Monday, June 17, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Drivers Talk Michigan

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 17th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CVII

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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Biffle Takes Second Straight Michigan Win
by Justin Tucker

Greg Biffle makes it no secret he loves Michigan International Speedway.
Coming into Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 at MIS, Biffle had scored three victories at the ultra fast, two-mile oval, tied for the most at any Sprint Cup track for him.  After 400 miles on Sunday, Biffle would add another Michigan win to his total,  holding off Kevin Harvick to claim his fourth victory at the track, Ford's 1,000th in all three of NASCAR's national touring series.
 
It appeared that Jimmie Johnson for most of the race had the car to beat, driving his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet through the field on numerous occasions.  However, Johnson's bad vibes at Michigan came back to bite him.  With just three laps to go,  he had a tire go down, resulting in the Lowe's Chevrolet hitting the wall in Turn 2.  Johnson drove the car back to the pits and changed tires, but was relegated to a disappointing 28th.  That misfortune opened the door for Biffle to pull away from the field in the remaining two laps for the win.
 
After the race, Biffle was overjoyed with his victory.
 
"We beat (Johnson's) 48 today and that says a lot.  He was really, really fast," Biffle said.  "Once we got out in clean air, we could match up fairly well with the 48.  He made a small mistake trying to catch us."
 
Johnson wasn't the only Hendrick Motorsports driver with problems on Sunday afternoon.  Jeff Gordon's day ended about as quickly as it began after being collected by Bobby Labonte in a spin less than ten laps into the race.  After significant repairs, Gordon returned to the race and eventually moved up to 39th before pulling off.
 
Kasey Kahne also met with trouble on Sunday.  Kahne, who had one of the fastest cars on the track all day, blew a right-front tire on Lap 104.  The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet careened into the Turn 1 wall as a result, putting Kahne out on the spot.
 
"Something broke," Kahne explained afterwards.  "I don't really know.  I would say it was a tire that went down, but I don't know for sure.  I just was going into the corner and then it 'boom' and turned right went straight into the wall.  It was a hard hit."
 
Defending race winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also met with parts failure on Sunday afternoon.  After starting 12th, Earnhardt Jr. worked his way to the lead when on Lap 128, the engine in the No. 88 dropped a cylinder.  Shortly afterwards. the engine failed completely, ending any chance of a repeat win in the June race.
 
"No, there was no warning at all even after I think we lost a cylinder," said a dejected Earnhardt Jr. after climbing from the car.  "The gauges all looked really good.  Flipped all the switches I could flip and nothing was really making a difference.  We just had something come apart in the motor."
 
When the Hendrick quartet fell apart, that left an opening for others and Biffle made the most of the opportunity. All in all, this event was a typical race at Michigan.  Track position was king all afternoon long and pit strategy meant the difference between being up front and back in traffic.
 
Behind Biffle was Kevin Harvick, nearly three seconds back in second.  Martin Truex, Jr. was third, while Kyle Busch was fourth and Tony Stewart rounded out the top 5.  Matt Kenseth finished sixth, followed by Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano.  Jeff Burton would round out the top 10.  Austin Dillon and Danica Patrick would also score solid top-15 finishes.
 
Next week the Sprint Cup Series will turn not only left but right as well as the series heads to Sonoma Raceway. Green flag at Sonoma is scheduled for 3:19 P.M. ET.

Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.

Chasing the Chase: Johnson Loses His Pocono Gains
by Phil Allaway

It appeared that Jimmie Johnson was on his way to either another victory or a second-place finish at minimum on Sunday.  Then, he had a tire go down with less than three laps to go, putting the Lowe's Chevrolet into the Turn 2 wall.  Johnson's eventual 28th-place finish, along with Carl Edwards' eighth-place result has the effect of nearly wiping out Johnson's gains from Pocono.  The lead is now 31 points in the standings; solid, but not insurmountable.  Clint Bowyer is still in third after a good run to finish seventh, despite running in the back of Trevor Bayne on the initial start of the race.

Kevin Harvick took advantage of some of the Hendrick woes and some good driving to finish second and move up to fourth in points.  Matt Kenseth, despite nearly catching the wall on a restart, finished sixth and moved up one place to fifth.  Kyle Busch was just a little ahead of Kenseth on-track, recovering from a black flag for passing on pit road and moved himself up to sixth in the standings.

For Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michigan was once again a very strong race.  The No. 88, carrying the colors of the new Superman movie, "Man of Steel," led 34 laps on Sunday, but lost an engine after halfway.  Earnhardt Jr.'s 37th-place result dropped him three spots in points; he's now just 32 ahead of 11th.  Greg Biffle's victory moved him up two places to eighth, while Brad Keselowski was potentially in position to move up a spot until he ran out of fuel on the last lap, dropping to a 12th-place finish. That kept him buried in ninth.
 
Tony Stewart's third consecutive top-5 finish moved him up into the top 10 for the first time this season, while Paul Menard reclaimed a "wild card" spot by finishing 14th on Sunday.  Kasey Kahne rounds out the top 12 after crashing out of the lead.

Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 538, 2) Carl Edwards -31, 3) Clint Bowyer -49, 4) Kevin Harvick -62, 5) Matt Kenseth -82, 6) Kyle Busch -86, 7) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -91, 8) Greg Biffle -95, 9) Brad Keselowski -108, 10) Tony Stewart -121.

Best of the Rest: 11) Paul Menard -123, 12) Kasey Kahne -131, t-13) Martin Truex, Jr. -133, t-13) Joey Logano -133, 15) Aric Almirola -134, 16) Jeff Gordon -140, 17) Jeff Burton -148, t-18) Ryan Newman -149, t-18) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -149, 20) Kurt Busch -154.

Wild Cards: 1) Kasey Kahne (12th in points, one win), 2) Paul Menard (11th in points)
Currently Ineligible for Wild Card: 1) David Ragan (28th in points, one win)

Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona, Martinsville, Pocono), Carl Edwards (Phoenix), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas, Darlington), Kasey Kahne (Bristol), Kyle Busch (Fontana, Texas), Kevin Harvick (Richmond, Charlotte), David Ragan (Talladega), Tony Stewart (Dover), Greg Biffle (Michigan)

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.

Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Michigan Edition
by Amy Henderson

Editor's Note: This year, we're going to switch things up a little bit. Instead of just focusing upon one underdog (or underreported) car in the Secret Star section, we will point out three smaller teams that put up good finishes each week.

Underdog Selection No. 1: Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing; started 25th, finished 15th
 
Sure, Bayne has been strong at Michigan in the Nationwide Series, but that's with top-flight equipment from Roush Fenway Racing, and almost to be expected.  On a track that can be downright cruel to underfunded teams, a 15th-place run for the Wood Brothers organization isn't something to be taken for granted.  Bayne drove a smart, clean race, recovering from first-lap contact when Clint Bowyer ran in the back of him and that was exactly what it took to bring home the team's best finish of 2013.  It's Bayne's second top-20 result in his last two races, and with Daytona just a couple of weeks away, there have to be good spirits around the No. 21 shop these days.  After all, everyone already knows what Bayne can do at Daytona…
 
Underdog Selection No. 2: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 32nd. finished 19th
 
Was bringing Allmendinger on board the shot in the arm this team needed?  Not so fast.  While the finish was solid, especially coming from 32nd on the starting grid, the team couldn't match their result in the same race last year, when Bobby Labonte came home 16th.  It's hard to figure why the team tapped Allmendinger instead of a more experienced driver with a winning record at some level of NASCAR if they were planning to replace the 2000 Sprint Cup champ behind the wheel.  Labonte returns this week at Sonoma and will share the seat with Allmendinger for the remainder of the year… and a revolving door of drivers rarely rights a sinking ship.
 
Underdog Selection No. 3: Austin Dillon for Circle Sport; started 7th, finished 11th
 
Dillon finished eleventh but ranks third here because he did it in superior equipment.  Sure, Joe Falk is still the owner of record of the No. 33, but in reality, when Dillon runs the car, it's a fifth RCR team (Kurt Busch is also included in that number) running equipment every bit as good as the other RCR teams have.  So, while Dillon's finish was quite good, it doesn't quite match up to if Landon Cassill were to take the same spot with the team's small engine program and used race car parts.  But it was a good day for the team and for Dillon, who is preparing for a full-time Cup program in 2014 and needs the seat time in a decent car to be competitive in his rookie season.
 
Underdog Pick of the Week- Sonoma: Casey Mears for Germain Racing
 
This is a new section this week; I'll give you my pick among the small teams to have a strong run in the upcoming race.  This week's selection is Casey Mears, whose 19.7 Sonoma average finish is the best among the full-time drivers in this group. While the road-course ringers can certainly have strong runs, I'm going with a driver who is familiar with his team and this track.  Mears was headed for a top 10 last year at Sonoma until he was caught in a crash not of his making, so look for him to be solid this time around and to be in the hunt for a top-15 finish if his luck holds out.

Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during the race broadcasts? Amy has all the small teams covered each and every week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!

Amy Henderson is a Co-Managing Editor and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Writer_Amy.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 was brought to you by the Letter B for "Blown Hopes."  Hendrick Motorsports had multiple issues on Sunday that ruined the organization's hopes for a good result.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. blew an engine, while Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne blew tires.  Jeff Gordon wasn't even on-track long enough to have a spectacular failure of his own before crashing with Bobby Labonte.  In short, Sunday was one of Hendrick Motorsports' worst days in years.  - Phil Allaway

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Sidebar Michigan Stories
by Summer Bedgood

Tough Day For Hendrick Motorsports In Michigan
 
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers suffered some sort of misfortune last Sunday, with three of the four cars failing to make it to the end of the race.  Though Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kasey Kahne all managed to lead double-digit laps, the highest any of them finished was Johnson in 28th.
 
Jeff Gordon was the first of the four HMS drivers to fall out of the race, when a wreck involving Bobby Labonte on the sixth lap forced him to the garage for repairs.  After over 100 laps off track, Gordon returned and moved up to 39th before retiring.
 
Next, Kahne would blow a tire on lap 104 while leading and slam into the Turn 2 wall. He led a total of 14 laps before the crash knocked him out of the race.
 
Later, while up front, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s engine lost a cylinder.  Shortly afterwards, the engine blew, ending his day after he spent 34 circuits up front.
 
Finally, Jimmie Johnson seemed to be working his way up to Biffle's rear bumper as the laps wound down.  However, like Kahne, his right front tire would also give out with just a handful of laps remaining.  He would eventually finish 28th. It's the first time all four Hendrick Motorsports cars ran outside the top 25 since Sonoma in 2005.
 
Johnson still maintains his championship lead and holds a 31-point advantage over second-place Carl Edwards.  Earnhardt, Kahne, and Gordon are currently seventh, 12th, and 16th, respectively.
 
Hamlin Finishes 30th In A Leffler Tribute Paint Scheme
 
Following the tragic death of NASCAR driver Jason Leffler in a sprint car event last week, Denny Hamlin decided to run a paint scheme in honor of Leffler last Sunday in Michigan.  Leffler, who was the original full-time driver of the FedEx-sponsored No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing, was honored on Sunday with an exact replica of his 2005 paint scheme on Hamlin's car.
 
However, Hamlin struggled with the handling and was never a contender for the victory, let alone a top-10 finish.  Despite multiple attempts to reverse the handling of the car and make forward progress through the field, he never seemed to make any gains on his race car.
 
He ultimately finished 30th, which was likely the final blow dealt to his Chase chances.
 
Ford Notches 1,000th NASCAR Win With Biffle
 
Ford Racing's 1,000th NASCAR National Series victory came Sunday as Greg Biffle crossed the start-finish line in the first position at Michigan International Speedway.  Biffle won the race just about an hour west of Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, giving the victory a storybook ending.
 
The weekend was a great one for Ford, which also saw Ford Racing driver Carl Edwards win the pole for Ford's hometown event. Edwards, too, talked about getting the 1,000th win for Ford on Friday, though it was Roush Fenway Racing teammate Victory Lane who eventually made it to Victory Lane.
 
The win was the 45th victory in the Sprint Cup Series alone for Ford, and the 13th for team owner Jack Roush at Michigan.

Summer Bedgood is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SummerBedgood.

Quotes to Remember: Quicken Loans 400
compiled by Summer Bedgood

"Yeah, we had [a vibration] at the end.  We had a few of them throughout the day.  You just have to ride it out and hope that you don't wind up like a lot of those guys did.  Everybody on our Budweiser Chevy did a great job today.  I didn't wake up this morning thinking that we were going to even run in the Top 10.  I was pretty nervous about our car.  But everybody on this whole Budweiser team did a great job making adjustments this morning.  And we just kept our head in there and kept digging and changing the car.  We didn't start off great.  We made some big adjustments on that first pit stop and we were able to get some track position and then they did a good job managing, when the caution came out there, to get us off the end of pit road in front of the leader.  So, everybody did a great job today." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
 
"We fought hard today.  We fought hard all weekend, really.  We had a good car on Friday, didn't qualify as well as we wanted to and then yesterday we struggled quite a bit.  Made quite a few changes for today.  Just have to thank Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and all the guys on the NAPA Toyota — they did a phenomenal job.  We were really strong in the long runs today.  It just took us too long to get going.  The guys got way away from me there on the restart and then at the end I was chasing him down — I got right back to (Kevin) Harvick at the end and just couldn't do anything with him. Overall, it was a great day — after the last two weeks we've had, we really needed this.  Hopefully, we will just keep this going and see where it takes us." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished third
 
"We probably could have been better if we got better track position on restarts, but I had such a hard time getting into the corners behind people and protecting what I had on restarts, so people would get by me for a couple laps.  Once it spread out, it seemed like I could handle my own and I could chase people back down, but [it was] really, really hard to pass for me.  I feel a lot more aero effects than most people, but getting down in the corners here at 210 miles per hour or whatever and getting in there behind the car, you lose the aero affects and you really don't have any mechanical grip in the tire because the tire is just so hard.  The guys fought hard all day — they did a really good job with the adjustments and Dave (Rogers, crew chief) made some good calls.  The M&M's Camry was there for me and we kept it out in front of the race track and we never really got behind there, so that was good.  We made a lot of big swings at it today.  There were a lot of adjustments there and the guys did good, pit stops were good so it was a good, solid fourth.  If we finish a few more of these a little bit better then we'll be knocking out some wins here." - Kyle Busch, finished fourth
 
"Oh yeah, they've been tight.  It's just that we haven't had much luck.  And today, we really weren't a fifth-place car.  But we had some breaks go our way.  A caution came out at the right time, we got a good restart and two of the guys ahead of us, one had fuel trouble and one had a problem.  So, we got some breaks going our way today.  But, I'm proud of these guys.  Bass Pro Shops have been hanging in there all year with us and Mobil 1 and Rush Truck Centers and Code 2 and Associates and Coke and Sprint and everybody.  It was a good weekend for me, putting us in a hole as far as I did on Friday crashing our primary car." - Tony Stewart, finished fifth
 
"We fought it a little bit — the Hendrick cars had everybody covered.  Other than them, I thought if we had the car just perfect that we had enough speed to have a shot at the win.  The 16 (Greg Biffle) got good there at the end.  We had a good restart there toward the end and Martin (Truex Jr.) got in there, got in the gas and we were still clearly still on the outside and he was going to go straight to the top and I had to lift because he was going to run me into the wall.  When I lifted, my car went sideways and then he lifted and tried to give me room, but he already had me out in the 'toolies' and I just got lucky to save it." - Matt Kenseth, finished sixth
 
"That was a crazy day.  We got off to a rough start in the 5-Hour ENERGY Toyota.  We worked on it all day long and made the absolute best of the situation we were in.  All in all, it turned out to be a pretty decent points day for us.  Not the way we would have drawn it up, but I'll take it." - Clint Bowyer, finished seventh
 
"The No. 31 Caterpillar Team fought hard all day to bring home another solid finish.  It turned out that tires made a huge difference.  We continue to make progress with our mile-and-a-half and two-mile track programs.  Overall, it was a good points day." - Jeff Burton, finished tenth
 
"I think that there were some breaking moments out there.  Yellows definitely helped us be able to get track position as far as closing up the gaps and being able to pit a few times.  We tried to take right sides and get track position early on.  It just didn't go well... we weren't ready... the car wasn't… we just hadn't gotten ourselves to a good place with the car that I could carry the speed that I needed to run with them.  It didn't work out so well.  We worked on it and got it better.  At the end of the race, the last run was the best run I felt as far as the balance of the car, which I was surprised because we had fallen off a little bit at the end of the run before.  We had only taken right side tires again for a second time.  It's nice to just get a decent finish for the team and for GoDaddy.  It's been rough going since Martinsville.  This will hopefully get everyone's head up a little bit and we will go on.  I think we have been strong lately.  We just needed to have days like today where we finished it off." - Danica Patrick, finished 13th
 
"Yeah, it's just a bummer.  We had a great race car.  Our strategy was throwing some challenges at us today and we just struggled with maintaining track position.  But, we had a fast car and I could drive up through there and as soon as I'd get to first or second, a caution would come out and then something would happen again and we'd lose track position.  But we had a great race car and I hate having that problem at the end.  I had to run the car really hard to get through all those guys and must have worn through that right front tire with two or three (laps) to go, it went down going into Turn 1." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 28th
 
"The guys did a great job.  We had a good run.  Just came up 16 laps short.  It was a great effort and I'm really proud of the guys.  They stepped up again this week.  I had a good day.  My car handled good and it was faster than a lot of cars and there were a few that were faster than us.  We raced around and sorted it out." - Mark Martin, finished 26th
 
"It was an idea that I had to pay tribute to Jason (Leffler) in today's race.  We had become friends over the past several years and had the same circle of friends, so it meant a lot to me to honor his memory.  I have to thank JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and FedEx for letting us do this — Jason was there at the start with FedEx joining JGR back in 2005 and there are still about five crew members on the team that were on the team with Jason so I know it was real special to all of them.  Also want to thank NASCAR for letting us change the wrap on the car on such short notice — just wanted to help pay tribute to Jason." - Denny Hamlin, finished 30th

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  Sonoma Raceway has gone through no less than four different names and a number of configurations over the years.  However, there was one big change that occurred immediately prior to the Cup Series traveling to Sonoma for the first time in 1989.  What was it?

Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Friday's Answer:

Q:  When it was run back in 1999, the KMart 400 presented by Castrol Super Clean at Michigan International Speedway set an all-time NASCAR record.  What was it?
A: At the time, Dale Jarrett's victory was earned with the fastest average speed of all time in a Cup Series 400-mile race  The average speed was just a shade under 174 mph in a caution-free race.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Quicken Loans 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
 
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters
Danny returns for his weekly edition of talking points, which will wrap up the action at Michigan and get us ready for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and ARCA Racing Series raced 850 miles on the ultra-quick Michigan banks. How were the telecasts of these races? Find out tomorrow.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Michigan-Sonoma Edition by Brad Morgan
Brad gets us set for Sonoma while tracking the trends of the past few weeks to see which drivers are on a tear... or tearing their hair out.

Racing To The Point by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.

Going By The Numbers by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin enlightens us with his weekly statistics column based on trends we've been seeing in the Cup Series so far this season.
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