NASCAR Cup Series

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS – Qualified 5th “I felt like it was a solid day for us. Our No. 24 NAPA Chevy has driven pretty good all day long, which I think is encouraging. Obviously, need to be faster with just a little bit of overall speed. Fifth is a plenty good enough starting spot, so it will be a good selection on pit road and try to execute on Sunday.”

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Nature’s Bakery Ford Fusion, is 28 points behind Matt Kenseth for what is now the current final playoff spot, but a win this weekend at Michigan International Speedway would change that scenario. Bowyer spoke about his chances prior to today’s practice session.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed his memories of racing at Michigan, attending Washington Redskin’s training camp and many other topics.

New paint scheme for you this weekend, how do you feel about it? “Yeah, really excited. Obviously ARRIS has been with us already for a couple years – a few years now actually, this is the third one. I’m really super excited to bring the new technology to the race track - to bring the new technology to the race track and to have different paint schemes. Super excited to be here at Michigan again. Already this is one of those places that definitely brings good memories and hopefully now that we have good momentum going on, hopefully we can keep that up.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 LIFTMASTER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed his reaction to the announcement that he will not return to the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, his thoughts on where he might race next season, the first practice session at Michigan and many other topics.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, needs a victory to qualify for this year’s NASCAR Playoffs. A two-time winner here at Michigan International Speedway, Logano stopped by the infield media center after practice to discuss his chances for a third.

Did his lack of success over recent years stunt NASCAR's growth? Maybe, it was his continued presence that kept it from sliding further down the tubes. In fact, the champion has only taken the Most Popular Driver award six times in the season they won the championship. The last was Bill Elliott nearly 30 years ago. So much for Harvick's theory.

This isn't a respectable statistic for a division that boasts how "Names Are Made Here." How does one "make a name" by running fourth, ninth, and 12th on a weekly basis? Ticket sales and attendance are down and have been declining since the other two national touring divisions in NASCAR became feeder series instead of having their own identity.

After running some of the most unique racetracks at Indianapolis, Pocono, and Watkins Glen, the Can-Am / Kappa Ford team is traveling to the fastest track on the NASCAR schedule, Michigan International Speedway. This track is the last large-oval that the series will race at for quite a while, as NASCAR will be heading to some of its premier short-tracks for the next month. The Can-Am / Kappa team continues to sit 31st in points, up seven spots from this same time, and is fighting to move up the points standings.

Michael McDowell and Leavine Family Racing (LFR) look to continue their streak of Top-20 finishes at Michigan International Speedway fresh off their best finish together at Watkins Glen.