I’m back after my yearly boycott of one of the two Pocono races, and I come back amidst a shake up in both the number 1 seed for The Chase, and a hot streak out of the Stewart-Hass stable has mixed up the standings for the two Wild Card spots at the end of the season. Matt Kenseth held the advantage for the top seed in The Chase with three early victories but now he’s got a companion in fellow champion Jimmie Johnson, who recorded his third win of the year last Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Remember, each win in the regular season is worth three bonus points when the Chase begins in mid-September, so winning races now can really help our your cause in September.
Kenseth, a two-time Michigan winner, arguably has been the season’s fastest commodity leading 11 of 14 races. The 2003 champ’s pace has sometimes proved too fast for his JGR Toyota, which has suffered two engine-related DNFs – something to watch for this weekend, as Michigan tends to be rough on engines.
Johnson peaked early, winning the Daytona 500. Nothing’s happened over the next 13 races to suggest that’s anything but a good thing for the Hendrick Motorsports team. In fact, his best vote of confidence comes from crew chief Chad Knaus following Sunday’s dominant victory at Pocono:
“Jimmie and I are in a really good spot. Jimmie is switched on right now,” said Knaus in the post race press-conference. “He’s as good or better than I’ve ever seen him.”
An important stat for Jimmie’s start to this 2013 season is in four of his five championship seasons, he won two or more races through the first Pocono event – he’s won 3 so far this season. Considering he has finished among the top five in 7 of this season’s 14 races and led a combined 271 laps in his past two starts, I think this team is really clicking, and when this team is clicking, WATCH OUT.
Taking a look at the other end of The Chase field, you’ve got red-hot Tony Stewart. Stewart’s latest feat is disproving a mysterious theory that the current points system works against recovery from an early season filled with misfortune. It took Tony just 3 races to erase that misconception.
Tony left Darlington on Mother’s Day weekend ranked 21st in the standings, but he enters Father’s Day weekend in 13th, but more importantly just 17 points out of the 10th spot in points. In just 3 races, Stewart has closed the gap on 10th by 45 points with 3 solid finishes, including the win at Dover.
As far as Michigan goes, the track itself is a 2-mile D-shaped oval situated in the “Irish Hills” of Michigan. It was previously known as the “sister track” to Texas World Speedway, not to be confused with Texas Motor Speedway of course, which was actually used as a blueprint for the construction of California Speedway. Michigan is recognized as one of motorsports’ premier facilities because of its wide surface and fast speeds. Because there are no restrictor plates at Michigan, it’s considered the fastest track in NASCAR as corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 MPH. There’s a lot of room to race at Michigan, creating a lot of passing and great opportunities for 3 & 4 wide restarts.
Michigan Picks
Winner Pick
On Wednesday, I picked Carl Edwards while previewing Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 with Greg of the Prime Sports Network. It’s a pick I am happy with considering 16 drivers have won from the pole at Michigan, making it the winningest starting spot in the field. Edwards took the pole on Friday with a qualifying speed topping 202 MPH.
On top of taking the pole on Friday, Edwards boasts the series-best average finish of 8.2 over the course of his career, the second-best average running position, over 2,500 laps run in the top 15, and a Driver Rating of 105.2 which is good enough for 3rd best on the list of active drivers.
Even in the horrific 2012 season for Carl Edwards, he managed to finish 11th in the June race after starting 42nd, and 6th after he started outside the front row. Considering his success here over the years, I still like Carl as a pick this week.
Dark Horse Pick
I didn’t have a longshot on Wednesday during the preview show with Greg, and unfortunately don’t have one for this Saturday Pick’s column this week. To me, there is so much talent starting at the front of the field this week, the top-10 finishing spots are going to be claimed by the top guys. I don’t see too much room for any drivers to “shock the world” this week in Michigan.
A melancholy Godspeed this week to Jason Leffler, who passed following a Sprint Car crash in Bridgeport, NJ earlier this week. I was a fan of Leffler throughout his career, and am saddened by the loss of one of the true racers of the NASCAR community.
That’s all for this week, so until we head to wine country…You Stay Classy NASCAR Nation!
