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Mash The Gas – Michigan Quicken Loans 400 Preview

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into the heart of the American auto industry near Detroit as the Michigan International Speedway hosts the Quicken Loans 400 Sunday afternoon. Located in the Irish Hills of Michigan, MIS is a sweeping two mile oval which has seen incredible speeds since the track was repaved a year ago. The track has since had a winter season for the pavement to settle and it will be interesting to see if the new Gen 6 car can produce the same eye-popping lap times that were evident a year ago. Michigan’s wide layout leaves plenty of room for three and four wide racing, often times with few caution flags which makes fuel mileage a crucial element in planning a race strategy.

The Quicken Loans 400 is scheduled to start at 1:16pm on Sunday, June 16th. Two hundred laps around the 2 mile oval make up the 400 mile distance at the Michigan International Speedway.

The following are the drivers we think you should be watching this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson
Dan Margetta: “Superman” flexed his muscles and put a hurting on the field last week at Pocono as Jimmie Johnson drove to a dominating win. Michigan, however, could be his Kryptonite as it’s one of the few tracks Johnson has yet to win at. He’s been close before, even running out of fuel on the final lap, but if there is ever a time to check Michigan off the list, it’s now as currently, this team is outperforming everyone by a mile. One thing to keep in mind however, is with such a large point lead, the #48 team could go into “test” mode the next few weeks as they look ahead to the Chase.

Carl Edwards
John Wiedemann: Carl Edwards is really good at Michigan. With the exception of two races, Edwards has finished in the top twelve in every Sprint Cup race he competed at the track, including wins in 2007 and 2008. Missing the top ten in the last three races, Edwards can use some of his Michigan magic to get back on track and challenge Jimmie Johnson for the top spot in the point standings. I expect a sure top five and possible shot at victory lane this weekend out of the driver of the #99.

Matt Kenseth
DM: Matt Kenseth has a pretty stellar record at Michigan with two wins, twelve top five finishes, and seventeen top ten results. He also holds the second best driver rating among the competitors. The wildcard factor in all this is that these performances were all behind the wheel of a Roush-Fenway Ford and with the horsepower scaled down in his Joe Gibbs Racing Tortoise I mean Toyota, in search of reliability, he could find himself having a hard time keeping up with the powerhouse Hendrick teams at a track where horsepower is key. Engine issues the last two weeks have slowed down the #20 team’s effort which has allowed Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team to roam freely at the front of the field. Despite being down on power which may not be as big of a factor with the track pavement now settled, Kenseth and the #20 team will look to regain their edge this week counting on other factors such as chassis set-up and fuel strategy.

Tony Stewart
JW: In the last three races Tony Stewart has shot up the point standings with finishes of 7th, 1st and 4th. He now sits thirteenth in the points with a grip on one of the Chase Wild Card entrees. Prior to the 7th place finish at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600, Stewart hadn’t had a top ten finish since the second race of the season. Heating up in summertime has been the mode of operations for Stewart and he is solidly in that mode right now. Stewart has one win at Michigan, back in 2000, and just broke a streak of five top tens in the fall race last year when he lost an engine. A Wild Card won’t necessarily cut it with Stewart, he will be looking for a solid spot in the top ten of the point standings. Look for Stewart to be tough this weekend and in the weeks to come.

Greg Biffle
DM: “The Biff” bounced back last week at Pocono with a second place finish that was for the most part best in class as Jimmie Johnson had the field covered. Biffle has won three times at the Michigan oval to go along with nine top five finishes and twelve top ten finishes. He is the best rated driver in the field Sunday and momentum from the strong Pocono run should carry over this weekend. Historically Roush-Fenway Racing has fared very well at Michigan and it’s the right place for the organization to get back to victory lane with Biffle being the favorite to accomplish it. Currently holding the last Chase point standings spot, in tenth place, Biffle and the #16 need victories to lock in their spot in the title hunt and don’t forget, they were the winners here last August.

Kyle Busch
JW: Not one driver was happy at Joe Gibbs Racing or Michael Waltrip Racing with the de-tuned Toyota engines. Solid, reliable finishes are important but most drivers would rather have a shot at the win. It will be interesting to see how much re-tuning (is that a word) is put back into the Toyota engines and how competitive they will be. Busch will be one to watch as he will be getting everything he can out of his motor. Statistically, Busch’s finishes have been all over the map at Michigan but he did win the second race in the 2011 season. 2012’s results were not as good, but I am looking at a rebound to 2011 this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
DM: Junior Nation ought to invade the Michigan International Speedway in droves as the track has been the site of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last two victories. It’s the only track NASCAR’s most popular driver has been able to conquer in the last five years. The #88 team turned in a strong race last week at Pocono with a third place finish and with favorable Michigan on the horizon, Dale Jr. is definitely a contender this weekend. Earnhardt and the #88 team finished second at California earlier this season and Michigan closely resembles that facility.

Denny Hamlin
JW: Denny Hamlin needs reliability out of the Toyota engines but he really needs wins badly. Last weekend’s finish of eighth only moved him up one spot in the standings and he is still a long way (76 points) from the top twenty. Along with the top twenty spot he will also probably need two wins. Michigan would be considered a good track for Hamlin to find a win since he has won twice there in 2010 and 2011. But, the engine questions remain. Hamlin will continue to be “one to watch” all the way to the Chase.

Kurt Busch
DM: Once again, I’ll make Kurt Busch my long shot pick this weekend and maybe, just maybe, he’ll finally break through to victory lane. This team continues to run up front and has posted top fifteen finishes in five of the last six races, with the one poor result being when he tumbled down the Talladega backstretch while battling for the lead late in the race. Kurt Busch finished fifth at California back in March and the pieces are in place for a win this weekend. We’ve seen this movie lots of times in 2013 with this team and each time it hasn’t ended with a victory, yet we keep watching thinking the outcome will be different. Maybe this weekend at Michigan, they’ll prove all this faith we’ve had in this team has been justified.

Brad Keselowski
JW: Brad Keselowski returns home to a Michigan track that I’m sure is high on his list of tracks to win at. I’m sure that list of tracks would be any track he has ever seen. Statistically, the second Michigan race on the schedule has been better for Keselowski with him scoring a third in 2011 and second place finish in 2012. Going on that trend, Keselowski should win the next Michigan race on August 18th. But, who better to buck a trend, I’m going with Bad Brad to win this weekend’s race at Michigan.

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