NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan
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[/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: After passing Brad Keselowski on lap 191, Johnson was poised to capture his series-best fourth win of the year. But a blown engine just four laps later ended Johnson’s day, and his 27th-place finished dropped him to fourth in the point standings.
“That’s was my second engine failure of the weekend,” Johnson said. “Let me tell you, that ‘b(Lowe’s).’ Who’s building these things? Ironically, he may have to be ‘let go.’
“Is Keselowski the biggest threat to my chances of winning my sixth Cup title? If number of tweets is any indication, then I’m in deep trouble. But I, a five-time champion, tend to put more stock in ‘hardware’ instead of ‘software.’ I don’t follow @Kes, or that logic.”
2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took the runner-up spot for the second-straight week, finishing second to Greg Biffle in the Pure Michigan 400. Keselowski remained fifth in the point standings and is 47 out of first.
“Am I destined for second place?” Keselowski said. “Apparently, I need to send a tweet to ‘@theleader,’ because that’s who I’m following.
“I hear than Joey Logano could be my new teammate at Penske Racing. I think it would be great to see Joey’s name on the side of a Penske Dodge. That way, I can once again say I have a teammate who’s ‘on something.’”
3. Greg Biffle: Biffle took the lead when Jimmie Johnson’s engine blew on lap 196, and held off Brad Keselowski to win the Pure Michigan 400. It was Biffle’s second win of the year, giving him the Sprint Cup points lead and significantly improving his position in the Chase.
“These are happy days for me,” Biffle said. “Oddly enough, Johnson’s ‘expiration point’ became my ‘inspiration point.’ And I ‘made out’ well.
“It looks like Jack Roush’s hopes for the Cup title rest solely on my shoulders. Matt Kenseth seems to be mailing it in, while Carl Edwards won’t deliver on Sunday.”
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt, who won at Michigan in June, finished fourth in the Pure Michigan 400, his tenth top-10 of the year. He moved up one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 22 behind Greg Biffle.
“Jeff Gordon had some unkind words for me over the radio at Michigan,” Earnhardt said. “I’m not offended. And neither is Rick Hendrick. In his eyes, Gordon was just ‘sharing information.”
5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 17th at Michigan, as Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle gave Jack Roush his 12th win at Michigan. Kenseth is now second in the point standings, 20 behind Biffle.
“Congratulations to Greg Biffle,” Kenseth said. “I have no problem ‘giving it up’ for the Biff.’ I also have no problem ‘giving it up’ for a fat new contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. I envy Biffle. He closed the deal and wasn’t afraid to talk about it.”
6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne solidified his wildcard position in the standings with a third in the Pure Michigan 400. He is 11th in the point standings, 33 behind Deny Hamlin in 10th.
“Mark Martin had a heck of a crash on Sunday,” Kahne said. “Officially, he retired on lap 64. Considering the magnitude of the wreck, I’m surprised Mark was able to walk away. I’m even more surprised he didn’t officially announce his retirement.”
7. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished 32nd at Michigan after a long day in which he struggled after losing a cylinder on lap 51. After several trips to the garage, Stewart ended the day 92 laps down.
“Luckily,” Stewart said, “I’ve got three wins to fall back on. And I pride myself on being amply cushioned.
“My good friend Danica Patrick ran over a shoe in Montreal on Saturday. It seems she’s trying a little too hard to get her ‘footing’ in NASCAR. She probably could have used a shoe ‘horn.’ The GoDaddy.com car spits out shoes faster than a Chinese Nike factory.”
8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th at Michigan, leading one lap and just missing on his 12th top-10 result of the year. He is tenth in the point standings, 96 out of first.
“Despite my standing in the points,” Hamlin said, “I still think I’ll contend for the Sprint Cup title once the Chase begins. So, unlike my unborn child, my championship hopes are ‘legitimate.”
9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his third consecutive top-10 finish with a seventh in the Pure Michigan 400. He remained seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 66 out of first and firmly in place to make the Chase.
“I’m a shoo-in to make the Chase,” Bowyer said. “And speaking of ‘shoe-ins,’ a sneaker tossed on the track in Montreal derailed Danica Patrick’s chances in the Nationwide race. She ran slap over the thing. I’m guessing she would have stopped had it been a high heel.”
10. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished 10th at Michigan, scoring his 13th top-10 result of the year. He stands sixth in the point standings, 60 out of first.
“Michael Waltrip Racing is poised to put two cars in the Chase For The Cup,” Truex said. “Can you imagine an MWR driver winning the Sprint Cup championship? Michael says if you can’t ‘buy’ that, maybe you will ‘rent’ it.”
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A TAIL GATE PARTY AT THE NEW (OLD) BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
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[/media-credit]Following a busy Saturday at Michigan last weekend, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action, on a rare Wednesday night, for the running of the Volunteer 200 at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
This race will be the truck series’ first look at the recent alterations that changed the new Bristol Motor Speedway back to the old Bristol Motor Speedway. Following the speedway’s annual NASCAR weekend last March, a massive reconstruction, on the concrete covered half mile oval, was performed. A milling, or grinding, process was used to erase the progressive banking in the upper groove of the turns. It’s expected that this will make racing on the bottom of the track vital and will bring a return of using the chrome horn to pass a competitor. In other words, they will be going back to the old Bristol racing format that made the track so famous and filled the 100,000 plus seat that completely surrounds the facility. The empty seats, observed during the NASCAR weekend last March, combined with fan and driver input, was reported to be a catalyst for this reconstruction.
The return of the old style Bristol racing, with its well remembered racing is rubbing format, could conceivably create a huge impact on the series’ points standings. Going into Wednesday night’s race, Timothy Peters and Ty Dillon are tied at the top of the standings with 449 points each. Dillon’s sixth place finish last weekend at Michigan compared to Peters’ 13th place finish was the numerical equation that created the tie.
However there are two other series’ young guns who are very much involved in the championship picture. Three time race winner James Buescher has 443 points which places him third in the rankings and only six points away from first. Justin Lofton, currently fourth and 17 points from the top, is also very much a part of this championship profile.
It was no real surprise last Saturday when Nelson Piquet Jr took his first win at Michigan. Many series observers have been saying all season long that it was just a matter of time before this talented, second generation, driver from Brazil found a NASCAR victory lane.
Piquet will be looking to use that momentum to score a second win at Bristol. He will also be using some advertising space on his Turner Motorsports Chevrolet Truck to promote the letter “B”. It turns out that “B” is a cachaca, (rum), mixed with honey and lime. “B” was founded by Piquet Jr in his native Brazil and will be available to U.S. customers in 2013.
THE RACE BREAKDOWN.
The Volunteer 200 is race number 13 of 22 on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ schedule. The race is 200 laps/106.6 miles around the Bristol Motor Speedway’s .533 mile all concrete oval.
The race has 40 entries vying for the 36 starting positions. 15 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed a starting berth because they are currently outside of the series’ top 25 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.
There will be no repeat winner from last year. Kevin Harvick, the 2011 winner, is not entered in this race.
In recent years this event has had the names of several NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers on its entry list. There is only one Cup visitor in Wednesday night’s truck race. Brad Keselowski will be driving his self owned #29 Reese Tow Power Dodge and he’s going to be very busy at Bristol. Keselowski will be attempting the Bristol triple threat and will be seeking wins in the truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races during the course of the racing weekend.
The Volunteer 200 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel with the set up show beginning at 730pm eastern followed by the green flag at approximately 8pm et.
