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  • The Countdown Hits Three: Who Will Make the 2013 Chase?

    The Countdown Hits Three: Who Will Make the 2013 Chase?

    Three night races are all that remain before the 2013 chase field is set. The sand in the hour glass is running out and the time to make something happen is now. The tension in the garage is palpable and the intense feeling of trepidation among the teams in the danger zone is growing with every passing race. Procuring a chase berth means you have a shot to become the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) titlist. Glory, money and a place among NASCAR’s immortals; that is what they are all fighting for. They are fighting to ensure the longevity of their titles hopes…it’s an obvious fact that you can”t win the championship if you don’t secure a spot in the chase first

    Multi-million dollar sponsors pay to see you put their car in the elite twelve. Millions of loyal fans cheer you on until their voices become raspy because they want to see you make postseason headlines. The pressure to succeed is always there but it isn’t truly felt until this time of the year rolls around. The stakes are high and failure isn’t an option for chase hopefuls although failure will be the inevitable result of the futile efforts by some. A position suddenly means so much more now and you will see drivers throw a whole race away as they try desperately to gain just one more point; the point that could make their season or break it. The innocuous driving that we’ve watched all year will rescind as we get closer and closer to Richmond. This is a race within a race; one none of these men are willing to lose.

    Photo Credit: LAT Photographic
    Photo Credit: LAT Photographic

    To earn your place in the 2013 chase, you must first conquer the treacherous Bristol Motor Speedway. When you go to Bristol, you leave your manners at the entrance gate. The racing will be rough, tempers will flare, sparks will fly under the lights and sheet metal will most certainly be twisted into 3,000lb piles of smoldering wreckage. To survive Bristol, a driver must take what they can and give nothing back. They must race every lap like it’s the last because if they don’t, the race leader will be knocking on their rear bumper shortly as he proceeds to lap the field. A driver can be their own worst enemy at this concrete Colosseum and out of control emotions have ruined the races of even the greatest racers in the past. This track will bring you to your knees and is notorious for destroying the dreams of many chase hopefuls in a heartbeat.

    Atlanta Motor Speedway is no Bristol but it’s no walk in the park either. At speeds that will break the 200mph barrier and restarts that will see the pack fanning out three and four wide; a steady hand on the wheel and nerves of steel are a necessity at this historic venue. This is the penultimate race before the chase commences so a bad run here will most likely doom the chase hopes for that individual. The last ten winners at Atlanta all went on to make the chase; 2006 was the last time that didn’t happen. This race is notorious for being hard on engines making patience a virtue and drivers must walk the thin line of aggression and over driving as they try to get all they can without making any imprudent decisions. That’s why drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards have all excelled here.

    Lastly, we have Richmond. Richmond will be all or nothing for a lot of people while others will do their best to survive the inevitable short track carnage that will ensue and bring home a solid finish…easier said than done. Being a short track and the final race to make something happen; Richmond will definitely put on one hell of a show. Desperate drivers will do desperate things in order to get their team in the chase and then there are always the ones that are already locked in but want some more of those precious bonus points. Carl Edwards knows all to well how important those bonus points can be. It will be a wild night under the lights at Richmond; you can be sure of that. The race will feature some of the most aggressive driving of the year and with everything that’s on the line; there’s sure to be some incensed drivers when the dust settles.

    With all this being said, one looming question remains…who will make the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup chase?

    The Solid Six – “The solid 6″ is what I’m calling the top six in points right now. They are Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Four of them have won multiple races, everyone in the top five is a full race ahead of 11th and all of them have shown a lot of muscle this year either by winning or with consistency. They will all surely make the chase unless something catastrophic or unforeseen happens like the unfortunate situation with Tony Stewart.

    Photo Credit: USA Today
    Photo Credit: USA Today

    The Danger Zone –This label is applied to the drivers just barely within or just outside the top 10 and are currently winless in 2013. Those drivers are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon. We have quite an impressive group of drivers in this category but despite how good of a driver they all are; some will miss out on a chance at the 2013 championship. Dale Jr. has only recently had his name added to this anxious and nervous list after a few poor finishes have all but caused his cushion over 11th to vanish. Jr. is is not known to win many races so that might make his fans a little nervous with him so close to the cutoff. I have some good news though…the next three tracks are all ones Earnhardt has been fast at in the past so you shouldn’t be too concerned about him unless the bad luck that has hindered him lately continues.

    Here’s something no one saw coming…defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski has yet to win this year and is right on the edge of falling out of the top 10. Last month, I would have told you that he’s done but my opinion has been altered after his last three performances. The No.2 team seems to have finally found their niche again and are back to clicking away great runs on a weekly basis. Bristol is one of Brad’s best tracks and I firmly believe that the reigning champ will have a presence in the chase this year.

    Speaking of champs…how about Jeff Gordon? He finds himself in the middle of the danger zone and he’s beginning to make that a habit lately to the displeasure of his many fans but 4-time seems to always get the job done in the end. I’m sorry but the feel good story of Richmond last year won’t do it again in 2013 and that’s not a knock on Jeff. His team hasn’t shown much strength this year and look no further than the Pure Michigan 400 for proof of that. I don’t see them pointing this sinking ship in the right direction in time to make the chase but they will hopefully turn it around in 2014.

    Kurt Busch is another former champion that’s trying to hold his ground in the top 10 with no wins. He has turned a lot of heads this year driving for Furniture Row Racing. He’s made that team a contender on a weekly basis and if fate was kinder (and his pit crew was faster/made less mistakes), he’d have multiple wins already. Based on the way they are performing at every kind of track this year, I see the flat black No.78 in the chase this year. He he will most certainly win a race in 2013 but maybe not before Richmond so I count on him holding his own inside the top 10.

    Wild Card Race – This category is fairly self-explanatory. It’s the guys that have wins but find themselves in the danger zone. They are Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman. Kasey Kahne is the only driver in this group that has multiple wins in 2013 and he will definitely make the chase in my opinion either via a wild card or by positioning himself inside the top 10. He’s shown a lot of muscle this year and I’m sticking to my prediction that I made back in March; he will be a threat for the championship regardless of his recent travails.

    I believe that Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr will both put up a valiant effort but in the end, it will be to no avail. I see “lame duck” Ryan Newman taking the wild card while these two endure a very poignant moment as they realize that a chase berth has slipped through their fingers. Newman is motivated and has something to fight for besides just a spot in the chase which makes him a much more volatile opponent. He’s also Stewart-Haas’ only hope to win the title now and it would be foolish to underestimate the tenacity and determination of the “Rocket Man.” I predict that he will make his way into the chase at the expense of Truex Jr. and Biffle.

    Photo Credit: Simon Scoggins
    Photo Credit: Simon Scoggins

    The proverbial wild card in this wild card race has to be Joey Logano. His win in the “Motor City” gained him credence as a threat for the wild card but my feelings regarding Joey’s chase chances are still ambivalent. A driver becomes unpredictable after tasting victory lane for the first time this far into a season. They may suddenly go on a tear and catapult themselves into chase contention or they may just quietly miss out on all the postseason fun.

    Just look at Ryan Newman for proof of what I’m talking about. He has spent a lot more time up front since his surprise win in the Brickyard 400. I’ve always said that motivation and confidence has an uncanny way of giving a driver a few extra horses under the hood. Joey had a great run at Bristol in March before Denny Hamlin found his rear bumper so don’t count this guy out but only time will tell if he is truly a contender or just a pretender.

    All Or Nothing – The “all or nothing” guys is a very dangerous contingent of drivers due to the obvious fact that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The only way to keep their chase hopes alive is if they win. They are the drivers in the teens that have no wins and haven’t shown that they have the ability to make a run for the top 10. Said drivers are Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola. All three of them are stretches to make the chase and would most likely need two wins to make it. I highly doubt that any of them will get even one win before the chase but the chance is still there so keep an eye on them if any of the three should end up winning Bristol or Atlanta.

    It will be very interesting as we watch the best NASCAR has to offer battle tooth and nail to procure a cede in the 2013 chase in these final three races. Now I’d like to hear your thoughts…feel free to post your theories on who makes the chase below and I’d love to debate it with you!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

    At a track known as tricky, with a bowling sponsor for its second race of the season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 40th annual GoBowling.com 400, at Pocono Raceway.

    Surprising:  Probably most surprising about the Pocono race weekend was what followed shortly thereafter, with top-ten finisher Tony Stewart flipping in a sprint car accident at Southern Iowa Speedway, which resulted in a fractured leg.

    This was eerily and scarily ironic after joking with the media during his Pocono availability about his sprint car racing escapades, including a flip prior to the Pocono race.

    Stewart had to undergo surgery and because of the break of both his tibia and fibula, Stewart Haas Racing announced that Max Papis will pilot Smoke’s Cup ride at the Glen.

    Not Surprising:  In a Pocono race weekend where the victors in both the ARCA and Truck Series were determined on restarts, it was not surprising that the winner of the Cup race Kasey Kahne also made it to the checkered flag thanks to a restart.

    “I about gave it away,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet said after scoring his second win of the season, as well as his second victory at Pocono. “I spun the tires a little bit and Jeff (Gordon) got a great jump and Kurt (Busch) pushed me all the way to Turn 1, which really helped.”

    “And then I had one opportunity,” Kahne continued. “It was either go for it and make it work or not.”

    “It was a great race.”

    Surprising:  A pair of birthday boys, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch scored surprisingly good finishes on their special days. The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet and the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet finished second and third respectively.

    “It’s funny how our emotions go up and down in this sport,” Gordon said. “Before the race, if you told me that I’d finish second, I’d say that was a great birthday gift.”

    “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get this win.”

    “This was a phenomenal run today,” Busch said. “Right now, we’re getting the job done.”

    “So, I’m happy for this finish and this team and just the job we’re doing.”

    Not Surprising:  The vibration plaguing Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to be a hot topic, with the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet discussing it even after his top five finish.

    “Well, we changed every part on the car but the engine,” Junior said. “We got it to the point where we could drive it.”

    “I felt good coming in here and thought we might win the race, but we came up a little short.”

    Surprising:  Timmy Hill was the surprising Rookie of the Race after finishing 27th in his No. 32 Oxy Water Ford. ROTY competitors Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick both had troubles on the track, with Stenhouse Jr. crashing on the very first lap and Patrick bringing out the seventh caution of the day in a tangle with Travis Kvapil, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton. Stenhouse Jr. finished 34th and Patrick finished 35th.

    “It’s not the way we wanted to start the day,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I was kind of hoping everyone would stay in line but it didn’t play out like that.”

    “We were just having a steady race and a good race, and it was over,” Patrick said. “We were competitive and we were making good calls in the pits.”

    “Everything was going; it just happens.”

    Not Surprising:   Even with a tire issue and a resulting crash that was so hard it knocked a spark plug wire off, Jimmie Johnson managed to finish the race, in which he had started on the pole with a new track record, in the 13th position.

    And even with all the challenges of the day, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Planes Chevrolet managed to increase his points lead to 77 over second place Clint Bowyer.

    “My day kept needing to be re-calibrated,” Johnson said. “I really felt like we had a shot to win, unfortunately blew a tire off of Turn On and ended those hopes there.”

    “We salvaged a very nice finish though.”

    Surprising:  Contrary to all the Bloomin’ Onion fans, driver Ryan Newman was surprisingly unhappy with his fourth place finish in his No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet.

    “It’s a good run but not as good as it could have been,” Newman said. “Just a horrible day in the pits for us.”

    “We have to get that figured out.”

    Not Surprising:  Having come into the Pocono weekend with high hopes for not only a good finish but also making the Chase, there was no one, not surprisingly, more frustrated with being caught up in a wreck not of his doing than Jeff Burton.

    The driver of the No. 31 FXI Gutterclear 365 Chevrolet was so upset that he put a nice sized dent in the roof of his car after pounding it royally after getting caught up in the Danica Patrick, Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil mess.

    “By the time I got there, they were wrecked,” Burton said. “We had a good car but we just kept getting in trouble.”

    “It’s just kind of how the year’s going.”

    Surprising:  Although teammates and the highest finishing Fords, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano had surprisingly different views on the challenge of the restarts.

    “We caught that one yellow at the worst possible time with 50 or 60 to go and pitted for four and we were going to be okay but then we caught another yellow which killed our strategy,” the driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale proclaimed. “Damn, we were just a little bit short.”

    “Those restarts helped us,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “The cautions at the end helped us make up what we lost.”

    “It’s kind of funny how it worked out.”

    Not Surprising:  Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Peanut Butter Toyota, was the highest finishing Toyota, ending the race in the eighth position.

    “We were just a little bit off today,” Busch said. “It seemed like we could get going good on restarts and it would drive well for a few laps, then we couldn’t keep up as well on the long run.”

    “That’s about all we had with our M&M’s Peanut Butter Camry,” Busch continued. “We were able to get a top-10 out of a day where we were just a little behind.”

     

  • Richard Childress Shares Indianapolis Memories As 20th Annual Brickyard 400 Approaches

    Richard Childress Shares Indianapolis Memories As 20th Annual Brickyard 400 Approaches

    This weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marks the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 on the hallowed ground that was only graced by open-wheel cars until 1994, when NASCAR came to town and stock cars began racing on the famed 2.5 mile speedway as well. Since the inaugural running of the race, the Brickyard 400 has become one of the most prestigious races on the circuit, joining the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coca-Cola 600 as the “crown jewels” of the schedule.

    Richard Childress has become one of the most successful owners at Indianapolis, winning the Brickyard 400 three separate times and with three different drivers, including Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Kevin Harvick in 2003, and Paul Menard in 2011. Childress is the only owner in the Sprint Cup Series to accomplish that feat.

    Childress shared his thoughts on Indianapolis during a teleconference this week in the lead up to the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 this weekend.

    “You know, when you said 20 years, it kind of reminds me of that old song Bob Seger sings, 20 Years Ago, Where Does It Go? It doesn’t seem 20 years ago when Dale Earnhardt pulled up there to run our first test. I guess that was a year or so before we went up there and raced, just to see how the Cup cars would do.To be able to see that car go around the racetrack in such a historical place as Indy with all the history there, to have Dale go around there, it was pretty amazing.”, Childress said.

    “Then coming back in 2003, we won with Kevin Harvick up there. That was a special win, as well, because we did start from the pole that day. We’ve been right there to win other Brickyards, but unfortunately we didn’t pull them off. One that ranks really high, maybe above the other two, was when Paul Menard won in 2011. What made that so special was knowing that Paul’s family was there. Knowing what John Menard had put into that, I think he had entered like 30 some car over 20 years at Indy, in the Indy 500. To be part of watching his son win that race was such a special day. Riding around the track, that’s the neatest part of Indy, is getting to ride around the track, seeing all the fans hollering.  That’s really a cool thing right there.”

    Childress elaborated further on why he thinks the 2011 Brickyard 400 win by Menard ranks highly among the three Brickyard 400 wins that RCR has. “Not taking anything away from Dale or Kevin’s first win there, but that one was so special I think because of being able to win a race with Paul, being able to win at Indy where that whole family had put so much into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. John Menard played a huge role for many years.  To be able to win that race with him, have his whole family there that day, it was almost like a storybook ending to a great venture in Indy for John Menard.”

    Over time, the Brickyard 400 has lost some luster in the eyes of some in the sport, but Childress still believes that Indianapolis is one of the marquee events in the sport. When asked about that he said, “ If you want to win a race, you want to win the Daytona 500, you want to win the Coke 600, and Indy, the Brickyard 400.  Those are the three, in my opinion, of the biggest crowns you can win”

    Chevrolet has an impressive record at Indianapolis, winning the last 10 and 14 out of the 19 total Sprint Cup Series races at the track. Childress also shared his thoughts on that: “I think the caliber of the teams, the effort that every team puts in to go win at Indy, because we know it’s a big deal for Chevrolet to go up there and win.  I think it’s just that extra motivation for all of us. The other guys have it, too. But I think we know how important that win is for Chevy.”

    Richard Childress Racing will have the opportunity for a fourth win this weekend with four cars out of the RCR stable entered. In addition to regular drivers Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, and Jeff Burton, Austin Dillon will also be making his Cup Series debut at Indianapolis this weekend.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 16 Camping World RV Sales 301 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – July 14, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 16 Camping World RV Sales 301 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – July 14, 2013

    On to New Hampshire this week before a much needed one week break before the series heads to the Brickyard.

    The site of Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301 is the one-mile flat track in Loudon, New Hampshire. It is the eighth and final stop during the regular season at a track which also hosts a race in this year’s Chase – the two tracks not in the regular season are the first and last races in this year’s chase – Chicago and Homestead.

    The funny part about all this is 7 different drivers have taken the new Gen-6 care to Victory lane on the chase tracks so far this season, and all but the Cinderella in David Ragan are in the top 10 in the points as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to New Hampshire.

    There is a bit of importance at the one-miler this week in the sense that a year ago, 7 of the top-10 finishers in the July race at New Hampshire, punched a ticket to the Chase in September. Its also noted that each member of the top 10 in the posts standings after the 19th race of the 2012 season also moved on to the NASCAR Postseason, so as boring of a race as this might be, there is some significance in finishing well in this race.

    New Hampshire’s summer race has seen 8 different winners in as many seasons and 10 straight different winners overall. Last year’s race-winners are both outside the top-10 in points, that’s Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin.

    Daytona Recap

    Not much to recap this week because of the relatively boring race at Daytona last week. My Winner Pick, the hottest guy in NASCAR right now, Kevin Harvick collected his eighth-consecutive top-10 finish after he finished third last weekend. Harvick started in 26th, and quickly dropped back in the field in the early stages of the race. A fuel-only pit stop on lap 127 would vault the team to 4th were he would remain for the green-white-checkered finish, picking up one spot on the final lap and finishing third.
    Harvick’s teammate, Paul Menard was my Dark Horse and finished dead last in 43rd after experiencing a terminal engine issue early in the 161-lap event.

    New Hampshire Picks

    I had a roster of guys on my list on Thursday when I previewed the race with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, and promised I would narrow down my picks for my column this week.
    As far as the Winner Picks went, I had four guys on my list who I thought were not longshots and had the best chance of winning on Sunday. Those guys were Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon. Only one of those guys has qualified inside the top-10 and that’s Jeff Gordon, but that stat doesn’t scare me because 5 of the last 8 races at New Hampshire have been won from starting spots 10th or worse, including 32nd by Denny Hamlin last season.

    Winner Pick

    It was Clint Bowyer who was the only one of the four guys to be shown in the top 10 in both practice sessions yesterday, and it’s Clint Bowyer who I’m going with as my Winner Pick.
    Clint Has:
    • Two wins, four top five’s, six top 10s; one pole
    • Average finish of 15.1
    • Average Running Position of 12.0, sixth-best
    • Driver Rating of 97.2, fifth-best
    • 230 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
    • Average Green Flag Speed of 124.466 mph, sixth-fastest

    Considering he was 3rd and 4th here last season in his first year with Michael Waltrip Racing, he’s 2nd in points WITHOUT A WIN, and the practice speeds, he’s my winner pick this week.

    Dark Horse Pick

    He might not be a Dark Horse any longer given the practice speeds and the fact that he will start the Camping World RV Sales 301 outside the front row, but he started the week as a 25 to 1 longshot and he’s my Dark Horse again this week.It was only a matter of time before we talked about Kurt Busch in the top 10 in points. This team is making strides, and jumping 5 spots in the points after last week’s run at Daytona is awesome for this one-car team. It’s remarkable to see these Furniture Row guys mix up the powerhouses like Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, etc. with this team putting together some solid finishes since their unfortunate luck back in May at Talladega.

    The New Hampshire Stats look good with Kurt’s 3 wins and 7 Top 5’s.
    • Average finish of 14.8
    • 835 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
    • 479 Quality Passes, fifth-most

    Granted, the majority of Kurt’s success at New Hampshire came with Penske and Roush, this one-car team has shown they belong in the talk with some of the powerhouse teams over the past two months, and Kurt is my Top Longshot again this week.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head to the Brickyard in TWO weeks…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    In addition to a dose of roof flap drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    Surprising:  Who knew that the magic between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, leading to their record-setting night of sweeping both the 500 and 400 at Daytona in the same year, all started over a beer and a game of horseshoes?

    “People make the difference,” five-time champ Johnson said. “Chad and I have a relationship since the first time we drank beer in my backyard throwing horseshoes.”

    “It was the start of many good things to come,” Johnson continued. “The relationships, the people make the difference.”

    “That’s where the magic lies.”

    Johnson also gave Team Hendrick its first sweep at Daytona since 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond accomplished the same feat. This was Johnson’s 64th career Cup Series win and his fourth victory of the season, tying competitor Matt Kenseth in the win column.

    Not Surprising:  While Tony Stewart finished runner up in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, regaining the six spots in the point standings to the tenth position, he finished off the night ‘testy’ in the media center after the checkered flag flew.

    When asked whether or not his retreat to the rear of the field for much of the race was pre-planned, Stewart showed his dismay for what he considered perhaps not the best question of the evening.

    “You guys act like you’ve never seen me do that before,” Smoke answered. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve had good results on it.”

    When next asked about whether or not he liked this type of racing at this stage in his career, Stewart again reverted to past practice.

    “Go back to your old notes,” Smoke said. “My opinion hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

    “If you don’t have them, somebody else in the room will have them, you know that.”

    Surprising:  Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. thought that he had successfully broken a barrier in his 2013 career. Unfortunately he was unpleasantly surprised after NASCAR showed him the photo finish, realizing that he still had more work to do.

    “We’ve been working all year long and we’ve got a couple of 11ths, 12ths, and it’s good to break that barrier of top ten,” Stenhouse Jr. said, before learning that he had really finished in the 11th spot.  There is no doubt that he will be aiming for that barrier again at New Hampshire and with a vengeance.

    Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick was not happy in spite of being the third place finisher in his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, we didn’t win,” Harvick said. “That was our expectation coming here.”

    “I felt like we were in the right position,” Harvick continued. “We couldn’t get everything lined up to get going.”

    Surprising:  Probably the most surprised driver at Daytona was Paul Menard, who lost an engine with absolutely no warning in the early going on Lap 22.

    “Something just let go,” the driver of the No. 27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet said. “I felt the heat come up.”

    “It gave no indication,” Menard continued. “I haven’t had a motor failure in forever.”

    “Just unfortunate.”

    Not Surprising:   NASCAR’s biggest loser in addition to Menard was Joey Logano, who brought out the second caution of the race with a tire failure and a crash into the wall. The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford fell hard in the point standings, losing five positions and dropping from the 10th to the 15th position.

    “It was a big hit,” Logano said of his trip into the wall. “But it was a bigger hit in the points really.”

    “We’ve lost a lot but we’re not out of it by any means.”

    Surprising:  While Daytona is known for its share of ‘big ones’, there were some particularly hard hits in this version of the Coke Zero 400, including crashes for Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kasey Kahne.

    Hamlin was involved in two crashes, the second just a few laps away from the checkered flag.  The two wrecks added insult to his already injured back, as well as a sore knee and head from a crash just last week at Kentucky.

    Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet for James Finch, described his wreck as a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment, one that injured him in his ‘man parts’ and sent him stumbling out of his car in pain.

    “Everybody moved down and Denny (Hamlin) appeared right in front of me,” Allmendinger said. “I just hit him as hard as I could unfortunately.”

    One of the most bizarre but hard wrecks occurred at the end of the race, knocking a strong player out of contention. On Lap 155, Kasey Kahne got slammed while running at the front of the field, crashing hard into the inner wall.

    “I got slammed and shot to the left,” Kahne said. “It’s kind of how these races go.”

    “You don’t have a lot of control over what happens.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota often driven by Mark Martin, scored a top-five finish. Waltrip, who has a stellar resume on plate tracks, pulled off another good finish in spite of being a bit rusty behind the wheel and having some struggles in the pits.

    “We were just really fortunate after getting into a wreck on pit road,” Waltrip said. “I’m just happy for the team because it was a well-deserved finish.”

    Surprising:  MWR teammate Clint Bowyer also had such a surprisingly good run, finishing fourth in his No. 15 Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid Toyota. And with that finish, he ousted Carl Edwards from second place in the point standings, sitting 49 points behind leader Johnson.

    “I was pushing Michael and got him passed,” Bowyer said. “I looked in the mirror and all hell broke loose.”

    “That’s Daytona,’ Bowyer continued. “But I’ll take a top-five anytime in one of these races.”

    This was Bowyer’s third top-five finish in a row.

    Not Surprising:  With team owner and driver Tony Stewart setting the bar in the runner up spot, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team also finished well at Daytona, in spite of final lap mishaps.

    Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, scored bloomin’ onions for all with a top-ten finish. This was Newman’s sixth top-ten at Daytona and his eighth of the season

    “I’m glad we got a top-10 for Outback Steakhouse, but I hate that we destroyed another race car on the final lap,” Newman lamented. “That just seems to be the norm for us when it comes to restrictor-plate racing.”

    SHR teammate Danica Patrick was also involved in the multi-car melee at the end of the race, finishing 14th in her No.  10 GGoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    This was her fourth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

    “Well a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting,” Patrick said. “All in all, it was a solid day.”

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continues to amaze with his performance, finishing sixth and putting himself in Chase contention with a five spot move up in the point standings to ninth.

    This is the highest in the point standings that Kurt has been so far in the 2013 season. This was also his third straight top-ten finish and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “We stayed out of trouble, had smooth pit stops and had a big points night for our Furniture Row team,” Busch said. “These guys are working hard and it’s paying off.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished top-ten at Daytona, in spite of some challenges with his race car.

    “I had fun,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We just didn’t make our way to the front.”

    “We had a problem with the car,” Junior continued. “Something broke and we could hardy steer it coming into the pits.”

    The eighth place finish at Daytona moved Earnhardt Jr. up one position in the points standings to fifth.

     

  • 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.”

  • 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.

  • 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.