3M Performance 400 News and Notes

Driver to win the 3M Performance 400

Jimmie Johnson +525
Carl Edwards +585
Kyle Busch +605
Matt Kenseth +805
Kasey Kahne +855
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1015
Tony Stewart +1085
Greg Biffle +1250
Jeff Gordon +1550
Denny Hamlin +1550
Brian Vickers +1885
Kevin Harvick +2850
Mark Martin +2850
Jeff Burton +2850
Martin Truex Jr +3050
David Ragan +3050
Clint Bowyer +4250
Kurt Busch +4550
Ryan Newman +4550
Elliot Sadler +4850
Jamie McMurray +6250
Field +2850

TheGreek

Pure Stats: The Return to Michigan International Speedway
Backstretchmotorsports.com

The final four events in the Race to the Chase are packed with subplots.

• There’s Kyle Busch’s attempt at 13 wins in a season. Since the schedule was reduced in size in 1972, 13 wins in a season has been the standard. Richard Petty won 13 in 1975 and Jeff Gordon did it in 1998. Busch has a solid shot a matching – and surpassing – that number. Busch nabbed victory No. 8 last weekend at Watkins Glen, becoming the 18th driver with eight wins in the first 22 races – 13 of the previous 17 went on to win the series championship.

• There’s Matt Kenseth’s goal of making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the fifth time. In and out of the top 12 over the past seven weeks, Kenseth looks to stay in over the next four races. The statistics suggest he will. He has a series-best Driver Rating of 103.5 at the four remaining tracks before the Chase, as well as a win at all four.

• There’s the Chase bonus point hunt for Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Busch – assuming he makes the Chase – has already locked up the top seed with 80 bonus points. But both Edwards and Johnson have an excellent shot at closing the gap. Last season, Edwards won at Michigan and Bristol, while Johnson conquered Auto Club Speedway and Richmond.

• And there’s the snowballing winless drought of Tony Stewart. Stewart’s drought is at 36. He has come close to ending the slide though, earning runner-up finishes in each of the last two races. He also has the second-best Driver Rating at the next four tracks (100.6).

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Michigan International Speedway
Driver Races Poles Wins Top Fives Top 10s DNFs Average Finish Driver Rating

1 Kyle Busch 7 0 0 0 2 1 19.6 90.8
2 Carl Edwards 8 0 1 4 7 0 7.3 112.5
3 Jimmie Johnson 13 0 0 2 6 1 14.2 108.2
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr 18 2 1 3 6 2 16.3 100.7
5 Jeff Burton 29 2 0 4 8 1 16.0 72.9
6 Jeff Gordon 31 5 2 15 20 3 10.8 94.7
7 Tony Stewart 19 0 1 9 13 3 12.5 96.6
8 Kasey Kahne 9 1 1 5 5 0 13.8 84.7
9 Denny Hamlin 5 0 0 1 2 0 10.8 92.9
10 Greg Biffle 11 0 2 4 6 0 14.0 104.0
11 Kevin Harvick 15 0 0 2 5 1 15.7 77.9
12 Matt Kenseth 18 0 2 8 12 1 9.3 107.2

Selected Driver Highlights

Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Michigan International Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last seven races at Michigan. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
• Two wins, four top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 14.0
• Average Running Position of 9.7, third-best
• Driver Rating of 104.0, fourth-best
• 95 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• 486 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.525 mph, fourth-fastest
• 1,092 (81.8%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 335 Quality Passes, third-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Two wins, six top fives
• Average finish of 19.1
• Average Running Position of 13.0, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 99.5, sixth-best
• 93 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.022 mph, seventh-fastest
• 878 (65.8%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
• 255 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• One win, three top fives, six top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 16.3
• Average Running Position of 10.9, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 100.7, fifth-best
• 67 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
• 482 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 172.262 mph, fifth-fastest
• 995 (74.5%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 342 Quality Passes, second-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford)
• One win, four top fives, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 7.3
• Series-best Average Running Position of 7.4
• Series-best Driver Rating of 112.5
• 93 Fastest Laps Run, tied for third-best
• 519 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
• Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 174.732 mph
• Series-high 1,196 (89.6%) Laps in the Top 15
• Series-high 382 Quality Passes

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Two wins, 15 top fives, 20 top 10s; five poles
• Average finish of 10.8
• Average Running Position of 11.7, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 94.7, eighth-best
• 61 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• 922 (69.1%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 10.8
• Average Running Position of 12.3, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 92.9, ninth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 173.845 mph, eighth-best
• 66.6% (623 total) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-best percentage
• 225 Quality Passes (average of 45.0 per race), tied for fourth-best average

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Two top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 14.2
• Average Running Position of 8.1, second-best
• Driver Rating of 108.2, second-best
• Series-high 106 Fastest Laps Run
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.601 mph, second-fastest
• 1,128 (84.5%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• 315 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• Two wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s
• Average finish of 9.3
• Average Running Position of 11.9, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 107.2, third-best
• 74 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.599 mph, third-fastest
• 1,020 (76.4%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
• 292 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• One win, nine top fives, 13 top 10s
• Average finish of 12.5
• Average Running Position of 14.2, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 96.6, seventh-best
• 50 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.125 mph, sixth-fastest
• 981 (73.5%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most
• 289 Quality Passes, seventh-most

At Michigan International Speedway:

• Michigan International Speedway sits on more than 1,400 acres in the Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan. Groundbreaking took place on Sept. 28, 1967.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan was held June 15, 1969.
• The track was known as Michigan Speedway during the time Roger Penske was the primary owner (1996-99).
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held on Aug. 15, 1992.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan was held on July 24, 1999.

Notebook

• There have been 78 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Michigan International Speedway since the first race there in 1969. Other than 1973, which had just one race, there have been two races each season since 1969.
• The first Michigan race was 500 miles in length; the second was scheduled for 600. The track was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 – with the race distance being 402 miles. All other Michigan races have been scheduled for 400 miles.
• Donnie Allison won the first pole at Michigan.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Cale Yarborough.
• There have been 38 different pole winners at Michigan; 18 drivers have more than one.
• 30 different drivers have won races, led by David Pearson (nine); 17 drivers have more than one victory there.
• The race winner has started from the pole 15 times, the most productive starting position.
• 62 of 78 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 45 from the first four spots. However, five of the past eight winners have started outside the top 10.
• The deepest in the field a race winner has started was 28th by Tony Stewart in 2001.
• The Wood Brothers have won 11 races at Michigan, more than any other car owner. Their last victory was in 1991, with Dale Jarrett as the driver.
• There have been two green-white-checkered races at Michigan: the rain-delayed 2007 3M Performance 400, which was run on Tuesday (203 laps) and June 2008 (203 laps).

Hot Facts

• There have been six different pole winners in the past seven Michigan races. Qualifying was canceled in June 2008.
• There have been 14 different race winners in the past 18 races. Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman have repeated as race winners there since August 1999.
• Carl Edwards has finished on the lead lap in all eight of his Michigan races and is the only driver with more than one race there who has completed all of his possible laps.

Michigan International Speedway Data

Race # 23 of 36 (8-17-08)
Track Size: 2 miles
• Race Length: 400 miles
• Banking/Corners: 18 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 12 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees

Driver Rating at Michigan
Carl Edwards 112.5
Jimmie Johnson 108.2
Matt Kenseth 107.2
Greg Biffle 104.0
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 100.7
Kurt Busch 99.5
Tony Stewart 96.6
Jeff Gordon 94.7
Denny Hamlin 92.9
Martin Truex Jr. 91.4
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (7 total) at Michigan.

Qualifying/Race Data

2007 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (189.026 mph, 38.090 seconds)
2007 race winner: Kurt Busch, 117.044 mph, 8-21-07)
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman (194.232 mph, 37.069 seconds, (6-18-05)
Track race record: Dale Jarrett (173.997 mph, 6-13-99)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 40-44 laps, based on fuel mileage.

Skinner on preliminary Cup entry list in No. 00, apparently replacing McDowell
scenedaily.com

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Mike Skinner is on the entry list for this weekend's 3M Performance 400 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, where he will apparently replace Michael McDowell in the No. 00 Michael Waltrip RacingToyota.

McDowell, a rookie whose team is 36th in owner points, will temporarily be pulled from the car in a move similar to what Skinner did with AJ Allmendinger and Red Bull Racing earlier in the season.

Cal Wells, MWR executive vice president, said Sunday that McDowell could be removed from the car if it failed to get back into the top 35 in owner points at Watkins Glen. McDowell's 25th-place finish on Sunday left him eight points short of the 35th-place team of Allmendinger.

"If we choose to do that, it would be for two reasons," Wells said Sunday before the race. "One would be to evaluate the package itself, and the other would be to make sure we get in the shows. Not that McDowell can't bust a lap off - because he can - but anything's possible."

Wells said Sunday morning that no contracts were in place yet to replace McDowell, and nothing had been set up. But the pace apparently picked up once the No. 00 remained outside the top 35 and faced the prospect of qualifying on speed at Michigan.

"We'll do what's necessary to evaluate that," Wells said. "One of the business objectives we have is keeping that car in the top 35, and we haven't been able to do that."

McDowell declined to speculate on the move Sunday morning and was unavailable for comment Monday afternoon.

Wells said bringing McDowell back to the team in 2009, which would require picking up the option on the driver's contract and securing sponsorship, is a priority.

"We have a lot of things in the hopper that involve Michael," he said. "All of the things we're selling are built around Michael McDowell. We made a very big investment in him. He's a very talented guy. I like Mike a lot personally, and I feel he's really championship-caliber.

"It's just going to be a matter of sequencing - when he matures, when that team matures. As far as sponsorship, we're not selling around anybody else. I just hope the timing works out, but I don't know right now."

Biffle Seeks Michigan Magic
Racingone.com

After losing two spots in the Sprint Cup Series standings last week at Watkins Glen, Greg Biffle is hoping for a return to victory lane at Michigan International Speedway to solidify his position in the Chase.

Biffle slipped to ninth in the Sprint Cup Series standings and has four races left to ensure he's part of this year's Chase field.

"Well, I think I'm not – definitely not easy cruising to the Chase right now," Biffle said. "We know that we're on the envelope of getting in. You know, we're in that 8th through 13th class that's going to fight right down to Richmond unless one of us breaks out, gets a win, a couple top fives and locks ourselves in in the next two races."

"We're on that bubble, and certainly finishing 21st at the Glen wasn't what we wanted. It's not where we ran all day, but that's the finish we ended up with."

One thing in Biffle's favor is the schedule with the four tracks remaining until the Chase begins among his favorites on the circuit.

"We are just lucky that the deck is stacked sort of in our favor," he said. "We run very well at Michigan, very well at Bristol. I like California and Richmond. So those are good racetracks for us to be going to."

"If we were going to Talladega and Martinsville and some of these other tracks, I wouldn't be as optimistic in my chances of making the Chase right now. But we're by no means safe. We know that we have to run hard and well."

Biffle will certainly be a favorite this weekend at Michigan, where he has won two times in his career. MIS is a track the Roush Fenway Racing team has dominated over the years and Biffle hopes that trend can continue on Sunday.

"The thing I love about Michigan is you can race as hard as you want, you know, two and three wide on that downforce racetrack for the win and be able to do that in a cautious manner where you're going to get a good finish," Biffle said. "That's what I like about Michigan, one of the things going this weekend. We feel like we can get a top-five finish there if not win. We feel like we can win, but later of the two, a top five, and that will certainly help us in the points."

Team owner Jack Roush always has the two Michigan weekends circled on his calendar.

"Well, there's an expectation based on, as Greg said, Mark's (Martins) early success and then Jeff Burton," he said. "There's an expectation that we'll run well at Michigan. I'm well represented there in the grandstands. We have two suites, the only track on the circuit that we have two hospitality suites. We've got a Roush Industries home in the Detroit area there, so we've got lots of people coming to watch, lots of attention, lots of interest. Of course it's Ford Motor Company home there in Detroit. The car companies enjoy coming to Michigan and duking it out."

3M Performance 400 PreQ

Over the last four races Jimmie Johnson has been displaying his true form. He has one win and three straight top 10 finishes as he sits 3rd in the point standings. Johnson ranks as the early week favorite on the PreQ forecast in large part to his recent hot streak. He is one of the best high-banked superspeedway drivers in the series averaging a 9th place finish with 10 wins and 41 top 10s in the last four seasons. Johnson is looking to put himself in the best position possible before the Chase for the Championship begins to catch former teammate Kyle Busch. He should be in store for a solid day at Michigan International Speedway and may be able to pick up a few points.

It has now been over a year since Tony Stewart last went to victory lane. That is an amazing statistic considering Stewart’s talent and the way that teammate Kyle Busch ahs been dominating this season. Stewart posted a 2nd place finish last weekend at the road course of Watkins Glen to Busch, who won both road course races this season. While Stewart will be leaving at the end of the season he is by no means a ‘lame duck’ driver. He will get to victory lane before the end of the season and has a good shot at Michigan where he has posted four straight top 10 runs.

This is a track where the Roush Fenway Racing boys have been dominating in the past. That should not change as Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle should be in contention for the win. Edwards is the favorite of the bunch with a win and six top 10s in seven career starts at the track. If there is one driver that can catch Busch it is Edwards. A win on Sunday would go a long way with just four races remaining before the Chase begins. Look for the #99 Office Depot Ford to be running up front when it is all said and done during the 3M Performance 400.

On the opposite end of the spectrum sits the driver everyone is currently chasing in Kyle Busch. He has not had the best of luck at Michigan in his career but that doesn’t seem to matter this season as he has been dominating this year. Busch is averaging a 20th place finish in seven career starts at the track with just two top 10 finishes. While it is doubtful that Busch will be running near the tail end of the field this may not be a track where he records yet another win – or even a top 10 for that matter. While we would never doubt his ability this would be a week that we give Busch the ‘buyer beware’ label.

After recording a much needed top 10 finish last weekend Juan Pablo Montoya was ecstatic, and well he should be. It was just his third top 10 of the season and this after posting back-to-back finishes outside the top 35. Montoya has not been consistent this season as Chip Ganassi Racing has struggled. He has posted four DNFs on the season already as he sits 22nd in the point standings. The trip to Michigan should not be much of a joy either as Montoya has never finished in the top 25 in three career starts at the track. This is a race where Montoya should be avoided at all costs.

profantasysports.com

3M Performance 400 Driver Rating

Carl Edwards is atop NASCAR’s driver stats for this weekend’s 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. In eight career starts at MIS, Edwards has seven top 10s, including a win in 2007. Edwards has worked his way back up to 2nd in the Sprint Cup standings, 242 points behind series leader Kyle Busch. Edwards has finished worse than 30th only three teams. That bodes well for the team’s chances in the Chase.

Edwards’ teammate Greg Biffle has also really shined at Michigan. In his last seven races there, he has an average finish of 13.6. Overall he has two wins and six top 10s in 11 career races at MIS. Even though he’s had a ton of success at Michigan, he still has the utmost respect for the test the track provides. “One thing that's difficult to manage at Michigan, and some guys are pretty successful at it, is running right against the wall, you know, like we do at Darlington or other places,” Biffle said. “What happens is it's very difficult to manage the car, the way it'll get loose or slide or lose a little bit of grip because you're going so fast.” Biffle is 10th in the Sprint Cup standings, and needs four solid races to make the Chase.

Tony Stewart is 7th in NASCAR’s rankings, and he’s been one of the most consistent drivers at MIS. In 19 career races, he has finished in the top 10 an astonishing 13 times. Stewart has finished in the top 5 in three of the previous four races this season, working his way up to 7th in the Sprint Cup standings. He has a 138-point lead over 13th place Clint Bowyer, so he isn’t completely assured of a spot in the Chase field. It should be an exciting couple of weeks.

profantasysports.com

Allmendinger making gains on track
August 14, 2008

From the beginning of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, A.J. Allmendinger has had to face the pressure of qualifying on speed to make every race.

Until now.

By virtue of four straight finishes inside the top 20, the former open-wheel star has moved into the 35th spot in car owner points, meaning he is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway.

``For me, it won't be the anxiety of, 'Oh my God, we have to make this race.' It's a big deal for at least one week,'' the driver of Red Bull Racing's No. 84 Toyota said.

Allmendinger began his Cup career at the 2007 Daytona Speed Weeks, but a crash in his qualifying race kept him out of the lineup for the season-opening Daytona 500. It was four more races before Allmendinger finally managed to qualify for a race field.

He has managed to qualify for 31 of a possible 53 races since that difficult start and was even replaced by veteran Mike Skinner for five races earlier this season as the team tried to evaluate where it stood.

Allmendinger wasn't jumping for joy about being out of the car, but he paid close attention to what Skinner did and said, and it has paid off with noticeable improvement, culminating with last Sunday's 11th-place finish at Watkins Glen. That was only his 14th start of the season and the finish was second only to his 10th-place run last month at Indianapolis.

His last four races, which include finishes of 13th at Chicago and 19th at Pocono, also coincide with the arrival of Jimmy Elledge as his crew chief. The chemistry was there from the start.

``Jimmy has been around a long time,'' Allmendinger said. ``He knows what he's doing.''

So, even though he is not yet signed for 2009, things are looking up for the 26-year-old Californian.

``But we're only in (the top 35) by eight points, and I don't want to say we're good,'' Allmendinger said. ``All it takes is one little mistake, mechanical or driver error, and we're right back out. Friday will definitely be a much better day this week, but we want to keep building on the momentum.

``I don't want to just be in the top 35. I want to keep looking forward.''

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NO LAME DUCK: If anybody was expecting Tony Stewart to phone in the last half of his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing, they don't know the two-time Cup champion very well.

Despite being winless this season, Stewart is seventh in the points - a strong candidate to make the 12-man Chase for the championship - and has three of his eight top-five finishes in the last three races, including two consecutive runner-up finishes heading into Michigan.

``I am a lot more comfortable with the momentum we have going right now,'' Stewart said. ``I think the last two weeks has shown how focused our team is at the job at hand. It makes me proud of our guys and proud of our whole organization.''

Stewart will move to his own Stewart-Haas Racing team next season as an owner-driver. But, first, he has some business to finish up for longtime employer Gibbs. And that means getting into the Chase.

Stewart has a 138-point cushion over 13th-place Clint Bowyer with just four races remaining until NASCAR's postseason begins.

``You have to be cautiously aggressive,'' he said of the battle to make the Chase. ``You still have to keep in mind that if you take a chance and don't finish a race, that you'll lose a lot of points, and the 10 bonus points (for a win) you thought you might gain for the Chase won't happen either.

``You have to do the same things that have gotten you to Victory Lane in the past. You can't afford to take too many unnecessary chances.''

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MICHIGAN MAN: Some people think that Kyle Busch is a racing machine, who thinks about little else.

But the Cup series points leader, winner of eight Cup races, six Nationwide races and two Craftsman Truck races in 2008, does have other interests, and he can hardly wait for the college football season to begin.

``My brother (Kurt) moved up to Michigan years ago to run in the Craftsman Truck series and he went to a Michigan game,'' Busch said. ``He bought me a Michigan sweat shirt and sent it home for me. I never really paid attention to college football until then, but I became a Michigan fan.

``Not too complicated of a story, but it's fun to be able to follow them when I have a Saturday afternoon off in the fall. I was lucky enough to be able to go to their practice last fall and get to know a few of the guys. You always respect people who are as competitive as you are, and they certainly have the same drive to win that I do.''

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HE SAID IT: ``There is a lot more stress in making the Chase than there is in the Chase itself. Most of these tracks in the Chase, you have been to once already this season and have a baseline of what to expect. There are good tracks for us in the Chase, like Lowe's Motor Speedway and Talladega.'' - Tony Eury Jr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is a solid fourth in the season points.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: While drivers in the first five positions in the Chase for the championship are virtually a lock to make the stock car playoffs, the other seven spots could all easily change.

Only 148 points separate sixth-place Jeff Gordon and 13th-place Clint Bowyer, and it's even tighter between ninth-place Denny Hamlin and Bowyer, separated by just 83 points with Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth in between.

Bowyer is just 22 points behind 12th-place Kenseth. Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers who have made the Chase each of the four seasons the format has been in place.

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STAT OF THE WEEK II: Roush Fenway Racing drivers have won 10 times at Michigan International Speedway, second only to the Wood Brothers' 11 victories on the 2-mile oval.

But the Roush Fenway dominance is much more recent, with its drivers having won six of the last 13 at the Brooklyn, Mich., track.

Top 5 and 5 to watch: Michigan
Sporting News

Here's a look at the top five in points and five drivers to watch in Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Michigan unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past seven races at the track.

1. Kyle Busch, 90.8 rating. Busch has finished 13th the past two races at Michigan and has two top 10s in seven races. The fact he has yet to win at Michigan means nothing. All eight of his wins this year have been his first wins on those tracks.

2. Carl Edwards, 112.5. No surprise Edwards has the top rating: In eight races he has seven top 10s, including one win. Twice a year we write this sentence: Roush Fenway Racing cars are always strong at Michigan. Four were in the top 10 in June.

3. Jimmie Johnson, 108.2. Johnson has the second-best driver rating. He has led laps in each of the past three races and finished sixth in June. He is on a roll and should be in the mix Sunday.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 100.7. Junior won in June on fuel mileage to break his long winless drought. Four of his six top 10s have come in the last five races at the track.

5. Jeff Burton, 72.9. Burton hasn't had a top 10 at Michigan since 2002. That's a stretch of 11 races. If the opportunity is there Sunday to gamble on fuel mileage, he should take it.

5 to watch:

11. Kevin Harvick, 77.9. Harvick leads Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer by 64 points. For the next four races his job is simple: Score more points than whoever is in 13th place. For now it's Bowyer. Harvick has five top 10s in 15 races but only two in the past nine.

12. Matt Kenseth, 107.2. Kenseth has the third-best driver rating and finished third in June to lead the Roush cars. Kenseth record at Michigan is strong: two wins, eight top fives and 12 top 10s in 18 races. This race is an excellent opportunity for Kenseth to add to his 22-point lead over Bowyer.

13. Clint Bowyer, 68.4. Bowyer is 0-for-5 at Michigan with an average finish of 26.2. His best finish is 16th last year. Those aren't confidence-building numbers for a driver who has but three top 10s since winning May 3 at Richmond.

39. AJ Allmendinger, 59.2. The key numbers for Allmendinger and Mike Skinner are 35 and 36, not 39 and 47. Allmendinger's No. 84 is 35th in owners points, eight ahead of the No. 00, which Skinner will drive the next three weeks. Allmendinger doesn't have to qualify on time; Skinner does. Over the past four weeks, Allmendinger's average finish is 13.25, by far his best stretch in his two years in the Cup series.

47. Mike Skinner, 30.6. The irony here is that Skinner is trying to do for Michael McDowell what he did for Allmendinger earlier this year when he replaced Allmendinger for five races. Skinner's job: qualify for every race and get the No. 00 as many points as possible, including back into the top 35 in owners points.

Busch Continues to Race Ahead
Racingone.com

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Kyle Busch has the top spot of the Chase locked up but there's still plenty of incentive to win before the playoffs begin starting with Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

After snapping back from a two race lull when he finished 15th and 36th at Chicagoland and Indianapolis, Busch has swung momentum back into his corner.

But even with a season-high eight wins to his credit, Busch knows winning every week in the competitive world of Sprint Cup Series racing is something that is impossible to do.

"We’d love to be the best every week, but it’s not going to happen,” Busch said. “We’ve got to take our bad weeks in stride and move on quickly. Last week was last week, and this week is always a new week. That’s why, when you have a good week and you win, like this past weekend, you try to keep as level headed as you can because you know the bad weeks are going to be there, too."

With the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards also showing strength as the summer stretch winds down, Busch believes he'll have to work hard for more trips to victory lane.

“We’re just out here to race our race and concentrate on making our car the fastest at the beginning of the weekend and then go out there and try to race with the rest of these guys,” Busch said. “We know the 48 is strong, but it took him a little longer than normal to get going this year. Carl has been tough all year, especially on tracks like where we are going this weekend in Michigan. The 9 car [Kasey Kahne] has looked good at times and has had bright spots.

“You also can’t count out Tony [Stewart] and Denny [Hamlin], even though they don’t have the wins to show for it. Steve and I know what kind of equipment and people they have, and the Chase really evens things out for a lot of guys. We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and we’ll be fine."

Hitting bumps along the way are part of the NASCAR game and when Busch did just that a few weeks ago, he did his best to keep things in perspective.

"I said from the beginning of the year that we just wanted to keep riding and keep going in the way that we have been," he said. "And, fortunately, we’ve been able to do that. Yeah, there have been a couple of weeks when you might fall back a little bit. But you look at Pocono and we were running fourth before we ran out of gas. And then at Indy, we were running in the top 10 much of the day and circumstances just kept us from finishing there."

“You’ve got to keep it going in the right direction and not let one particular week get to you. You have to keep the mountains and valleys as close as possible.”

Driver Handicaps: Michigan
Racingone.com

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday's 3M Performance 400. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 200-lap event.

Who's HOT at Michigan
• Carl Edwards leads all drivers with a 7.2 average finish.
• Two-time winner Matt Kenseth has only finished outside of the top 15 twice in 18 starts.
• Jeff Gordon has the best finishing average (13.3) among all drivers that have entered every race since 1998.
• Mark Martin has four victories and 27 top 10s in 45 career starts.
• Tony Stewart has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last eight starts.
• June winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been the most consistent driver in the last five races based on his finishing average of a 5.4.

Keep an Eye on at Michigan
• 2006 June winner Kasey Kahne finished second in June at MIS to mark his fifth top five in nine starts.
• Jimmie Johnson has a 4.5 average finish in his last two Michigan starts.
• Michigan is one of three tracks in which Greg Biffle has scored multiple wins at.
• Kyle Busch has a 5.5 average in his two Sprint Cup starts on 2-mile ovals with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Brian Vickers has captured four top 10s on 2-mile tracks since joining Team Red Bull.
• Denny Hamlin has a 10.8 average finish at Michigan in four starts.

Track Performers
Jeff Gordon leads all active full-time drivers with five wins, 29 top 10s, eight poles and 1,479 laps led on 2-mile speedways. Carl Edwards, who has made 16 starts, holds the best finishing average on 2-mile tracks at 7.0. Matt Kenseth is second in average at 10.2 and Jimmie Johnson (10.6), Gordon (10.7) and Mark Martin (13.2) round out the top five. Part-time drivers Bill Elliott and Martin also have stellar records on 2-mile tracks with both posting seven and five wins, respectively. Martin leads all drivers with 35 top 10s.

Michigan Rookie Report
All of the rookies made their first Sprint Cup start at Michigan International Speedway this past June. Sam Hornish Jr. was tops among the group with a 22nd-place finish. Patrick Carpentier finished right behind in 24th. Michael McDowell, who finished 37th, will not start this weekend as he will be replaced by Mike Skinner. Rookie Standings

Qualifying Tidbits
In the last 16 events at Michigan International Speedway there have been three drivers - Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon - that have won multiple poles. Gordon won his fifth career pole at the track last August after breaking a tie with Labonte for the active full-time driver lead. Ryan Newman is the current qualifying record holder with his June 2005 lap of 194.232 mph. In the 2006 June race, Kasey Kahne became the 15th driver at MIS to win from the pole.

RacingOne Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Matt Kenseth
Pete Pistone: Carl Edwards
Rachael West: Carl Edwards
Kym Opalenik: Jimmie Johnson

Top 20 Driver Notes - Based on Current Standings

1. Kyle Busch: Busch started 17th and finished ninth in his first career Sprint Cup start at Michigan International Speedway in 2005. In the second race that same year, he started fourth and led 28 laps before the car overheated and he fell out of the race on lap 81 - his only DNF at MIS. After scoring his best finish, of sixth in the 2007 June race, Busch went on to finish 13th in the last two races, including his first start with Joe Gibbs Racing this past June.

2. Carl Edwards: Edwards has dominated the NASCAR Loop Data stats over the last seven races at Michigan International Speedway. He won his first Sprint Cup race at MIS in the 2007 June race after leading 63 laps from the 12th starting position. He went on to earn his seventh top 10 at the track this past June with a seventh-place finish. Edwards, who holds the best average finish (7.2) at MIS, will be driving the same car (chassis No. RK-575) that finished ninth at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May.

3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson's best finish in 13 races at Michigan International Speedway came in this event last year when he took the checkered flag in third. He finished sixth this past June to mark his best consecutive finishes at the track. In the 2004 August race, Johnson started from the pole - after rain washed out qualifying - but his day ended after 81 laps when the engine expired in the Lowe's Chevrolet placing him 40th, his worst finish and only DNF at MIS. In the last three races at MIS, Johnson has combined to lead 136 laps. This weekend he will be behind the wheel of the same chassis (No. 465) that finished second at Auto Club Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Earnhardt Jr. has been the best driver in the last four races at Michigan International Speedway based on his finishing average of 5.4. He lowered that average by capturing his first win at the track this past June. His other two career top fives in 18 starts came in that span with both coming in the previous June events. His fifth-place finish in 2007 came despite suffering a flat rear tire during the race. This weekend Earnhardt will climb into the same car (chassis No. 499) that led 76 laps en route to a sixth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

5. Jeff Burton: Burton has captured eight top-10 finishes in 29 starts at Michigan International Speedway, all coming with Roush Racing from 1996-2004. His best finish in eight starts with Richard Childress Racing is a pair of 11th-place finishes. His worst finish (42nd) with RCR came in the 2006 August race when the No. 31 Chevrolet lost an engine on the 17th lap after starting from the pole position. This weekend Burton will be racing the same car (chassis No. 255) that finished 21st at Pocono after serving a pass-through penalty late in the race.

6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon has two wins, five poles, 15 top fives and 20 top-10 finishes in 31 starts at Michigan International Speedway. Last August, he broke a tie with Bobby Labonte for the active full-time driver pole lead after he scored his fifth, with a lap of 189.026 mph. Gordon is first among active full-time drivers in laps led, with 899. Gordon's worst finishes in the last six races at MIS have come in his last two starts, which includes an 18th-place finish with the new car in June.

7. Tony Stewart: Stewart doesn't usually qualify well at Michigan International Speedway, but he makes up for it on race day. In the last four races at MIS, Stewart has a starting average of 30.3 and a finishing average of 5.3. His fifth-place finish in June marked his 13th top 10 in 19 career starts. Stewart's 41st-place finish in the 2006 June race marked his third - first since 2000 - DNF at MIS. His lone win at Michigan came in the 2000 June race.

8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne is coming off his fifth top 10 at Michigan International Speedway after finishing second in June. Last season Kahne posted his worst Michigan finishes of 32nd and 21st, respectively. In 2006, he won the June race from the pole.

9. Greg Biffle: In the 2007 June race, Biffle scored his worst finish (38th) at Michigan International Speedway after the team missed the setup on the No. 16 Ford. In the five races prior, Biffle captured five consecutive finishes of seventh or better, including two consecutive wins starting with the 2004 August race. After finishing 20th this past June, Biffle will opt to drive a brand new chassis (No. RK-571) in Sunday's 3M Performance 400.

10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin's best finish at Michigan International Speedway came last August when he placed fifth. The finish was his first top five and it helped his finishing average of 10.8 in five starts. This weekend he will be back in the same car (chassis No. 220) that finished third at Indianapolis.

11. Kevin Harvick: Harvick's best finish at Michigan International Speedway was second in the 2003 August race. The finish came after leading 46 laps. It was the second time in Harvick's career he led laps at MIS. The other time came in the summer prior when he held the lead for 42 circuits en route to a third-place finish. Harvick's only other top-10 finishes came in the June race in 2001, 2006 and 2007. This weekend Harvick will race the same chassis (No. 254) that finished fourth at Pocono.

12. Matt Kenseth: With the exception of the 2007 June race, Kenseth has put together a stellar career in 18 races at Michigan International Speedway. In that event, Kenseth recorded his first DNF, and first finish outside the top 20, after crashing on lap 75. He has two wins, 12 top 10s, including six-straight from 2002-2005, and has led 222 laps at MIS. Kenseth's win in the 2006 August race lowered his finishing average to 9.3, which is second best among all drivers. This weekend Kenseth will be racing the same car (chassis RK-473) that finished third at MIS in June.

13. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer's 26.2 average finish is hampered by an accident not of his doing in the June event and an engine failure in the August event in 2006. He was running third with three laps to go when the engine failed in the No. 07, relegating him to a 33rd-place finish. Bowyer's 16th-place finish in the 2007 June races still stands as his best in five starts. This weekend he will go after his first top 10 at the track by driving the same car (chassis No. 241) that finished sixth at Pocono.

14. David Ragan: Ragan is coming off his first top 10 at Michigan International Speedway after finishing eighth in June. The finish lowered his finishing average from 19.5 to 15.7 in three starts. This weekend Ragan will be driving the same car (chassis No. RK-602) that finished eighth at Chicago.

15. Ryan Newman: Nine of Newman's starts at Michigan International Speedway have been from within the top 10, including one start from the pole in 2005. Newman has won twice at Michigan and has finished in the top five four times. He is coming off his worst finish (42nd) at the track after losing the engine in his No. 12 Dodge in the June race.

16. Martin Truex Jr: Martin Truex Jr. has made four starts at Michigan and has finished in the top 10 twice, a pair of second-place finishes in 2007. His 17th-place finish this past June dropped his finishing average in five starts to 13.4.

17. Brian Vickers: Some of Vickers' best finishes since joining the Red Bull Team have come on the 2-mile tracks of Michigan and Fontana. In five combined starts he has posted an average finish of 13.6, which includes four top 10s. In June, Vickers started 39th and finished 11th at MIS.

18. Kurt Busch: Busch is the defending winner of this event. His victory marked his second at Michigan International Speedway and first top five at the track since joining Penske Racing. Four of his top 10s, including a win in the 2006 June race, came with Roush Fenway Racing. This weekend Busch will debut a new car (chassis No. PSC-579) in the 3M Performance 400.

19. Jamie McMurray: McMurray is coming off his second top 10 in five starts with Roush Fenway Racing at Michigan International Speedway. His best finish, and only top five, at the track came in 2004 when he finished fourth with Chip Ganassi Racing. This weekend he will return in the same car (chassis RK-551) that he finished 10th with in June.

20. Elliott Sadler: Sadler will be making his fifth start at Michigan International Speedway with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. In June he captured his second top 10 with the team at MIS with a ninth-place run. Sadler's lone top five came with Robert Yates Racing in 2004.

Looking at Michigan 2 — Fuel Mileage, Clean Racing and Manufacturer Pride
Backstretchmotorsports.com

“Michigan is a flat two-mile oval, and track position is huge there. It could turn into a fuel-mileage race at any time so you really have to be on your toes and be aware of what could happen.” — Tony Eury Jr., crew chief No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, most recent winner at MIS in June.

The Michigan International Speedway is a key player in NASCAR racing. Firstly, it’s in the backyard of the “Big Three”, Chevy, Dodge and Ford and traditionally a source of bragging rights for the Motor City brands with the win there.

Toyota has certainly made huge strides in knocking on the winning door at MIS.

The racing at the track has a traditon of being particularly good to the Roush-Fenway Racing group, as they have won 10 races there overall, second only to the Wood brothers who have 11 wins.

Carl Edwards on his own and Roush Fenway’s special providence at the MIS track: “Michigan has a lot of personal history for me and I’m always glad to go there – it’s where I made my first Cup start, where I made my 100th start and where I broke a 52-race winless streak with a win for Office Depot in June of last year. It’s a great track with some really awesome racing. You can pass and I think the fans always see a good show there. Michigan is a kind of bragging rights track. It’s in Roush’s back yard, Ford’s back yard – so another win there would be huge.”

Bobby Labonte is no stranger to the win at MIS with three trophys in his case and talks about the significance to the manuafcturer’s contingency in attendance: “There are certain tracks that you circle on the schedule as places where you want to do well, places that have a different meaning. Daytona and Lowe’s always come to mind. But Michigan is one too. There is usually a large group of Dodge employees that make the drive down from Detroit and you want to perform well in front of them. The support that we get from Dodge is huge. We couldn’t do this without them.”

Drivers like the wide corners and long straights, and being able to race to the absolute limits of the car. Racing can easily fan out to a maintainable three-wide in the corners. The track is not particularly stressful on the chassis, fatigue is kept to a minimum. Its not hard on tires and a complete fuel run is usually the norm.

The track lends itself to multiple grooves, and higher lines become extremely useful as the tires wear and more rubber gets into the lower to middle grooves. Put simply, the wider the oval becomes, the less steering input a driver has to use to maintain race speeds. But it is still hardest to maintain the very “usable but dicey” extreme outside groove right against the wall. As the tire wear becomes more evident, the loose material in that groove can wipe out the right side of a car quickly, as speeds are consistent up high and it’s a short two feet to the wall should there be a wiggle from the car.

Tony Stewart on racing at MIS: “It’s so wide and there are so many lines that you can run – that’s what makes Michigan fun for drivers. You have to figure out how to gauge your momentum and know where you want to be on that race track when you enter those corners. Michigan’s layout gives the drivers the flexibility to really make a difference in their car’s handling.”

“As soon as you feel like you’re not where you need to be. If you feel like you’re slower than the pace you need to be running, you’re going to move up the race track and find a place that helps balance your race car. Really, from the drop of the green flag, you do it from there on out.”

Being able to run a tire/fuel stint at the big 2 mile oval also means that fuel mileage is the premium and drivers have to start thinking about how to save fuel almost from the drop of the green.

Kyle Busch on last time the Sprint Cup Series raced there: For me, coming to Michigan, I tend to run well here, for whatever reason, and the biggest deal is trying to finish, and finish up front. We ran toward the front there in June, but we ended up making a late pit stop, and with all the fuel mileage strategy that was going on, we ended up getting shuffled back. We’ve had some great runs with the car that we are bringing this weekend, so I’m hoping we can improve on our June finish and keep the momentum going from last week’s win.”

So strategies play the all-important role, the call from the pit box in the hope that something will fall your way in the final 20 or so laps, something that just as easily can keep you from victory lane.

Jimmie Johnson on that subject: “To be honest with you, I’m shocked that we haven’t won here. We’ve had very good cars and have been in contention a couple of different times. It always seems like there’s a crazy strategy at the end that keeps us from winning. It’s either a two-tire deal, we’ve taken no tires when we’ve had a great race car and been leading and lost to guys that have had tires. We’ve also lost to fuel mileage before. So it’s just a weird finish to this race. In some cases the best car wins here but in other cases it’s something strategy-wise that plays out and it just hasn’t worked for us here.”

For some, MIS can be considered a less-than-exciting race to watch, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The races at Michigan are the epitome of working the entire package of team, driver and car to the best of what racing strategy is all about.

Vickers on the pole for Michigan

Brooklyn, MI (Sports Network) - Brian Vickers captured the pole for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.83 Toyota driver rounded the two-mile oval in 38.189 seconds (188.536 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Vickers' first of the season and the fifth of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. His last pole came in November 2006 at Texas.

"When we unloaded this car, it was just unbelievable," Vickers said. "I didn't know if they re-paved the racetrack or the car was that good. Obviously being early out contributed a little bit to that. We knew that in the back of our minds. We tried some stuff in practice, and it didn't work. Then we went back to where we started and was pretty happy with it."

Jimmie Johnson will start on the outside pole after posting a time of 38.497.

Elliott Sadler (38.590) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (38.643) will make up row two.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Jeff Gordon (fifth), Patrick Carpentier (sixth), Greg Biffle, (ninth), Kyle Busch (11th), Matt Kenseth (14th), Carl Edwards (27th), Kevin Harvick (38th) and Clint Bowyer (41st).

Gordon's fifth-place in qualifying gave Hendrick Motorsports three of the top- five starting positions at Michigan.

Carpentier surprisingly will start sixth after being the fastest among those drivers required to qualify on time.

Brad Coleman will make his Sprint Cup debut at Michigan after securing the 43rd starting position. Coleman will make his first start in the No.96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing. P.J. Jones drove the car for HOF at Watkins Glen after J.J. Yeley was released from the team last week.

Johnny Sauter was the only driver who failed to qualify for the 400-mile event.

With four races remaining until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Sprint Cup," tension is building for several drivers as they try to secure a spot in the top-12 in order to qualify. Just 148 points currently separate sixth-place Gordon from 13th-place Bowyer.

Kenseth moved up to 12th in the standings after his 12th-place run at Watkins Glen. Bowyer, meanwhile, finished 23rd and slipped to 13th, 22 markers behind Kenseth.

Jack Roush's drivers have won 10 times at Michigan, second all-time to the Wood Brothers' 11 victories. Two of Roush's victories there have come from Kenseth, who won in June 2002 and August 2006. He has also finished third and fourth, respectively, in the last two races there.

Biffle recorded five straight top-10 finishes at Michigan from August 2004 to August 2006, but has finished 19th, 20th, and 38th, respectively, in the last three races there. He is also a two-time Michigan winner.

Edwards has posted seven Top-10 finishes, including a victory in June 2007, in his eight starts at Michigan. Edwards is now second in the championship standings, 242 points behind Busch.

11th-place Harvick is only 19 points ahead of Kenseth. After a 37th- place run at Indianapolis, Harvick has finished fourth at Pocono and sixth at Watkins Glen to keep his championship hopes alive. He has finished 15th or better in the last five races at Michigan.

Earnhardt, Jr., currently fourth in points, will try for a season-sweep at Michigan. Earnhardt, Jr. won the LifeLock 400 there in June, snapping a 76- race winless streak in the series. If he wins Sunday's race, he will become the first driver to sweep Michigan since Bobby Labonte did it in 1995.

The green flag is scheduled to drop around 2 p.m. (et).

3M Performance 400 HOT! Sheet

After running in to some trouble in back-to-back races to end the month of June, Kasey Kahne has rebounded well in the five races since. His average finish in that span is exactly 10th. At Daytona, Indianapolis, and Pocono he went home 7th. In Chicago he ran 15th and last week at the Glen he was scored in 14th. He came close to winning here in the first race before settling for runner-up. Look for another strong performance from #9.

The man with two 9s on his car, Carl Edwards, has been on quite a roll. After struggling to a 32nd place showing at Chicago, he has put together a string of three races in which his average finish is 4th, including another win at Pocono. He is coming off of a solid top 10 run on the road last week. He celebrates his 29th birthday this weekend, and he may be doing so in victory lane.

A pleasant surprise lately for fantasy players has been A.J. Allmendinger. Despite starting 31st or worse in each of the last four events, the #83 car has found a way to put together an average finish of about 13th. His best run in this span came at the Brickyard when he led for four laps and wound up a season best 10th. He nearly duplicated that this past weekend at the Glen when he came all the way from 37th to 11th. If he makes the show, he’s a good sleeper pick for you.

At the other end of the spectrum are a couple of guys who last week were involved in one of the worst road course wrecks you’re going to see. We start with Bobby Labonte. He has only one top 10 finish this season. In fact, he only has a total of 8 top 15s. The #43 car has failed to finish on the lead lap in each of the last two races. That includes the T-bone last week that resulted in a 42nd place finish and a trip to the hospital. Back in the late 1990s he was the hottest driver at this track. But that was then and this is now. We advise you stay away.

Another driver who was a part of that mess last week, which continued his struggles, is David Gilliland. The driver of the #38 has posted three DNFs in the last five events. Even when he has placed, it hasn’t been anything notable. At Indy, he started and finished 20th. At Pocono he started 3rd but faded back a lap to 34th. The team has fallen all the way back to 25th in the standings. Until they turn things around, he’s not a good option.

profantasysports.com

Earnhardt aims for sweep at Michigan
August 16, 2008

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -NASCAR drivers got into the stock car sport for the speed. But feathering the gas peddle to save gas is a regular - and dreaded - part of their jobs.

Michigan International Speedway is one of the places where fuel economy often comes into play.

That's how Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a 76-race winless string on Michigan's 2-mile oval in June, and it's likely to be a factor in Sunday's 3M Performance 400.

Drivers are either apologetic or defiant after winning a race by getting to the finish line on fumes while their closest competitors run out of gas or are forced to pit.

``My fans are happy and I'm happy for them,'' he said after barely stretching his last fuel load to the finish. ``The other half are going to tear this apart on how we won this race. But I got the trophy and I got the points.''

Earnhardt, who will start fourth on Sunday, hasn't won since the last Michigan race and has slipped from third to fourth in the season points.

``Just the race tracks we have been going to,'' he said. ``I don't have good finishes at those race tracks. Couple of road courses, Pocono, it is just typically not a good part of the season where we have run very good. We are always strong at the races the first third and last third of the season.''

Another victory here would be a good way to gain some momentum with only four races left until the start of the Chase for the Championship. And, if he has his choice, it will be a full throttle win.

``It would be good to get another win to show everybody we can do it on a full tank of gas,'' Earnhardt said. ``It would be a good to get a win anywhere, but Michigan is a good place because of the manufacturers being close. Being close to Detroit, Motor City.''

Asked what he will do if crew chief Tony Eury Jr. gets on the radio Sunday and tells him to start saving gas again, Earnhardt replied: ``Get mad, because you don't want to save, you just want to run hard.

``It is a lot of work and you don't know if what you are doing is saving gas or not. You don't know what you are accomplishing, and it's no fun.''

Jeff Burton agreed, noting that the timing of the request to try to save fuel can be important, too.

``The first thing I need to know is how much fuel do we need to save,'' Burton said. ``You can't tell the driver to save fuel with five laps to go in the race. The information has to be fed to a driver as soon as that run starts.

``Look, we're on the edge here. The only way to save fuel is to go slower. You de-accelerate sooner. You're off the throttle sooner. You're on the throttle later and you're on the throttle less aggressively.

``By the way, you still have to make reasonable lap times in most cases.''

Denny Hamlin, one of several drivers working hard to stay in the 12-man Chase field, is concerned because his team hasn't been good at fuel economy racing.

``We're terrible when it comes to that,'' said Hamlin, who goes into Sunday's race tied with Greg Biffle for 10th in the standings, just 83 points ahead of 13th-place Clint Bowyer. ``We're just trying to get better, and we did definitely (improve) on road courses.

``But these bigger tracks we still are, it seems like, always about two or three laps less than what everyone else is. I'm not a fan of the fuel mileage races. I like the fastest car winning. ... I don't think the fans like a crew chief race - I think they like to see a driver's race.''

But Earnhardt isn't worried about what anybody thinks, as long as he wins.

``It depends on what side of the fence you are on, man,'' Junior said. ``If you are on the winning side, you are happy, don't matter how. If you are the guy who had the fastest car all day, you aren't real happy about it.

``I have been on both sides of it. ... Everybody would like to just go out there and just outrun the hell out of everybody to win races. Sometimes, you have to take them how you get them.''