SM Archive

Travis Pastrana visits Michigan International Speedway (MIS) for the first time this weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS).

You can't blame David Ragan for looking forward to a trip to Michigan International Speedway. In 12 Sprint Cup Series starts at the two-mile oval, Ragan has only finished outside the top-25 twice. Those starts include one top-five, two top-10s and five top-15s.

There's no comparing notes from other tracks when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes to Michigan International Speedway these days. Since the track was repaved last year, David Gilliland says the two-mile oval is now unique in its racing characteristics.

The No. 99 SchoolTipline.com Toyota Camry, piloted by Alex Bowman, had a strong run in the early going of Sunday's rain-delayed DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway, but a late-race faux pas left the team with a 22nd-place finish.

RAB Racing and Kenny Wallace came into a familiar Iowa Speedway with high hopes of a good finish and excitement to have U.S. Cellular on board for the first time. Iowa Speedway is a track that Kenny Wallace has an almost perfect lap completion record (99.7%), and three top 10 finishes in five starts.

Brandon Vanderwel (No. 97) has partnered with Protect the Children for the 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model season to raise awareness against childhood abuse.

Frank Kimmel survived a mid-race wall-banging in the Pocono ARCA 200 Saturday at Pocono Raceway and finished a come-backing third in his No. 44 Ansell / Menards Toyota, to a pair of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards' rising stars.

After nearly 40 hours of continuous rain in the Pocono Mountains washed out Friday’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards qualifying for the Pocono ARCA 200 the field for Saturday’s race was set by owner’s points, putting Venturini Motorsports (VMS) entries securely into the top-10 starting positions.

Starting this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Takagi will debut as primary sponsor on Cole Whitt’s No. 44 Toyota Camry. Whitt and Takagi will then team up for Indianapolis (July 27th), Atlanta (August 31st), Texas (November 2nd) and the season finale at Homestead (November 21st).

Before Sunday’s rain delayed DuPont Pioneer 250, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Mike Bliss emphasized how important car setup was at the 7/8-mile oval. “Your car setup is crucial - if you’re in sync you’ll run great,” he said. Bliss’ No. 19 TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry was in sync and on a roll on Sunday morning as the field took the green flag, on a green track, for the start of the race at Iowa Speedway.