The NASCAR Nextel Cup returned to Michigan International Speedway for the GFS Marketplace 400 on Sunday. It's coming down to the wire for drivers to make The Chase. Some guys will strengthen their position and others will have problems. Jeff Burton won the pole.
Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy smacked the wal on lap one. It could have been a bad day for the pints leader but Johnson came back and finished 13th. On the other hand, it was a disastrous day for pole sitter Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy. He blew an engine on lap 20 and finished 42nd. Burton dropped from 4th to 9th in the points. Kyle Busch-#5 Delphi Chevy had similar problems. He was running fourth when he hit the wall on lap 41. He finished 39th and dropped to 7th in the points.
Meanwhile, the lead is swithing around a lot because of varying pit strategies but Carl Edwards-#99 Office Depot Ford is leading for the most part. Dale Earnhardt Jr.-#8 Budweiser Chevy inherits the lead when Edwards pits on lap 104. Then Kurt Busch-#2 Miller Lite Dodge hits the wall because of a flat tire on lap 129 and finishes 40th. This puts him out of The Chase. On the ensuing caution, Earnhardt has trouble in the pits and restarts 19th. He never really recovers from that and finishes sixth.
Matt Kenseth-#17 DeWalt Ford, Ken Schrader-#21 Little Debbie's Ford & Dave Blaney-#22 Caterpillar Dodge stayed out and it's the track position that put Kenseth in the position to win. J.J. Yeley-#18 Husqvarna Chevy hit the wall and brought out a caution on lap 149. Everyone made final pit stops but Clint Bowyer-#07 Jack Daniels Chevy & Elliott Sadler-#19 UAW Dodge Dealers Dodge took two tires to get track position.
Bowyer led when the green came out but Matt Kenseth wasted no time taking the lead on lap 164. Bowyer appeared to have third place locked up when he blew an engine with three laps left and finished 33rd. Jeff Gordon-#24 Dupont Chevy moved up to second but Kenseth was able to hold him off for the win.
Congratulations to Matt Kenseth, crew chief Robbie Reiser & car owner Jack Roush on the win. Kenseth is still second in the points but closed up on leader Jimmie Johnson. Kasey Kahne's fourth place finish brings him closer to the top ten. Big top tens for rookie Reed Sorenson & Elliott Sadler in his first race in the #19. It's Bristol time next Saturday night. Here's the top ten of the race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt/Ford/Jack Roush
2.24/Jeff Gordon/Dupont/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
3.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
4.9/Kasey Kahene/UAW Dodge Dealers/Dodge/Ray Evernham
5.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush
6.8/Dale Earnhardt Jr/Budweiser/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.
7.16/Greg Biffle/National Guard/Ford/Jack Roush
8.41/Reed Sorenson/Target/Dodge/Chip Ganassi
9.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
10.19/Elliott Sadler/UAW Dodge Dealers/Dodge/Ray Evernham
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