NASCAR Cup Series

Bobby Labonte confirmed today that he will drive the No. 51 Chevrolet this weekend at the Michigan International Speedway for Phoenix Racing. The agreement was reached after Labonte spoke with and received approvals from officials with JTG/Daugherty Racing and Toyota Racing Development. It is currently an agreement for one race.

With a picture-perfect race day after a qualifying rainout, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos 400.

Chassis RK-814 is the same chassis that the No.17 team ran at Martinsville finishing 25th after getting caught in an accident early in the race.

Biffle has 20 Sprint Cup career starts at Michigan, earning three wins, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

No. 15 5-hour ENEGY Toyota crew chief Brian Pattie says his team’s work in the upcoming races will pay dividends in the fall during NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. His Michael Waltrip Racing team is third in points with 12 races remaining before the start of the Chase.

Last June, Marcos Ambrose had a magical day when he became the first driver in NASCAR history to win the pole with a lap faster than 200 miles per hour on a non-plate track. Ambrose and the No. 9 Stanley Ford team posted a lap of 203.341mph, the first time a team broke 200mph since 1987 when Bill Elliott posted a lap of 203.827mph at Talladega Superspeedway. The pole was the first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Ambrose.

Mark Martin dominated testing, won the pole and led every lap except during pit stop sequences at Michigan International Speedway in August.

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.

Pocono. Jimmie Johnson. His 63rd career Cup victory. Did I leave anything out? Sunday was all about Johnson pretty much all of the time. Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr, who both won at Michigan last season, were the runners up at Pocono as Five Time claimed his third checkered flag of the season.