’ll take it.”  This marks Busch’s eleventh top-10 finish in fourteen NASCAR Nationwide Series starts this season.

    The rain around the Michigan International Speedway did not cooperate with the No. 77 Bandit Chippers Toyota of Parker Kligerman.  Kligerman’s crew chief, Eric Phillips, molded his team’s race strategy on the high possibility of rain causing the race to be red flagged.  Kligerman did not pit when he had the opportunity gambling on the fact that the rain would come before they ran out of fuel.  It was a gamble that did not pay off.   The No. 77 team finished in 25th when they were forced to pit under green.  When asked if he was praying for rain while leading, Kligerman commented, “Yeah, we played it perfectly for that situation and I’m not down on Eric (Phillips, crew chief) or anyone about that.  I was fully for it, but it sucks when you run top-five all day.  This Bandit Chippers Camry right in front of a Bandit Chippers home crowd and a car that could win on speed alone and –we drove away from the field there—and it just didn’t go our way.  There was debris everywhere the last 20 laps.  Of course, no one threw a caution, so we ran out of fuel and finished wherever we finished.  Disappointing day result-wise, but a lot of positives in terms of the speed we had in our Camry and we’ll get them next time.”

    At a track where fuel strategy races are common, today’s chess match with Mother Nature put an interesting twist on things that left some teams frustrated  as Regan Smith declared check mate at the end of the day.

  • Dillon Makes Nationwide Series History at Michigan

    Dillon Makes Nationwide Series History at Michigan

    Driver of the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet, Austin Dillon, captured the Coors Light Pole Award for the 22nd Annual Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway.  With a qualifying lap of 37.523 seconds, 191.882 mph, Dillon broke the track qualifying record of 190.375 mph, which he set at Michigan last year.  This is Dillon’s seventh pole in 57 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. Today’s pole award marks Dillon’s fourth consecutive pole, which sets a NASCAR Nationwide Series record.  Dillon’s previous three poles came at Charlotte, Dover, and Iowa with top ten finishes in both Dover and Iowa.

    Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing teammate, Paul Menard, will be starting in 2nd position. The 22nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250 marks Menard’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series start of 2013.  This is the fourth top-10 start out of eight races at Michigan International Speedway.

    RAB Racing driver, No. 99 Alex Bowman, was the fastest qualifying rookie for the 22nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250.  Bowman will be starting in fifth position driving his St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Toyota.

    Last week’s winner of Iowa’s Dupont Pioneer 250 and newlywed, Trevor Bayne, will be starting in fourth position in the Roush Clean Tech Ford.  Bayne has six top-10 finishes this season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is currently 9th in points standings.

    Nationwide Series points leader and driver of the Taxslayer.com Chevrolet, Regan Smith, didn’t fare as well in qualifying for the 22nd Annual Truck Parts 250.  He will be starting in 20th position with ten top-10 finishes this season and one win at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Sprint Cup Series regular, Kyle Busch, who has dominated the Nationwide Series this season will be starting in 14th position in his Monster Energy Toyota.  No. 54 Busch has won three Nationwide Series pole awards, and has had nine top-10 finishes with six wins in 2013.  Busch has one win and four top-10 finishes at Michigan International Speedway.

    The green flag will fall on the 22nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Saturday at 2:15 pm EST.

  • Regan Smith in the midst of his best season

    Regan Smith in the midst of his best season

    Regan Smith is having the best season of his NASCAR career. Smith started competing in the Nationwide Series in 2002. After competing in a few part time seasons, he competed full time in 2006 for Rensi Motorsports. He finished 20th in the standings at the end of that season.

    Smith then began competing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2007 driving the #01 US Army Chevrolet for Bobby Ginn. He only started seven races that season, only leading one lap, but perhaps more importantly at this stage of his career, he completed 99% of his laps.

    As things progressed, Smith eventually found himself driving for Barney Visser and his Furniture Row Race team. After a part time first season in 2009, the team went full time in 2010.  After, somewhat of a lackluster year finishing 28th in the points with no top ten finishes, 2011 improved. Smith actually led 36 laps, and had five top tens, with his first Sprint Cup victory coming at Darlington. Smith’s win at the legendary track earned him a ton of attention. He seemed to be on his way to the next level.

    2012 did not bring the success that everyone expected. Late in the season, the team decided to release Smith in favor of former series champion Kurt Busch. As they say, when one door closes, another opens. The release from Furniture Row Racing could be the best thing that ever happened to Smith. That very weekend, Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr was diagnosed with a concussion after a wreck at Talladega. Smith was pegged to fill in for the series’ most popular driver in the #88 Amp Energy Chevrolet.

    Smith suffered an engine failure in his first start. However, he turned in an impressive seventh place finish at Kansas a week later. In the season ending race at Homestead, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Nationwide Series team, JR Motorsports, decided to give Smith a chance in their Hendrick Cars.com Chevy. Smith immediately found success, winning his only Nationwide start of the season.

    Smith’s performance earned him the chance to replace driver Danica Patrick, who was headed to the Sprint Cup series, in the team’s #7 Chevy Camaro. The partnership between Smith and JR Motorsports has been an instant success. After a 14th and 11th place finish in the first two races of the season, Smith has been on a tear, stringing together ten straight top ten finishes. Included in the string of top tens is a fascinating win in almost dark conditions at Talladega Superspeedway. Smith has an average finish of 7.2, not bad considering the number of Cup regulars that seem to infiltrate the series on a regular basis.

    This amazing string of finishes has accomplished another feat for Smith. He is the first JR Motorsports driver to lead the series points. Heading into the race at Michigan, Smith has a strong 23 point lead. Smith commented on his season Friday saying, “It’s been a good start to the season for us with the TaxSlayer Chevy. We certainly want to keep our momentum up. Ideally, we can build on our points lead this weekend.”

    Smith also contributed a lot of the team’s success this season to crew chief, Greg Ives, stating, “I’ve enjoyed working with Greg a lot this year. He is as even keeled as they come. Nothing seems to faze this guy. If we’re having a bad day on the racetrack, he is the same tone as if we just won the race. He doesn’t let anything get to him, which in turn helps me because I have a tendency to get wound up very easily. He does a good job of keeping me focused and calm.”

    Though, his record at MIS is not that great, he has an average finish position of 25.5 and a best finish of 20th, Smith started off the weekend at MIS by posting the eleventh fastest lap in final practice.  The team was a little off in qualifying. The #7 TaxSlayer Chevy Camaro will take the green in 20th place on Saturday. Given his strong performance this season and the confidence he obviously has in his team, Smith should be able to find his way to the front, and protect his points lead.

  • Will Earnhardt Jr.’s Superman Paint Scheme Give Him Super Powers in Michigan?

    Will Earnhardt Jr.’s Superman Paint Scheme Give Him Super Powers in Michigan?

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will be driving the National Guard “Man of Steel” Chevrolet in the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.  Earnhardt Jr. is currently fourth in the points although he has been winless since claiming victory of the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 last year in Michigan.

    Could the Superman themed paint scheme on the No. 88 Chevrolet give Earnhardt Jr. the edge he needs to repeat his victory at Michigan International Speedway?

    When asked about last year’s win and this paint scheme, Earnhardt Jr. commented, “We are excited about the car.  The car looks great.  It’s not difficult to come up with a cool paint scheme when you are working with Superman and like we did last year with Batman and all that.  It’s pretty simple to come up with something really cool and fun.  Definitely makes that kind of job easier.  I think the care does look good.  Hopefully it’s as fast as it looks good.  That is going to be more important to be able to repeat and get the win this weekend.  We feel pretty good coming in to this race.  We had a great run last week that sort of hopefully got us back in the right direction.  We talked about it last week after the race, but we kind of had some misses here lately and not many hits.  As far as showing up to the race track and being competitive and getting the job done putting together a full weekend.  We haven’t been able to do that.  We started the season off so promising the best that I had ever started a season.  It just seemed like things were going so perfectly and it’s the way it is in this sport.  You will think you have everything going in the right direction and then odds and fate and everything else get in the way.”

    Rick Hendrick commented that Earnhardt Jr. and his team are performing better coming into this race than they were one year ago when they ended up winning.

    In response Earnhardt Jr. said, “Well it’s probably better to see the truth from his position on the other side of the fence so to speak.  It’s more difficult to see growth and improvement within the team when you are a part of the team.  It’s kind of like when you are a kid and you are getting taller.  You are 10, 11, 12 years old and you are wanting to be six foot three (inches) one day you can’t tell you are getting taller unless you are marking the door jam.  Otherwise you wouldn’t notice any change of height.  That is kind of what it feels like when you are part of the team.  You don’t really notice when things get a little bit better or things get a little bit worse.”

    Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an impressive nine top 10 finishes this season, he has only led 48 laps. Hopefully, his strong history here at Michigan coupled with the momentum from last week’s third place finish and the upbeat attitude associated with this week’s sponsor will create the recipe for success Sunday in the Quicken Loans 400.

  • Biffle Races to “Give Kids a Smile” in Michigan

    Biffle Races to “Give Kids a Smile” in Michigan

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Greg Biffle, has teamed up with the American Dental Association to raise dental awareness this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.  The Give Kids a Smile campaign is a dental education program that is currently in its 11th year.  The program provides dental services to more than 400,000 underserved children.

    Driver of the No.16 3M Ford Fusion, Greg Biffle, first teamed up with 3M ESPE Dental, the ADA Foundation, and Henry Schein in 2011 to spread the Give Kids a Smile message to the NASCAR audience.   Biffle’s support includes a public service announcement featuring himself and ongoing outreach to parents and children through dental offices, community events, and media.

    The American Dental Association president, Dr. Robert Faiella, comented on their organization’s partnership with Biffle. He said, “Greg Biffle’s support of Give Kids A Smile will help us get the prevention message out to more families.  We applaud his generous efforts, as well as those of the program sponsors.”

    When asked about having dental health on his car this weekend for kids, Biffle commented, “Yeah, it’s a great thing that 3M does with the American Dental Association with the Give Kids A Smile program.  A lot of children go with less than a satisfactory level of dental care and this is a good way to build awareness for that.  They do a tremendous amount of screenings here at the race track for kids and build awareness around the country about how important it is to have proper dental health, so we’re excited to have them on the car.  I think this is the third or fourth year and we’ve done it at different race tracks.  Last year it was Richmond and this year it’s here at Michigan, so we’re certainly excited about the program.  3M does a lot to build awareness for a lot of different causes and this is a good one.”

    Biffle’s No. 16 Ford Fusion will feature a Give Kids A Smile logo on the hood, roof and bumper, along with the logos for 3M ESPE and Henry Schein Cares on the bumper to spread the important dental health message.  Race fans can also visit the 3M display in the midway for healthy dental tips, fun family activities, prizes, and meet Greg Biffle on Saturday morning in the Kids Zone Area.

  • Quicken Loans 400 Quick Facts Preview

    Quicken Loans 400 Quick Facts Preview

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the Michigan International Speedway this weekend for the fifteenth race of the 2013 points season, the Quicken Loans 400 held on Sunday June 16th.

    Forty-four drivers will attempt to qualify for Sunday’s race, which means after qualifying one team will not be in the field.

    Fifteen active Sprint Cup Series drivers have previous wins at Michigan, but none more than driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, Mark Martin.

    The thirty-one year Sprint Cup Series veteran, Mark Martin, has the most wins at Michigan International Speedway among active drivers.  His five win Michigan history lands him fourth in the most wins at this track among all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.  Martin’s 31 top 10 finishes and 965 lead laps gives him the overall record for top 10 finishes at Michigan and third all-time in the most laps lead.

    With a history of winning five poles at Michigan International Speedway, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jeff Gordon holds the record for most poles won among active drivers and is third on the overall list behind former Sprint Cup Series champions David Pearson and Bill Elliot, who won 10 and 6 poles respectively.

    Driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, Carl Edwards has been in Victory Lane twice at the Michigan International Speedway and has a best average finish among active drivers of 8.2.

    Two-time Michigan International Speedway winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will look to repeat his success at Michigan from last year.  Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard “Man of Steel” Chevrolet ended a long losing streak last year when he won the 2012 Quicken Loans 400, and is looking to end another losing streak this weekend.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will qualify for the Quicken Loans 400 on Friday at 3:35 pm.

    The Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway will get underway Sunday, June 16th at 1:00pm.

     

  • Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    After having races in three different states last weekend for the three national series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series join back up for a companion weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the bad fast two-mile oval located in the Irish Hills of Michigan. The high speeds generated at the track are due in large part to the repave that the track underwent last season, as well as the long straightaways and the wide, sweeping corners that tend to produce three and four wide racing.

    Sprint Cup Series – Quicken Loans 400

    After taking on the “Tricky Triangle” in Pocono last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads west to Michigan for race No. 15 of the season. Many are expecting a blazing fast race with the combination of the new pavement from last year and the new Gen6 car that has been breaking track records all season long. If that trend continues this weekend, the track record of 203.241 mph set last season at this race by Marcos Ambrose could very well be in danger of falling.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 17 2 9 13 0 275 21.1 8.2
    Matt Kenseth 27 2 12 17 0 284 18.3 9.6
    Jeff Gordon 40 2 18 25 5 954 11.1 11.7
    Greg Biffle 20 3 9 12 1 517 13.2 11.8
    Tony Stewart 28 1 11 19 0 224 19.4 11.9
    Denny Hamlin 14 2 5 7 0 149 14.5 13.6
    Mark Martin 54 5 18 31 1 965 11.7 14.0
    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 27 2 6 10 2 293 15.0 14.8
    Kevin Harvick 24 1 3 8 0 149 18.1 14.8
    Jimmie Johnson 22 0 4 9 0 565 8.8 15.2

    Who To Watch: With car owner Jack Roush hailing from Michigan and some of the Roush organization being based in Michigan, it is no surprise that Ford drivers run well at this track. Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush-Fenway Racing, leads all active drivers in the stats category at Michigan with two wins, nine top fives, 13 top tens, 275 laps led, and an average finish of 8.2 in 17 races.

    Matt Kenseth, former teammate to Edwards and current driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, also has run well at Michigan with two wins, 12 top fives, 17 top tens, 284 laps led, and an average finish of 9.6 in 27 races. However, Toyota’s recent decision to detune their engines in favor of better reliability may hamper Kenseth and the other Toyota drivers at Michigan, where an engine that can produce big horsepower and speed can provide a sizeable advantage over the competition.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Jeff Gordon, with two wins, 18 top fives, 25 top tens, five poles, 954 laps led, and an average finish of 11.7 in 40 races; Greg Biffle, with three wins, nine top fives, 12 top tens, one pole, 517 laps led, and an average finish of 11.8 in 20 starts; Tony Stewart, who has been on a roll since winning at Dover two weeks ago, has one win, 11 top fives, 19 top tens, 224 laps led, and an average finish of 11.9 in 28 starts; Denny Hamlin, with two wins, five top fives, seven top tens, 149 laps led, and an average finish of 13.6; and Mark Martin, with five wins, 18 top fives, 31 top tens, one pole, 965 laps led, and an average finish of 14.0 in 54 races.

    We can’t forget about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. either, with both of his Michigan wins equating to his last two Sprint Cup Series wins, including his win in this race one year ago. In addition to his two wins, Earnhardt, Jr. has six top fives, 10 top tens, two poles, 293 laps led, and an average finish of 14.8 in 27 races. Earnhardt will also be running a special “Man of Steel” paint scheme this weekend, and the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet could very well take a superhero themed car to Victory Lane for the second year in a row.

    Nationwide Series – Alliance Truck Parts 250

    The first standalone race of the season for the Nationwide Series at Iowa last weekend surely did not disappoint as the race that was postponed to Sunday due to rain saw Trevor Bayne overtake a dominant Austin Dillon in the closing laps to win. The Nationwide drivers head north to Michigan this weekend for another companion weekend with their Sprint Cup counterparts. With only a few Sprint Cup regulars running this race, we could possibly see a Nationwide regular get to Victory Lane once again on Saturday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 5 1 4 4 0 119 7.4 4.8
    Joey Logano 4 1 1 4 0 31 6.8 5.0
    Brian Vickers 5 0 2 3 1 114 5.2 9.0
    Paul Menard 7 0 2 6 1 50 12.9 9.3
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 1 2 0 14 14.0 9.5
    Austin Dillon 2 0 1 1 1 11 19.0 12.0
    Brian Scott 3 0 0 1 0 0 15.0 13.7
    Elliott Sadler 8 0 0 4 0 10 20.6 14.5
    Michael Annett 4 0 0 0 0 0 18.5 15.0
    Trevor Bayne 3 0 1 1 0 1 5.7 15.3

    Who To Watch: Two of the three Sprint Cup regulars running on Saturday, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, lead in the stats category at Michigan with each driver having one win apiece. Busch has slightly better stats than Logano with four top fives, four top tens, 119 laps led and an average finish of 4.8 in five starts versus Logano’s one top five, four top tens, 31 laps led and an average finish of 5.0 in four starts. Logano and Busch are also the only drivers that will be racing on Saturday that have a Nationwide Series win at Michigan.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Brian Vickers, with two top fives, three top tens, one pole, 114 laps led, and an average finish of 9.0 in five starts; Paul Menard, the third of the three Sprint Cup regulars, with two top fives, six top tens, one pole, 50 laps led, and an average finish of 9.3 in seven starts; Justin Allgaier, with one top five, two top tens, 14 laps led, and an average finish of 9.5 in four starts; and Austin Dillon, who nearly won last week in Iowa, with one top five, one top ten, one pole, 11 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0 in two starts.

  • Love of Car Inspired Newest NASCAR Novel ‘Race From the Finish’

    Love of Car Inspired Newest NASCAR Novel ‘Race From the Finish’

    While there has been a great deal of talk about the Gen 6 race car, with NASCAR banking on fans falling in love with the newly branded stock cars, an historical love affair with a car, in this case a 1956 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe, inspired a new NASCAR book entitled ‘Race from the Finish’.

    The book, written by D.T. Dignan, is about a 1950s fictional racer John Powers who had one dream, to break into the big time in the burgeoning sport of NASCAR. In the novel, Powers cuts his racing teeth on the many new dirt tracks around his hometown of Pittsburgh, moving into the Midwest Associate of Race Cars new circuit, the precursor of today’s ARCA racing series, and ultimately into NASCAR

    Dignan acknowledged that the new Gen 6 NASCAR race car really is a throwback to racing of old, particularly during the time when her book is set. And, just like in the book, the point of racing cars on the track was to sell them in the show room the following week.

    “I think the new car is more true to stock car racing in the days of the book,” Dignan said. “I think that’s interesting to see.”

    “Back then, much of it was a marketing thing as the car companies realized that it would sell more cars after every race.”

    For Dignan, her inspiration for her book was all about the car. In fact, the car on which the story was based, a 1965 Chevy Bel Air, had personal, as well as professional, meaning to her.

    “My dad had a 1956 Chevy Bel Air and he courted my mother in that car,” Dignan said. “I always thought it would be so fun to own one.”

    “About ten years ago, I came across this car and bought it,” Dignan continued. “I did it because I wanted to drive it and show my dad and take him for rides in it, which he’s been able to do.”

    “We participated in different car shows and I notice so many people drawn to her and you can tell they are just remembering,” Dignan said. “That’s why I wanted the 1956 car to be in the climax of the story.”

    So, how did the car, which held so many memories, become inspiration enough for an entire novel about racing from back in the day and back in time?

    “At that time the 1956 Bel Air had quite a powerful engine and so came onto the racing circuit,” Dignan said. “So, I imagined what it would be like to have that car race and the type of person that might strive for that and want to race that car.”

    “Suddenly, I had an idea for a story and that’s how the main character was born,” Dignan continued. “I had a lot of fun doing quite a bit of research on historic racing and the different tracks around the area, especially in the Pittsburgh area where the story is set.”

    “There were a lot of new tracks coming up because it was becoming quite popular to see folks get into racing,” Dignan said. “The book basically deals with historic racing.”

    “It’s more character driven but there’s quite a bit of history in it concerning NASCAR, especially in the 1950s.”

    Dignan had to do all kinds of research, both in libraries and on-line, in order to bring her book and characters to life. She also did some research right in her home state of Michigan, including seeing some of the old race cars from the past.

    “I found books about racing and I also did research on line and also found some of the old racers and their videos back in the day,” Dignan said. “That was fascinating to watch those cars go around the dirt tracks, with the racing and the accidents they had.”

    “I had to do that to explain what would happen to the driver during the race and to explain the movement of the cars in written form,” Dignan continued. “I wanted to have the reader picture the race in their mind and I had to watch video of actual footage to see what it was like.”

    “Basically, I did every type of research you could find,” Dignan said. “We have some historical racing information here in Michigan.”

    “In fact, we have an actual Hudson Hornet here so I went to check that out,” Dignan continued. “Buck Baker’s car is in Greenfield Village so there are a lot of different resources to tap into.”

    Dignan’s research would not have been complete, however, without a visit to a modern-day race track. So, off she went to Michigan International Speedway to experience the thrill of NASCAR racing up close and personal.

    “I actually experienced my first NASCAR race here in Michigan studying for the book,” Dignan said. “It was incredible.”

    “There was one interesting moment when we went under the grandstand and you could get up next to the fence next to the track,” Dignan continued. “You’re basically eye level with the wheels.”

    “That was pretty intense as you watched them zip by with all that power and speed,” Dignan said. “So, I developed a knowledge and appreciation for racing because of the research for the book.”

    So, is her fictional driver John Powers patterned after any of the drivers, past or present, which she encountered during her research?

    “I’m sure that there is a little bit of several different drivers in him just from watching the footage and being at the track,” Dignan said. “But he’s more my own creation.”

    “Actually the character develops over time as driving is his sole passion, to the point where it becomes at the expense of other things and people,” Dignan continued. “The climax of the story is that you see that in a race at Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, which was an actual race.”

    “It was the only NASCAR race on that track in 1956 and Buck Baker won the race,” Dignan said. “That’s kind of interesting because I wanted to have the ’56 Chevy be the car he was driving at the climax of the story, so I had to work the whole timing of the story around that.”

    “And it just so happened that the race took place three hours from Pittsburgh where he hails from,” Dignan continued. “That was the only NASCAR race at that track that ever happened in that year.”

    Dignan, a most passionate author, is convinced that NASCAR fans today would really enjoy her story about NASCAR racing in the past. In fact, she thinks it would give fans a whole new perspective on the history of the sport.

    “I think they would enjoy it because it would give them a little bit different perspective about racing from an historical standpoint, when it was newer and very different,” Dignan said. “I think for them to realize what these guys did and went through to pursue their racing dreams would give them a whole new appreciation.”

    “They didn’t have driving schools back then,” Dignan continued. “They didn’t have big sponsors back then.”

    “Basically the guys had to teach themselves,” Dignan said. “They had to have support and a lot of guts.”

    “They had to work hard to get money to support their racing careers,” Dignan continued. “I think fans would find that interesting.”

    Race fans interested in reading ‘Race From the Finish’ can order it from Barnes and Noble or Amazon, however, it can also be ordered from her website www.racefromthefinish.com. An added bonus is if fans order the book from her website, Dignan will personally sign it.