Race Review: Carfax 400

Welcome race fans to the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. This is the twenty-third race of the season. There’s plenty of room on this wide 2 mile track for lots of racing. And, better still, there was no rain, so qualifying took place on Friday. One driver had to go home, which makes me wonder why this track couldn’t hold one more car. But I don’t make the rules. Tony Raines in the #37 car had to go home.

Former Cup Champion Bill Elliott is in the #21 Woods Brother’s car. He got in on speed, qualifying ninth. In the #25 is Brad Keselowski, who won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race here the day before, beating points leader Kyle Busch and pole sitter, Brian Vickers. Michigan is Brad’s home track. In the 36 this week, is NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular, Mike Skinner. NASCAR racing came to MIS in 1969 and this race is the eighty-first race. 9 Kasey Kahne had to change the engine in his car, and will start from the rear, with the one-engine rule. He says if points leader, Tony Stewart can  do it, so can he. 36 Skinner and 66 Dave Blaney also changed engines.

On the pole for this race, as well as for the Nationwide race is 83 Brian Vickers with a speed of 187.242. 5 Mark Martin shares the front row with Brian, starting second. The weather man said there is 0% chance of rain. So, here we go. 5 Martin leads the first lap. 2 Kurt Busch takes second from 83. 48 Jimmy Johnson and 83 battle for third. 48 takes the spot. Rain is falling on pit road! 83 gets back by 48.

The first caution comes out on lap 7 for rain! And they said there would be no rain. On lap 8, the pace car leads them down pit road, and the Red Flag comes out to wait out the rain and dry the track. It was a short shower and they get back to Yellow in nineteen minutes. 96 Bobby Labonte stays in the pits with the hood up. The top eleven cars stay out, while the back of the pack pit for tires and fuel.

5 chooses the outside for the restart, since he started the race there and took the lead. 96 goes to the garage. 71 David Gilliland also goes to the garage. The Green Flag drops on lap 12. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 83 for fifth. 48 takes second from 2. 7 Robby Gordon makes it four-wide to get by all three cars. 48 is catching the leader 5. They battle, but 5 stays in the lead. They battle again and 48 takes the lead. 71 is back out on the track, nine laps down.

2 nearly brushes the wall. 17 Matt Kenseth is hearing something he doesn’t like. 17 and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle, 17 low and 42 high. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 00 David Reutimann and 18 Kyle Busch. 39 Ryan Newman pits to start Green Flag Pitting on lap 40. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 42 for eighth. He started twenty-first. 17 leads when 48 pits. 24 leads when 17 pits. 33 Clint Bowyer leads a lap and then pits. 6 David Ragan leads when 33 pits. 99 Carl Edwards leads, then pits. When the pitting is all over, 11 leads the way. 11 and 48 battle for the lead, and 48 takes it.

The second caution comes out during the commercial when 7 gets into the wall on lap 53. 11 had trouble getting out  of the pits. 98 Paul Menard stays out to lead and chooses the outside. 39 comes back into the pits. At the restart, they are 3, 4 and 5 wide around leader 98. 17 takes the lead. 48 gets around 24 for second. 5 and 83 battle for fifth. 48 catches the leader 17 and takes the lead. 18 nearly gets into 88 and 31 Jeff Burton.

5 gets by 17 for second. 11 gets by 42 for tenth, then battles 99 for ninth. 88 has a vibration and pits. 83 drives by 24 for sixth. 83 gets by 33 for fifth. 5 is catching leader 48. 17 and 18 pit to start Green Flag Pitting again on lap 95. 5 and 48 battle for the lead, and 5 takes the lead. 39 Newman says his car is driving like a school bus. 83 leads when 5 and 48 pit. 48 gets back into the lead. 14 Tony Stewart and 99 get by 88. 24 gets by 33 for fourth. 09 Mike Bliss, 87 Joe Nemechek, 71 Gilliland, 36 Skinner, 66 Blaney and 96 Labonte are all out of the race.

The third caution again comes out during the commercials. This time  for debris. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. However, he goes back into the pits for fuel a second time and they take the lap back from him. 14 comes out of the pits first with only two tires to lead. He chooses the outside when they go Green on lap 121. 48 takes the lead. And the fourth caution comes out a lap later. 6 and 2 got together and they both spin. 2 hits the inside wall and they go to the garage. 6 heads for the pits before pit road is open so he can change tires before they blow. 99 gets by with slight damage. 98 Paul Menard is the lucky Dog.

48 chooses the outside for the restart on lap 125. 48 spins the tires on the restart and 14 takes the lead. 48 takes it back. 5 gets by 14 for second.17 and 14 battle for third. 83 and 99 get by 14. 83 and 99 get by 17. 24 gets by 14 for sixth. The fifth caution comes out for spinning 6. 77 got loose and into 6. The top ten stay out. 2 is getting a new nose on his car. 99 fakes pitting and has to blend back in, loosing a spot. There is some rain again.

They go back to Green on lap 147. 17 gets by 5 for second. 9 and 42 get together and 42 gets his tire cut. He has to pit, but they stay Green. 24 gets by 5 for third. 24 and 5 get by 17. The sixth caution comes out for rain. The top ten pit, but those that just pitted stay out. 00 Reutimann leads. 88 takes the lead.

The seventh caution comes out for spinning 12 David Stremme. 42 Montoya is the Lucky Dog and is back on the lead lap. 88 and 20 Joey Logano pit, putting 83 in the lead. He chooses the outside. 29 Kevin Harvick and 5 get by 17. 5 and 29 battle for third. 5 gets by. 48 and 83 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 33 and 17 battle for sixth. 99 goes between 33 and 17 to take sixth. 88 and 07 Casey Mears get by 17. 88 gets by 77 for sixth. 48, 83, 24, 99 and 5 are in danger of running out of fuel. 88 can make it. 88 gets by 99 for fourth. 99 doesn’t have the fuel to battle with 88. 33 and 20 get by 5, who runs out of fuel. 48 pits for fuel with two laps to go, and can’t get the car started.

5 finishes thirty-first and 48 finishes thirty-third. And 83 Brian Vickers has enough fuel to finish the race as the winner. Barely. He runs out before getting to Victory Lane. 24 has enough fuel to finish second. 88 finishes third with plenty of fuel. He was just too far behind to catch them for the lead and they didn’t run out. When they were here in June, Jimmy ran out of fuel leading and Martin won the race. This time he did it again. And pole sitter Vickers wins. This is the first time a Toyota has gone to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway. And Brian’s first win since 2006 at Talladega. 9 finishes eleventh. Not bad for starting from the rear.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review: Lifelock 400

Welcome race fans to the fifteenth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Season. The Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. This beautiful two-mile track is set in the Irish Hills. The track is wide and massive, so there is plenty of room for the drivers to choose anywhere to race. One of my favorites to watch. With so much room to race, there are few cautions, and lots of racing, including Green Flag Pitting.

Qualifying was on Friday afternoon. 83 Brian Vickers got the pole with a speed of 189.110. 18 Kyle Busch starts second with a speed much slower. Forty-four teams showed up to qualify, so one team went home. In my opinion, one more car on this two-mile track could and should have been done. Just fill the twenty-second row. Anyway, that unlucky driver was Mike Skinner in the #36. Mike is a regular in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which was in Michigan this weekend.

37 is Tony Raines, 09 is veteran Sterling Marlin, 13 is Max Papis. And in the news is Johnny Benson, defending Truck Champion whose Truck team was disbanded earlier because of lack of Sponsorship. He competed in a super modifieds race on Saturday and was in a horrific crash, landing in the Hospital in critical but stable condition, with broken ribs and more. I sure hope he makes a speedy recovery.

The first race at this track was in 1969 and Cale Yarborough won the race. 24 Jeff Gordon, 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 87 Joe Nemecheck had to change engines and they will start from the rear. The pit lights are not working, so the drivers will have to watch out for the flagmen to let them know when pit road is open.

83 doesn’t take right off  when the Green Flag flies and 48 Jimmy Johnson moves to the inside, and they are all bunched up. 18 Kyle Busch leads the first lap. 9 Kasey Kahne gets by 00 David Reutimann for fourth. 2 Kurt Busch and 00 battle for fifth. 24 and 77 battle in the back of the pack for thirty-first. 16 Greg Biffle is up to tenth after starting twentyth. 16 gets by 33 Clint Bowyer for ninth.

48 battles 18 for the lead, and 48 takes the lead. Jimmy has no wins at Michigan. 2 gets by 83 for third. 9 gets by 83 for fourth. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets by 83 for fifth. 18 reports a vibration. 20 Joey Logano is stuck in the middle between 12 David Stremme and 26 Jamie McMurray. (And I said there was lots of room!)  20 gets into both of them, gets a tire rub and falls behind both of them. 14 Tony Stewart, who won last week in Pocono, gets by 83. 37 and 87 go to the garage. 13 is one lap down. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 00 for tenth. 5 Mark Martin gets by 99 Carl Edwards for fifteenth.

48 pulls ahead of second place, 18 by over six seconds. 16 gets by 42 for sixth. 09 and 66 Dave Blaney go to the garage. 43 Reed Sorenson and 77 battle for thirty-first. 2 and 18 battle for second. 2 gets by. The first Green Flag Pitting session begins on lap thirty-nine. 48 stays in the lead the whole time, makes his stop and comes back out still in the lead! 16 and 9 battle for second. 16 takes second. 00 is “Evil loose”. 2 and 14 get by 18. 11 gets loose, but corrects while battling with 2 for eighth. (Good thing the track is wide enough!)

The first caution comes out on lap 72 for debris. 39 Ryan Newman is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. Twenty-two cars are on the lead lap, and will Restart double-file. 55 Michael Waltrip stays out and will be waved by to join the pack just before the Restart. 48 is the leader again and chooses the outside to Restart. 6 David Ragan gets loose and almost looses it. 17 Matt Kenseth and 14 battle for sixth. 14 keeps the spot.

99 gets by 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for ninth. 18 gets by 88 for eighth. 88 and 99 battle for ninth and 99 gets the spot. 88 is getting very loose. He has part of the skirting loose and that is messing up the car. 14 and 2 battle for fifth. 88 gets by 18 for eleventh. 99 gets by 2 for sixth. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets into the wall and gets Black-Flagged to come in and fix the flapping rear end. 99 gets by 9.

Green Flag Pitting begins again. 99 leads a lap, then pits. When it’s all over, 48 is back in the lead. The second caution comes out during the commercial, again for debris. 00 David Reutimann is the Lucky Dog. The first nine cars stay out – 48, 16, 42, 14, 2, 5, 11, 24 and 99. 17 is out of the pits first in tenth. 99 and 24 battle for eighth. 24 keeps the spot. 5 gets by 42 for third. 26 and 88 battle. 26 gets by. 17 makes an unscheduled pit stop. 11 gets by 42 for fourth. 21 Bill Elliott and 88 battle.

The third caution comes out during the commercial. 12 David Stremme gets loose and slides down the track, into the pit road barrier. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog, and is back on the lead lap. The lead lap cars pit and 16 comes out first to lead. They go Green with 45 to go. 24 and 42 battle. 48 gets by 5 for second. 48 is catching 16, the leader, but 48 is too loose to get by. 48 finally takes the lead. 48 and 16 battle for the lead again. 48 runs out of fuel with one to go. 5 takes the lead when 16 runs out of fuel. 5 runs out of fuel and coasts to the Finish Line to win the Lifelock 400!

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review

3M Performance 400

Brooklyn, Michigan

Welcome race fans to the foot hills of Michigan, just outside of Detroit. This is the twenty-third race of the season. This is the best racing track in the Series. It’s very wide, so there is a lot of room to race. 83 Brian Vickers is on the pole with a speed of 187.536 mph. 48 Jimmy Johnson will start second. 45 is again Terry Labonte, who didn’t have to use his past Champ provisional. 00 is Mike Skinner, a Craftsman Truck driver, trying to evaluate Michael McDowell’s 00 car. 00 fell out of the top 35 in owner points and has to qualify on speed to get into the race. 70 is Tony Raines. 21 is Marcos Ambrose from the Nationwide Series. 96 is now Brad Coleman, also from the Nationwide Series. J. J. Yeley is no longer the driver. Today’s in-race reporter is 16 Greg Biffle.
So, here we go! 48 leads the first lap. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 83 for second. 18 Kyle Busch gets loose and can’t get by 10 Patrick Carpentier. 88 takes the lead. 10 gets gets by teammate 19 Elliott Sadler. 18 gets loose again. The first caution comes out on lap 9 when 21 blows up. The Little Debbie’s car is usually white with Dabbie’s picture on the hood. Today it’s yellow, with no picture. I wonder if that had anything to do with it blowing up! It’s a long caution since they have to clean up pit road before they can pit. 84 A. J. Allmendinger gets hit in the pits and has to go back in for repairs.
Out of the pits, it’s 48, 83, 88, 10, 24 Jeff Gordon. 24 had a “sorry” pit stop. 88 takes second from 83. 83 takes third from 48. 83 and 18 battle. 88 takes the lead. 18 gets by 83. 18 pulls in front of 48. 99 gets by 48 for fifth. 24 gets by 48 for sixth. 88 has debris on the grill and is overheating, while leading. Now he’ll have to slow down to let someone by to pull it off. 83 takes second from 18.  83 takes the lead and dislodges the debris on the 88 in doing so. 83 brushes the wall. They all seem to be loose out there.
99 Carl Edwards gets by 18 for third. 20 Tony Stewart gets loose. 12 Ryan Newman is pitting to start Green Flag Pitting. 41 Reed Sorenson and 22 Dave Blaney get together in the pits. 41 was going in and 22 was coming out. 88 resumes the lead after all the pitting. 99 takes the lead. 83 gets by 88 for second. 88 is very loose. 6 David Ragan and 48 battle for ninth. 18 gets by 88 for third.
The second caution comes out during the commercial. 15 Paul Menard gets into 12, who spins into 22, sending 22 into the wall. It lifts the right side of the 22 right off the track! No one says who the Lucky Dog was. 24 drops back to fifteenth. 99 is in the lead out of the pits. 16 Greg Biffle takes the lead. 20, 48, 24 are four-wide. 20 and 24 get into 48. 48 is smoking with a tire rub and has to pit. 99 takes the lead. 16 and 18 battle for second. The third caution comes out when 24 cuts a tire and gets into the wall. 24 goes to the garage. Everyone pits. 18, 88, 99, 16 all take two tires. 43 Bobby Labonte misses his pit and comes out +23 positions! But he’ll have to pit for real next time around. 84 A. J. Allmendinger is the Lucky Dog.
48 is the first car a lap down and will start on the inside. 99 is leading at the restart. 18 takes second from 16. 9 Kasey Kahne gets loose. 9 and 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. battle. 28 Travis Kvapil gets into 77, but 77 saves it. 07 Clint Bowyer (the NASCAR Nationwide Series Leader) is falling back. 16 gets by 83 for third. 9 goes to the garage with engine trouble. 10 gets loose in front of the leader, 99. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 17 Matt Kenseth for eighth. Green Flag Pitting starts again. 18 takes the lead. 88 and 48 battle. 48 is a lap down. 99 gets loose. 11 and 17 battle again.
The fourth caution comes out for debris from 24 who just got back out onto the track. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. should be the Lucky Dog. 83 takes two tires to get out of the pits first. 18 takes the lead. 2 Kurt Busch spins and saves it, then pits. No caution. 70 and 2 got together. 99 takes second from 83. 16 and 83 battle for third. 24 is officially out. 99 and 18 battle for the lead. The fifth caution is for debris. There are seventeen cars on the lead lap. 6 and 88 stay out. 88 should have pitted. 99 gets out of the pits first. 88 gets into the wall and pits. 99 keeps 48 a lap down.
The sixth caution comes out with thirteen to go for debris from 88.  Now, why didn’t they just throw the caution when he hit the wall? When you hit the wall, there’s usually debris. 48 Jimmy Johnson is the Lucky Dog.  We restart with ten to go. 18 gets by 6 for second. 6 and 18 battle for second. 83 and 8 Mark Martin battle. 17 gets by 83 for sixth. The seventh caution comes out with five to go when 11 blows up. It is a Green, White Checker finish with 99 Carl Edwards winning. The top ten are 99, 18, 6, 16, 17, 8, 83, 29 Kevin Harvick, 19 Elliott Sadler and 26 Jamie McMurray. Rouch Fenway Racing had all five of their cars in the top ten! First, third, fourth, fifth, and tenth. Carl Edwards does his back-flip.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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Race Review

Lifelock 400

Michigan International Speedway

Hello race fans! This is the fifteenth race of the season, being held in Brooklyn, Michigan. This is a D-shaped two mile oval. I love this track. It is very wide and you can race three and even four wide with little problem. On the straight away the drivers all fan out on the track before getting back in line at the turn. And it’s so wide, you can drive the car wherever the car wants to go without worrying about getting into anyone. There are very few cautions here. Probably because there is enough room for everyone. One problem here, though. Rain is usually an issue at some point during the weekend. This weekend qualifying got rained out on friday. So they line up according to Owner points for this race. 45 today is Terry Labonte, filling in for Kyle Petty, who is in the Booth, helping with announcing the race. Terry got in with a past Champion provisional. 21 is Bill Elliott, who also got in on a past Champion provisional. The 70 car didn’t make it in. The car has no regular driver. The 34 car of Tony Raines also had to go home.

18 Kyle Busch leads the race from the points pole. 48 Jimmy Johnson gets by 31 Jeff Burton for second. The first caution comes out on lap three when 22 Dave Blaney spins. He broke an axle. 48 takes the lead after the restart. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 31 for third. They are four wide and a little contact was made, but everyone goes on. 83 Brian Vickers is up to fourth, after starting eighteenth. 31 has fallen to tenth after starting second. 83 gets by 18 for second. 17 Matt Kenseth gets by 99 Carl Edwards for fourth. 83 catches 48, then takes the lead. 48 takes the lead back. 17 gets by 18 for third. 83 takes the lead. 12 Ryan Newman has debris on the grill, which is making his car overheat, and spit water.

83 gives up the lead to start Green Flag Pitting. 88 takes the lead. 55 Michael Waltrip leads when 88 pits. After all the pit stops, 83 is back in the lead. 22 is twenty-two laps down but back on the track. 40 Dario Franchitti is out. 19 Elliott Sadler gets by 31 for seventeenth. 12 is in the pits with the hood up. He had a severe vibration. 9 Kasey Kahne pits to start Green Flag Pitting again. 17 is in the lead after the pit stops. The second caution comes out for debris. 26 Jamie McMurray is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back. Everyone pits. Out of the pits, it’s 99, 17, 18, 83 and 48, the top five. There are twenty-two cars on the lead lap.

The third caution comes out for spinning 2 Kurt Busch. Wally says he’s been “off the pace and scaring himself all race.” 15 Paul Menard is the Lucky Dog. The top seven cars stay on the track. 17 takes the lead from 99. 96 J. J. Yeley has gone to the garage. 24 Jeff Gordon has fallen back to twentieth. 88 gets by 20 Tony Stewart for sixth. 88 catches 18. Green Flag Pitting begins once again. 20 leads. 84 A. J. Allmendinger leads, then pits. He comes into his pit too fast and overshoots it. And has to back up. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. leads. After the Green Flag Pitting is complete, 17 is back in the lead.

The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. 43 Bobby Labonte spins. 2 Kurt Busch is the Lucky Dog. 66 Scott Riggs is caught speeding entering pit road. 48 stays out to lead. 77 stayed out with 48. 17 nearly ran over an official who got into the way when he was trying to leave the pits. The fifth caution comes out when 6 David Ragan turns 7 Bobby Gordon into the wall. Robby blows a tire and gets back into the wall. 10 Patrick Carpentier is the Lucky Dog. 24 was too fast exiting the pits. 99 gets by 83 for sixth. 77 and 48 battle for the lead. 17 gets by 18 for third. 83 gets by 99 for fifth. 77 is pitting. 48 is pitting. 18 is pitting. 20 is pitting. 16 is pitting. They don’t think they’ll be able to make it to the end on fuel. 16 runs over his air hose as he leaves the pits. 6 leads, then pits. 88 and 26 battle for the lead. 26 takes the lead. 88 and 26 battle again.

The sixth caution comes out when 77 spins himself into the infield. 88 doesn’t have much gas, but there’s not many laps left, so he stays out. He’s driving on the apron, and keeps turning the engine on to get going, and then off again to coast. 8 Mark Martin is out of fuel. The Green Flag comes out with three to go, and just after the White Flag comes out signaling the final lap, caution comes out for spinning 10. The race ends under caution with 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. winning his first points race of the season. It has been seventy-six races since he’s been to Victory Lane. This is his first win at Michigan. He runs out of gas just past the Finish Line, and is pushed to Victory Lane. I thought it was a pretty good gas mileage race once again here in Michigan.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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http://www.ilovemynascar.com