It was a “Green, White, Checkered” finish for the win at Michigan for Kyle Busch who beat Jimmy Johnson to the line by less than a second. Winning the Pure Michigan 400 last Sunday mathematically locked Kyle into the Chase for the Sprint cup, Matt Kenseth can do the same this weekend at Bristol by finishing 90 something points ahead of twelfth in the points standings. I think there are some other scenarios where other drivers can do the same but I am far from a mathematician so I’ll leave that headache to someone else. I love the racing at the Michigan International Speedway; this track is so wide and fast that there is plenty of action to watch. The first caution came out at lap 30 for debris and the pit stops ensued. Greg Biffle was leading when the caution came out and he and Matt Kenseth came out one and two to re-start the field. This is usually a Ford dominated track as the headquarters of both Ford Motor Company and Roush Industries are not far away; this was not to be a Ford day as shortly after the re-start Carl Edwards headed back to pit road where the crew opened the hood. That was not a good omen for the Ford teams. Edwards heads for the garage area confirming the worst.
After another debris caution that slows the pace of the race a bit, Kyle Busch takes the lead from Biffle on lap 94.Biffle and Busch swap the lead a couple of times, then Kyle takes the lead again and starts pulling away by more than a half a second when another debris caution again bunches up the field on lap 102. Kyle loses the lead by taking four tires but that four tire change pays off in dividends of grip later in the run and he makes his way back up to third and is trying to catch Jeff Gordon and Kenseth when the caution comes out again when Dave Blaney is slow in the track. The three leaders all take four tires leading me to believe that they all will be pretty even on the restart. I love the double file re-starts. At this point (lap 173) Jimmy Johnson is in the lead and feeling like winning his first ever race at Michigan.
Then at lap 197 the laundry is flying again as the caution is out once more. Kyle brother Kurt hits the wall causing the green, white, checkered finish. It was not that big a deal though as Kyle cleared Jimmy Johnson coming out of turn two and from there to the finish Johnson could not seal the deal. All Jimmy Johnson could do was watch as Kyle Busch and not himself, would get his first win at Michigan.
The engine scare for the Ford teams would end up only being Carl Edward’s problem with the rest of the Roush boys finishing in decent spots. Kenseth came in 10th, Ragan in 12th, and Biffle in 20th. My boy Junior came in 14th seating him currently in 9th place, 6 points ahead of Tony Stewart. We are now in go or go home mode for anyone not locked into the chase at this point. There are only three races left before the chase starts, Bristol’s night race, Atlanta, and Richmond. Its time for some folks to get it in gear, like Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and A.J. Allmendinger. All three of these drivers have more than enough talent to pull off the wins or top finishes that they need to get into the chase. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin currently occupy the two wild card spots; Keselowski has two wins this season and Hamlin one. Denny needs to win a race to solidly claim that second wildcard slot. Paul Menard and David Ragan are looking at Denny’s spot at the moment both with a win apiece and both residing in the top 20 in points. If either of those guys win a race in the next three and Hamlin doesn’t, Denny could find himself on the outside looking in.
Here is how they crossed the line Sunday at Michigan down through the top ten. As usual head over to Nascar.com for the full field finishing order.
Kyle BuschJimmy JohnsonBrad KeselowskiMark MartinRyan NewmanJeff GordonKasey KahneClint BowyerTony StewartMatt KensethHere are the points after the Pure Michigan 400.
Kyle BuschJimmy JohnsonKevin HarvickCarl EdwardsMatt Kenseth Jeff GordonRyan NewmanKurt BuschDale Earnhardt JuniorTony StewartBrad Keselowski (wild card)Denny Hamlin (Wild Card)
Bristol is the location for all your short track action this weekend! Actually there is racing there tonight with the Nascar Whelan Modified tour racing there tonight on the worlds fastest half mile. That is running as I write this on Speed TV. Then the O’reilly 200 Truck series race will run right after the modifieds tonight also on Speed. The Nationwide series will be in action on Friday night and the Cup series on Saturday night. It’s all about Night racing this weekend. If you happen to be traveling near Bristol this weekend and have some spare time and cash, there is plenty of truck parking there, go see a race.
I’m headed down the road and will have to listen to it on the radio. I may get home in time this weekend to watch the Cup race.
Stay safe
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