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August 22nd, 2011
Volume V, Edition CLXXII
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kyle Busch Takes Pure Michigan 400 Victory, Sole Possession of Points Lead
by Brody Jones
Kyle Busch was doing "The Michigan Rag" at Michigan International Speedway in the Pure Michigan 400 Sunday, taking the late-race lead from Jimmie Johnson on Lap 188 and holding Johnson off again in a green-white-checkered finish to capture his first career triumph at Michigan.
"Awesome!" Busch responded post-race. "Certainly, it feels good to win here at Michigan. We've been trying so hard to do it. Our teammate [Denny Hamlin] has been able to... but we haven't."
Busch also clinched a postseason spot with a victory that, for the first half of the race seemed like a virtual impossibility. Instead, Greg Biffle was the dominant man up front, leading the field to the green flag with a pole-winning speed of 190.345 mph and through the race's first caution on Lap 29 for debris. After pit stops cycled through, Biffle was back up front and led until the race's second caution of the day, when Bobby Labonte got loose in turn one for a solo spin on Lap 53.
Biffle kept pacing the field beyond that, but Busch kept charging through from his 17th starting spot and would take the lead on lap 98 for the first time. After a Lap 104 caution for debris, some of the teams took two tires on pit stops, allowing Kasey Kahne to briefly lead until Matt Kenseth motored past him. The top spot was traded between Kenseth and Jeff Gordon back and forth until the race's fourth caution of the day came out for the stalled vehicle of Dave Blaney inside of 35 to go. Jimmie Johnson's proverbial "golden horseshoe" came in handy again as he pitted before the caution and didn't lose a lap, giving him prime real estate as the race leader.
The race went back to green and Jimmie appeared to check out on the field, but Kyle Busch slowly reeled him in until passing him at lap 188 and driving away. But with three laps to go, the race's final caution came out after Kurt Busch blew a tire and hit the turn 1 wall, bunching the field together for one last restart. Busch would take the outside lane for that frantic finish, using the side-draft on Jimmie Johnson to win the race by 0.568 seconds.
Johnson would have to settle for second. "Just good hard racing," Jimmie said of his battle with Busch. "I certainly with we could have finished one spot better with the Lowe's Chevrolet today, but, the way the race started and how we were at the beginning. We were so loose. We got the car underneath me with some great call by Chad Knaus on pit road. Great pit stops today and got the car underneath me where I could go racing. Once I got to the front and got clean air, my car was loose again, it was the first time I was in clean air and I just didn't have a pit stop or two to really work on the car and make it lead. I kind of lost a little to Kyle and hung on to second."
Michigan native Brad Keselowski had yet another stellar showing with a third place finish on the day. "We were decent today." Keselowski reflected post-race. "Probably not as good as we needed to be to run with the [Nos.] 48, the 24, 18, those guys but probably a fifth to 10th-place car. Just executed really well. Had some good restarts. Had some good moves in traffic. Good pit stops, good strategy. Found our way up into the top five there with 75 to go. Just a really solid effort. We need just a little bit more speed. Seem to be executing fairly well with our team. I'm proud of that."
Mark Martin and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-5 finishers. Sixth through tenth were Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth. However, Stewart wasn't happy with the top-10 finish, not good enough to make him a factor up front. "I will be perfectly honest," he said. "At this point of the deal, if we are going to run this bad, it really doesn't matter whether we make the Chase or not because we are going to be occupying a spot in the Chase that somebody else that actually can run for a championship is going to be trying to take because our stuff is so bad right now, we're wasting one of those top-12 spots."
Chase contenders Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards each had problems on the day, with Edwards having electrical issues and Hamlin damaging his car in an accident. "It was a very tough race," Edwards reflected. "I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane. I thought one way or another we would win this thing. I don't know what was wrong with it. It was running on seven cylinders, it felt like it was running on seven cylinders. We changed a bunch of stuff and then it was fixed. It wasn't something mechanical, it was probably something with some electrical connection or a coil or something. My Aflac guys did a good job. We were prepared for this race to go bad. We were going all out to win this thing and we were prepared for something but we weren't expecting that. We weren't expecting a failure like that."
Said Hamlin of his struggles, "We were fighting the car all day, from tight to loose and back and forth. Our car just really struggled on corner entry on being loose. I was in a pack of cars there and tried to enter the corner with a little bit more speed and just got too loose and got into the wall."
The average race speed was 150.898 mph, with 5 cautions for 21 laps and 20 lead changes among 10 drivers. The announced attendance was listed at 81,000 fans, down 22.8% from 2010 numbers.
The Sprint Cup Series returns Saturday night with the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chasers: Busch Wins, Clinches Chase Spot
by Garrett Horton
Kevin Harvick hasn't looked like the same Kevin Harvick we saw last year or the one at the beginning of this year. He looked fast early on, but everytime he came in for a pit stop he would lose all the track position he gained on the track. Being stuck in the middle of the pack all day affected the handling and the best he could do was 22nd. Harvick is now tied with Carl Edwards for third in points, but gets the tiebreaker based on more wins.
Much like Harvick, Edwards hasn't been the same driver we saw earlier in the year. We never had a good chance to see how well Edwards could have been on Sunday, as engine problems on Lap 35 sent him behind the wall. The 99 crew was able to get him back on the track, but only managed to get a 36th-place result. With just one top-5 in the last seven outings Edwards has gone from being in a tie for the points lead to to nearly being a full race behind Busch.
Many eyes were on Matt Kenseth to be the man in Victory Lane on Sunday. While he never appeared to have the fastest car, Kenseth was consistently a top-5 threat all afternoon and even led 15 laps. However, he became a sitting duck on the last caution as pretty much every driver behind came in to put on fresh tires. Kenseth would up losing five spots on the final restart, going from fifth to tenth on the green white checkered. His 12th top-10 on the year keeps him fifth in the standings, 40 points behind Busch.
Jeff Gordon had all strong car all afternoon, leading a total of 50 laps. He was winning right before the final set of green flag pit stops were about to begin, but the ill timed caution took him out of the lead, a lead he would not gain back. As he got further back in traffic, the handling became worse on Gordon's car and ended up finish just outside the top-5 in sixth place. He was able to move up to sixth in the standings, which is the highest he has been since week two at Phoenix.
If the Sprint Cup was determined by how many fifth-place finishes you have, Ryan Newman would be the clear cut winner. Newman once again finished fifth on Sunday, the sixth time he has done that this season. The Rocketman started the day in third, but appeared to only have a ninth or tenth-place car at best. He was one of many drivers who opted to take two tires on the final caution, which allowed him to make quick work on some of the drivers who had been faster than him earlier in the day. He was able to pass Gordon on the final lap to gain his eighth top-5 on the season. Like Gordon, Newman moved up one spot and is now seventh in the standings.
Kurt Busch is certainly hoping that he is getting all of his tire problems out of the way before the Chase begins. After completing the first 21 races without a DNF, Busch has now failed to finish the last two races due to cut tires. Sunday's race was more self-inflicted as he hit the wall on several occasions which caused damage to the passenger side. With finishes of 38th at Watkins Glen and 34th at Michigan, Busch has gone from fourth to eighth in points in just two weeks.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked strong all day, running in the top-5 early on and was poised to pick up his tenth top-10 of the year until the last caution flag sent him down pit road. The team put on tires, but was stuck in the middle of the pack. Earnhardt was only able to get a 14tb-place finish. which allowed 11th-place Clint Bowyer to gain a few extra points on him. He still remains ninth in points, but his lead over Bowyer is trimmed to 30 markers.
The frustration was clear in Tony Stewart's voice at the conclusion of Sunday's race. The car would go from being to loose to tight, and was never just right. He was a benefactor of that last caution, going from 12th before the caution to ending the day in ninth. He still sits tenth in the standings, but as he said after the race, would rather not make the Chase if the 14 team continues to run they way they have.
Standings: 1) Kyle Busch 799, 2) Jimmie Johnson -10, t-3) Kevin Harvick -39, t-3) Carl Edwards -39, 5) Matt Kenseth -40, 6) Jeff Gordon -60, 7) Ryan Newman -74, 8) Kurt Busch -77, 9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -99, 10) Tony Stewart -105.
Outside The Top 10: 11) Clint Bowyer -129. 12) Brad Keselowski -157. 13) Greg Biffle -163.
Wildcard Drivers: Brad Keselowski (12th in points, two wins), Denny Hamlin (14th in points, one win)
Note: Paul Menard and David Ragan are both inside of the top-20 in points with victories so far this season, but they are currently on the outside looking in. Marcos Ambrose and Regan Smith, also winners this season, are outside of the top-20 in points. Also, Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne is not eligible for the Chase because he is not running for Sprint Cup points.
Tracking The Top 35: DNQ For Robby Gordon Motorsports Puts Them In Deeper Trouble
With Robby Gordon commiting to the Nationwide race in Montreal this weekend, it put the pressure on Johnny Sauter to make the field for Sunday's race. Unfortunately, Sauter was one of three cars to DNQ and put RGM even more behind the important 35th place cutoff. They are now 35 markers behind TRG Motorsports and their driver Andy Lally, who finished the day in 29th.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34- David Gilliand), +134 ahead of 36th place.
32) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36- Dave Blaney), +60 ahead of 36th place.
33) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), +55 ahead of 36th place.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), +51 ahead of 36th place.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 - Andy Lally), +35 ahead of 36th place.
36) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 – Robby Gordon), -35 behind 35th place.
37) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 – Travis Kvapil), -38 behind 35th place.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 – Trevor Bayne), -65 behind 35th place.
39) Front Row Motorspots/MaxQ Motorsports (No. 37- Tony Raines), -137 behind 35th place.
Garrett Horton is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments about 2011? John's got answers!
A new year means a new columnist to answer all your pressing questions about the sport! Our legendary flagman John Potts is taking over our Fan Q & A, so be sure to stack his inbox with plenty of queries and comments for the New Year! Send them his way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans!
Secret Star of the Race: The Race You Never Saw
With the current situation in points, Allmendinger is 62 points out of tenth. Getting into the top-10 is quite unlikely at this point. However, winning just one race prior to the Chase just might get Allmendinger into the Chase over Hamlin. This would be a massive surprise to many onlookers, but not to A.J. – Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 48. This is the swing in points experienced by Carl Edwards over the past two weeks. After Pocono, Edwards had a nine point lead over Jimmie Johnson. After a 12th-place finish last Monday, Edwards dropped into a tie for the lead with Kyle Busch. Sunday's 36th-place finish dropped Edwards into a tie for 3rd with Kevin Harvick, 39 points out of the lead. Losing a full race's worth of points in two weeks can be demoralizing to a team's championship charge. Edwards needs to put something together Saturday night in Bristol, or he may risk losing all his momentum so far this season at the absolute worst possible time. – Phil Allaway
Running Their Mouth: 2011 Pure Michigan 400
by Brody Jones
Best Quote:
"I won eight races last year, I'm pretty sure that I'm capable. Mike Ford (crew chief) is capable and the team itself. You know, you look at every driver's career who were second to Jimmie Johnson — these kind of years happen. It hasn't happened to me in five years. This is the first time where I've struggled and we're struggling to find the balance of the car that I want. Mike is struggling to find what I need to put what he needs to put in the car for me to run well. It's just a part of it. Kyle Busch won eight races, failed to make the Chase the next year. It's just part of learning. I'm not going to make any excuses and I'm not going to sugar-coat it because it's on me to try to get better at this one." - Denny Hamlin, 35th, on his Chase chances
At this stage of the game, Denny Hamlin's team has been bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig, hemorrhaging good finishes and points at an alarming rate. The next three races for Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford could either make them or break them. They've been fortunate so far that the teams ahead of them have either had their own troubles or are lacking a win, but if Hamlin can't get things turned around fast, he's looking at missing the Chase for the first time in his career. Such would be a dramatic reversal a year after nearly ousting King Jimmie from his throne and winning eight races.
Most Controversial Quote:
"I will be perfectly honest, at this point of the deal, if we are going to run this bad, it really doesn't matter whether we make the Chase or not because we are going to be occupying a spot in the Chase that somebody else that actually can run for a championship is going to be trying take because our stuff is so bad right now, we're wasting one of those top-12 spots right now." - Tony Stewart, ninth, on his Chase chances
Tony Stewart was in no mood to sugarcoat things for the media after Sunday's race. Granted, he got another top-10 finish, but Smoke was never a factor for the win. Stewart's definitely feeling frustrated at this point in the season, as he and crew chief Darian Grubb are feeling a huge amount of pressure on them coming down the stretch. In the past, Stewart has run well at tracks such as Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond, so the next three weeks could be the tell-tale sign of whether this team is going to be a legitimate threat come time for the Chase...or even a part of it.
Funniest Quote:
"To be a championship contender, we need to make that next step. We've made a step forward, kind of the specifics of which I'd probably rather not go into details of. I think that you can see it with our team, obviously. You can see that Penske Racing has what I feel is two equally competitive teams. I'm not sure exactly what happened to Kurt today. I know he ran real strong the early, middle section of the race. It has gone down to a matter of getting everything to click. Hate to get into any specifics of the other reasons. (Jimmie Johnson offers "please do") I'd have to kick my dog, and I like my dogs (smiling). I'm not going to go into those parts. But pretty happy with the growth." - Brad Keselowski, third
For a lot of drivers, being injured in a crash can mean a decline in skills. It seems like ever since his practice crash at Road Atlanta, Brad Keselowski has become as super-human as Chuck Norris, running in the top-3 each of the last three races. Keselowski is finally beginning to show that he is worth the hype that was bestowed upon him when he first broke onto the NASCAR scene. Now, with the team all but secure in the Chase, this could very well be the dark horse team to watch if they can keep this momentum going.
Crew Chief Quote:
"It's great. Kyle Busch is the most competitive guy I've ever worked with. He beat himself more than he should have last week. A better car won. We had the [No.] 9 [Marcos Ambrose] beat on pit strategy, but he was the better car, but Kyle still took it personal so this is good vindication for Kyle. What about Interstate Batteries — our founding sponsor at Joe Gibbs Racing. Finally got a win for Norm Miller, it's been so long. When I started at Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate was the only primary sponsor we had. To be a crew chief with the Interstate Batteries Camry today is such an honor – thank you Norm, appreciate it man." - _Dave Rogers, race winning crew chief
Kyle Busch had been in position last Monday at Watkins Glen to beat Marcos Ambrose, but ultimately, Ambrose zipped past Busch on the final restart and rolled to a popular victory. Busch took the loss hard, but crew chief Dave Rogers picked up his driver's fragile psyche, motivating and willing him into coming back with an impressive win at Michigan. Making it all the more impressive; Busch and Co. held off five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the process.
Best Of The Rest:
"Same as the last four weeks in a row — three or whatever it's been. Man, you know it's so awesome to finally win here at Michigan and get Toyota in Victory Lane here at Michigan. It feels good being so close to Detroit and everything. I can't say enough about Norm Miller and everybody at Interstate Batteries. This was a flawless Camry and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing — all these guys on this team. The guys at JGR engine room gave me a great motor today — great power and great fuel mileage. I think it was running 260 there with about 10 to go for about 10 laps or so and I was like, 'Man, I hope we make it.' I had trash on the grill or something. I can't say enough about Sprint being in the Sprint Summer Showdown. Hopefully, we get a chance at Atlanta to run up front there and win the thing and bring home some extra money for charity, for a fan and for all of us here at JGR." - Kyle Busch, race winner, on the last restart
"I don't know if we ever stopped focusing on winning but I agree you can take some more risks and take more chances in this position. I hear we moved up even another spot in the points. I just love the consistency and solidness of this team right now and the position that we're in to go get those wins. We've got one more before we can qualify for that [Sprint Summer Showdown] and we really want to make a fan a millionaire out there and get a million for our charity as well. Hopefully we can get that done at Bristol." - Jeff Gordon, sixth
"We had a good car. We had a couple of bad sets, well, I don't know whether they are bad sets of tires, but I put them on my car and they drive like crap. Then I put on another set and it will drive good. I don't know how to explain that. I've been doing that all my life. I ain't got an explanation for it yet. I had some awesome runs where the car was really fast, then I'd put on some tires and couldn't drive the car. So, you tell me. I don't know." - Dale Earnhardt Jr., 14th
"That was frustrating. We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day. We just kept getting tighter and tighter. We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too. It was just a very frustrating day." - Marcos Ambrose, 27th
"It's just so typical of how a lot of our races on this type of track have gone lately. We're good for about the first 15 laps in a run and then the handling goes away. We started really tight, adjusted on it and it went too loose, so loose that I got into the wall about a third of the way into the race. We were lucky not to cut down a right-front tire before it happened." - Kurt Busch, 34th
"It was a very tough race. I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane. I thought one way or another we would win this thing. I don't know what was wrong with it. It was running on seven cylinders, it felt like it was running on seven cylinders. We changed a bunch of stuff and then it was fixed. It wasn't something mechanical, it was probably something with some electrical connection or a coil or something. My Aflac guys did a good job. We were prepared for this race to go bad. We were going all out to win this thing and we were prepared for something, but we weren't expecting that. We weren't expecting a failure like that." - Carl Edwards, 36th
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hey Frontstretch Readers! We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look how NASCAR, it's affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Michigan-2 Race Recap
by Vito Pugliese
Monday Morning Teardown: Michigan Under A Magnifying Glass: Finding The Thrills From A Summer Snoozer
by Ron Lemasters
Bubble Breakdown: Everyone Holds Serve at MIS
by Bryan Davis Keith
The Big Six: Pure Michigan 400
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: NAPA Auto Parts 200
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: VFW 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
ADVERTISEMENT
Get THE ANNUAL, 2011 Racing Preview for your mobile device.
Go to Frontstretch.com and click on "The Annual" link on the right side to order and download this special issue that includes: Track Information, Driver profiles and In-Depth Features.
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1987, Neil Bonnett was forced to take relief from Ken Schrader during the Busch 500 at Bristol International Raceway. Why did this happen?
"I won eight races last year, I'm pretty sure that I'm capable. Mike Ford (crew chief) is capable and the team itself. You know, you look at every driver's career who were second to Jimmie Johnson — these kind of years happen. It hasn't happened to me in five years. This is the first time where I've struggled and we're struggling to find the balance of the car that I want. Mike is struggling to find what I need to put what he needs to put in the car for me to run well. It's just a part of it. Kyle Busch won eight races, failed to make the Chase the next year. It's just part of learning. I'm not going to make any excuses and I'm not going to sugar-coat it because it's on me to try to get better at this one." - Denny Hamlin, 35th, on his Chase chances
At this stage of the game, Denny Hamlin's team has been bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig, hemorrhaging good finishes and points at an alarming rate. The next three races for Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford could either make them or break them. They've been fortunate so far that the teams ahead of them have either had their own troubles or are lacking a win, but if Hamlin can't get things turned around fast, he's looking at missing the Chase for the first time in his career. Such would be a dramatic reversal a year after nearly ousting King Jimmie from his throne and winning eight races.
Most Controversial Quote:
"I will be perfectly honest, at this point of the deal, if we are going to run this bad, it really doesn't matter whether we make the Chase or not because we are going to be occupying a spot in the Chase that somebody else that actually can run for a championship is going to be trying take because our stuff is so bad right now, we're wasting one of those top-12 spots right now." - Tony Stewart, ninth, on his Chase chances
Tony Stewart was in no mood to sugarcoat things for the media after Sunday's race. Granted, he got another top-10 finish, but Smoke was never a factor for the win. Stewart's definitely feeling frustrated at this point in the season, as he and crew chief Darian Grubb are feeling a huge amount of pressure on them coming down the stretch. In the past, Stewart has run well at tracks such as Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond, so the next three weeks could be the tell-tale sign of whether this team is going to be a legitimate threat come time for the Chase...or even a part of it.
Funniest Quote:
"To be a championship contender, we need to make that next step. We've made a step forward, kind of the specifics of which I'd probably rather not go into details of. I think that you can see it with our team, obviously. You can see that Penske Racing has what I feel is two equally competitive teams. I'm not sure exactly what happened to Kurt today. I know he ran real strong the early, middle section of the race. It has gone down to a matter of getting everything to click. Hate to get into any specifics of the other reasons. (Jimmie Johnson offers "please do") I'd have to kick my dog, and I like my dogs (smiling). I'm not going to go into those parts. But pretty happy with the growth." - Brad Keselowski, third
For a lot of drivers, being injured in a crash can mean a decline in skills. It seems like ever since his practice crash at Road Atlanta, Brad Keselowski has become as super-human as Chuck Norris, running in the top-3 each of the last three races. Keselowski is finally beginning to show that he is worth the hype that was bestowed upon him when he first broke onto the NASCAR scene. Now, with the team all but secure in the Chase, this could very well be the dark horse team to watch if they can keep this momentum going.
Crew Chief Quote:
"It's great. Kyle Busch is the most competitive guy I've ever worked with. He beat himself more than he should have last week. A better car won. We had the [No.] 9 [Marcos Ambrose] beat on pit strategy, but he was the better car, but Kyle still took it personal so this is good vindication for Kyle. What about Interstate Batteries — our founding sponsor at Joe Gibbs Racing. Finally got a win for Norm Miller, it's been so long. When I started at Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate was the only primary sponsor we had. To be a crew chief with the Interstate Batteries Camry today is such an honor – thank you Norm, appreciate it man." - _Dave Rogers, race winning crew chief
Kyle Busch had been in position last Monday at Watkins Glen to beat Marcos Ambrose, but ultimately, Ambrose zipped past Busch on the final restart and rolled to a popular victory. Busch took the loss hard, but crew chief Dave Rogers picked up his driver's fragile psyche, motivating and willing him into coming back with an impressive win at Michigan. Making it all the more impressive; Busch and Co. held off five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the process.
Best Of The Rest:
"Same as the last four weeks in a row — three or whatever it's been. Man, you know it's so awesome to finally win here at Michigan and get Toyota in Victory Lane here at Michigan. It feels good being so close to Detroit and everything. I can't say enough about Norm Miller and everybody at Interstate Batteries. This was a flawless Camry and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing — all these guys on this team. The guys at JGR engine room gave me a great motor today — great power and great fuel mileage. I think it was running 260 there with about 10 to go for about 10 laps or so and I was like, 'Man, I hope we make it.' I had trash on the grill or something. I can't say enough about Sprint being in the Sprint Summer Showdown. Hopefully, we get a chance at Atlanta to run up front there and win the thing and bring home some extra money for charity, for a fan and for all of us here at JGR." - Kyle Busch, race winner, on the last restart
"I don't know if we ever stopped focusing on winning but I agree you can take some more risks and take more chances in this position. I hear we moved up even another spot in the points. I just love the consistency and solidness of this team right now and the position that we're in to go get those wins. We've got one more before we can qualify for that [Sprint Summer Showdown] and we really want to make a fan a millionaire out there and get a million for our charity as well. Hopefully we can get that done at Bristol." - Jeff Gordon, sixth
"We had a good car. We had a couple of bad sets, well, I don't know whether they are bad sets of tires, but I put them on my car and they drive like crap. Then I put on another set and it will drive good. I don't know how to explain that. I've been doing that all my life. I ain't got an explanation for it yet. I had some awesome runs where the car was really fast, then I'd put on some tires and couldn't drive the car. So, you tell me. I don't know." - Dale Earnhardt Jr., 14th
"That was frustrating. We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day. We just kept getting tighter and tighter. We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too. It was just a very frustrating day." - Marcos Ambrose, 27th
"It's just so typical of how a lot of our races on this type of track have gone lately. We're good for about the first 15 laps in a run and then the handling goes away. We started really tight, adjusted on it and it went too loose, so loose that I got into the wall about a third of the way into the race. We were lucky not to cut down a right-front tire before it happened." - Kurt Busch, 34th
"It was a very tough race. I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane. I thought one way or another we would win this thing. I don't know what was wrong with it. It was running on seven cylinders, it felt like it was running on seven cylinders. We changed a bunch of stuff and then it was fixed. It wasn't something mechanical, it was probably something with some electrical connection or a coil or something. My Aflac guys did a good job. We were prepared for this race to go bad. We were going all out to win this thing and we were prepared for something, but we weren't expecting that. We weren't expecting a failure like that." - Carl Edwards, 36th
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hey Frontstretch Readers! We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look how NASCAR, it's affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Michigan-2 Race Recap
by Vito Pugliese
Monday Morning Teardown: Michigan Under A Magnifying Glass: Finding The Thrills From A Summer Snoozer
by Ron Lemasters
Bubble Breakdown: Everyone Holds Serve at MIS
by Bryan Davis Keith
The Big Six: Pure Michigan 400
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: NAPA Auto Parts 200
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: VFW 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
ADVERTISEMENT
Get THE ANNUAL, 2011 Racing Preview for your mobile device.
Go to Frontstretch.com and click on "The Annual" link on the right side to order and download this special issue that includes: Track Information, Driver profiles and In-Depth Features.
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1987, Neil Bonnett was forced to take relief from Ken Schrader during the Busch 500 at Bristol International Raceway. Why did this happen?
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1997 Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway was won by Steve Park. Park led only the final 14 laps to win from fourth starting spot. How did he do it?
A: Park won while making his fuel hold out for the final 66 laps of the race. Park pitted under a yellow on Lap 34 and managed to make his fuel hold out for 132 miles.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Sitting In The Stands: A Fans' View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny sets up the Chase race going down to the wire: Who's In, Who's Out, and Who might surprise with that final wild-card spot.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Michigan-Bristol Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Michigan numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Bristol... and beyond.
Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan's back with his weekly edition of talking points to tie up Michigan and get us set for the week of NASCAR news ahead.
Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup Series made their second visit of the year to Michigan International Speedway with the Camping World Truck Series as support. Meanwhile, the Nationwide Series made their annual haul to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Were the race telecasts up to snuff, or were they missing something? Find out on this week's edition of the TV Critique.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom has a look at the Kyle Busch - Jimmie Johnson battle at Michigan and what it means to the Chase as a whole.
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