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.
