Key Moment – On the penultimate restart of the day, Kurt Busch was alongside Joey Logano when the green flag flew. Busch laid it all on the line trying to get past the car of his former employer but broke loose and bounced his car off of the wall. His rear tire ultimately failed, bringing out the final caution of the race. That restart led to the dramatic moment of the race.
In a Nutshell – The majority of the race offered the teams a chance to invoke different fuel strategies to attempt to garner the best track position possible when it meant the most at the end of the race. When the laps wound down and all of the pit stops were completed, the two best cars of the day were still at the front of the pack. Jeff Gordon was faster than Joey Logano once the tires were up to pressure and the drivers got into a rhythm, but passing for the lead was non-existent on Sunday, so it all came down to the final restart. Gordon cleared Logano before exiting turn two and then proceeded to hold on for the victory.
Dramatic Moment – When Busch tried to make the move on Joey Logano and bounced it off of the wall, his tire went down and spread debris all over the back straight. The ensuing caution flag led to a restart where Gordon used all of his experience to work past Logano and secure the lead. From there it was all about driving in circles due to the aero dependence of the cars at Michigan.
What They’ll be Talking About Around the Water Cooler
Gordon and his No. 24 team are hitting on all cylinders. He appeared to have a car to beat at Watkins Glen last week before electronic gremlins knocked him out of contention. The week before, he was leading at Pocono when a pit strategy cost him the win. It has been a long time since the four-time champion has been this competitive week-in and week-out. If the team hasn’t peaked too early this season could be the best shot he’s had at a title since he scored his fourth in 2001.
Winning goes a long way in building confidence and allowing individuals to begin exceeding their own expectations. AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 team followed up their Watkins Glen win with a 13th-place finish. If they are able to consistently run in that neighborhood when the Chase arrives, they might actually surprise the world and advance to the second round.
Roush Fenway Racing appears to have lost their way. Michigan used to be their playground and everyone else was just looking for a nut. Coming into this weekend they had used a test at the track to regain their lost advantage. Roush Yates engines brought a new package to the track with increased horsepower. When the checkered flag flew, Greg Biffle was the only Roush driver in the top 10, finishing, 10th. Brad Keselowski took a Roush Yates engine and bounced it off of the wall at 200+ mph and still came home two spots ahead of Biffle. Carl Edwards said all of the right things before the race and looked to be on task qualifying third. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the weekend for the No. 99 team as they dropped like a stone through the field when the green flag flew and ended the day 23rd.
During the post race driver interactions, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman had a lengthy discussion about some contact as they were battling for tenth place. Johnson came on the broadcast and told Mike Massaro that anyone who has been around the series for any length of time knows that it is typical “Ryan stuff”. Newman is a hard charging driver who races hard every lap. Whether “Ryan stuff” refers to the driver not pulling over to let a faster car past or how he goes about battling, we’ll try and find out at Bristol next week when it could get quite interesting when the Nos. 31 and 48 get near each other.
For the second time in three weeks, NASCAR burned a large number of laps during the race circulating under caution. After the big one at Pocono the field was under caution for nine laps. While that isn’t a long time at Bristol, it is an eternity at a 2.5-mile oval. At Michigan, after Kyle Larson blew a right front and pounded the outside wall, bursting into flames, they burned 11 laps while they cleaned up the mass quantities of oil absorbing substance. NASCAR has been doing this long enough that they should be able to tell when they are going to burn more than five laps of caution on that big of a track. Throw the red flag and let the drivers race under green as much as possible.
NASCAR is holding a test Monday, August 18th, to test out the new engine configuration that is designed to reduce horsepower and hopefully increase closer racing and passing. After watching a race where cars were routinely over 200 mph on average in race conditions and unable to pass for the lead, anything that improves the possibility of passing on the track is a good alternative. Most of the drivers seem to be against the idea of reducing horsepower but if it improves passing during races on Intermediate race tracks they will need to suck it up.
Forbes magazine ranked the top earning female athletes and Danica Patrick came in fifth on the list. She makes $15 million annually with $7 million coming from salary and winnings. The other $8 million comes from endorsements for companies like Peak, Coca-Cola and Tissot.
Ryan Truex was involved in a practice crash at Michigan that resulted in him being sent to a local hospital. CT scans came back negative. The ultimate diagnosis was a concussion for Truex, who must follow the NASCAR mandated guidelines to be cleared to race again.
A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday by Joe Gibbs Racing. While, at first blush, it would seem obvious that they are going to make the announcement that Carl Edwards will be joining the organization. The word from JGR is that the announcement is going to have impacts across four of NASCARs series. There are rumblings that Daniel Suarez will be moving to the Nationwide series in JGR equipment. It is also rumored that Darrell Wallace Jr. is going to be moving up to the Nationwide series as well.
The Hindenburg Award for Foul Fortune
Kyle Larson is in contention to make the Chase on points, or at least he was until Sunday. After his pit stop for the competition caution he made contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and seriously damaged the left front of his car. His team managed to get the car race capable but then the Rookie of the Year leader lost a right front tire and pounded the outside wall right before the midway point. Larson’s car burst into flames and ground to a halt against the wall.
Since his win at Martinsville, Kurt Busch has had three Top 5 finishes. They were all third place finishes (Pocono (1), Daytona (2) and Watkins Glen). Aside from those three finishes he hasn’t had a run better than 12th. With 20 laps to go Busch was on the inside of the front row on a restart and got loose as he tried to work the air on Joey Logano. He bounced the car off of the outside wall at the exit of turn two and ultimately lost a tire. A race that looked to be a momentum builder for the run to the Chase turned into another disappointing finish.
Matt Kenseth came into the weekend looking at a strong finish all but locking him into the Chase if a repeat winner took home the trophy this weekend. Unfortunately he was rear ended by Aric Almirola when Danica Parick spun and collected Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett. His car backed into the wall and damaged the suspension to a point that the team had to take it to the garage to facilitate repairs. He ended up rejoining the race but finished 30 laps down in 38th place. That finish combined with Ryan Newman’s eleventh place finish and laps led chopped 28 points off of Kenseth’s advantage in the standings. While he’s still rather comfortable in his point position making the Chase, the comfort has been severely undermined.
The “Seven Come for Eleven” Award for Fine Fortune
Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 team have struggled the last few races. Some of the struggles have been self-induced. Sunday he broke the gear shift lever off of his transmission. He came to the pits in fourth gear during a green flag stop and his team gave him a pair of vice grips to attempt to clamp on the piece that remained in the transmission but he was unable to affix it to the lever. They lost a lap during that attempted fix but fortunately for them, the Larson caution flew and afforded them the opportunity to ultimately replace the shifter and not lose another lap. Johnson then drove his way into position for the Lucky Dog, garnered it and went on to finish in the top 10, his first since June.
Brad Keselowski was able to stay out longer than most of the other cars on the lead lap as the race was winding down toward the final pit stops. On lap 168, Keselowski was leading the race and had a tire go down at the end of the front straight. Fortunately he was just turning into the first turn so the car did not travel far before contacting the wall. His team managed to keep him on the lead lap and the result was a run from 16th to eighth as the laps wound down.
When Keselowski put it in the fence Ryan Newman was in the Lucky Dog position. Newman made the most of that opportunity and raced his way into the Top 10. As Johnson was heading back toward the front after racing his way back onto the lead lap is when he came into contact with Newman, prompting their post race discussion.
Worth Noting
Jeff Gordon’s win was his third of the season. He’s tied with Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the most in the series this season.
Gordon has now won 91 races in his Hall of Fame career. He is 14 wins behind David Pearson for second on the all-time victory list. He is 109 away from Richard Petty for the top spot in that category.
Gordon last won three races in a single season in 2011. Prior to that he won six races in 2007.
This is also Gordon’s third career triumph at Michigan International Speedway
Kevin Harvick tied a NASCAR record with his fourth consecutive runner-up finish at Michigan. Dale Jarrett set the record at Rockingham.
Harvick’s runner-up finish is his seventh Top 2 result of the season.
Not only does Harvick have four consecutive second place finishes but he has six career Top 2 runs at Michigan.
Joey Logano’s third place finish was his fourth podium run of the season. He also has four consecutive finishes of sixth or better.
This was Logano’s second career Top 3 at MIS.
Austin Dillon won the Rookie of the Race award with a 22nd place finish.
Four spots are left in the Chase field and there are only three races until the cutoff. As a result at least one driver will make the Chase on points.
The differing pit strategies put drivers out of sequence very early in the event. As a result the lead changed hands 20 times during the event but there was only one on track pass for the lead during the event. Most of the exchanges took place during green flag stops while several occurred on restarts.
What’s the Points
Points don’t matter as much as wins. The 12 race winners are listed below, along with the four drivers who would make the Chase on points at this juncture of the season.
Winners:
Daytona Pocono and Pocono (2) – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Phoenix and Darlington – Kevin Harvick
Las Vegas, Kentucky and New Hampshire – Brad Keselowski
Bristol and Sonoma – Carl Edwards
California – Kyle Busch
Martinsville – Kurt Busch
Texas and Richmond – Joey Logano
Talladega – Denny Hamlin
Kansas, Indianapolis and Michigan (2)– Jeff Gordon
Charlotte, Dover and Michigan – Jimmie Johnson
Daytona (2) – Aric Almirola
Watkins Glen – AJ Allmendinger
Drivers making the Chase on points who do not have wins:
5) Matt Kenseth
9) Ryan Newman
10) Clint Bowyer
11) Greg Biffle
All 12 winners are more than 144 points ahead of David Gilliland who is in 31st position in the point standings. Provided they all attempt to qualify for the remaining races they will all be qualified for the Chase for the Cup.
Overall rating (On a scale of 1-6, where 1 is a stinker and six is the finest of brews and a instant classic.)
Michigan International Speedway offered multiple racing grooves for years but lost that feature when it was repaved two years ago. Rough Winters and age have caused the surface to lose a little grip so the lanes in the corners are now over two wide. The result was a glimpse of Michigan racing of old. Throw in a large number of fuel strategies and the race actually afforded some intrigue. Unfortunately the aero dependence of the cars made it basically impossible to pass a car on track for the lead. As a result we’ll give the race three cold Monkey Mouth IPAs from Grand River Brewery.
What’s Next
After running at the fastest track on the circuit the schedule now turns to the second shortest track. The last great coliseum, Bristol Motor Speedway, hosts the annual Night Race. Tempers are guaranteed to flare and sheet metal will be bent. We could see a different winner or you may see a repeat from one of the 12 drivers already locked into the Chase. The coverage starts at 7:30 PM Eastern on Saturday August 23rd. It can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate and NASCAR Sirius XM radio.
What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.