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Stewart-Haas Continues To Roll
The duo of Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet) and Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet) at Stewart-Haas Racing continues to roll on.
With 14 races in the books, Stewart and Newman, competing in their first year as teammates in Stewart’s new ownership collaboration with Gene Haas, find themselves first and fourth in the current point standings, respectively. With his win this past Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Stewart not only claimed the 34th win of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, he became the first driver/-owner since Ricky Rudd in 1998 to win a points race. That’s a span of 375 races
And for the second consecutive week, the two-time series titlist is atop the leader board heading to this Sunday’s LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
“Last year, there certainly were a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of headaches going to bed,” Stewart said following his win on Sunday. “Once you get it all together and you get a good group like this and you’ve got a group that’s as hungry as this group is, they feed off each other. Really, all I have to do is walk in there and pat those guys on the back, because they are a lot smarter people than I am.”
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Newman, Stewart’s running mate and fellow Hoosier, has put together a string of six straight top-10 finishes. He was 32nd after the season’s fourth race, but has moved up 28 spots over the past 10 races. This is Newman’s best start to the season since the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup began in 2004. After 14 races in 2008, Newman, then competing for Penske Racing, was 14th in points.
“We’ve worked hard as a team to obtain our recent finishes,” said Newman. “Whether it has been pit strategy or just fixing mechanical problems during a race, it’s really been a team effort. We’re pleased with the recent results and where we currently stand in points, but we still haven’t reached the ultimate and that’s going to Victory Lane. We’re all excited about Tony’s win at Pocono and know that we can also get there.”
Both Stewart and Newman have enjoyed a fair amount of success at Michigan. Stewart has one win — a race-shortened victory in 2000 — to go along with nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. Newman is a two-time winner at MIS — winning in 2003 and again in 2004. He also has posted four top fives at the two-mile oval. Stewart’s Average Running Position of 10.4 is second best on the circuit in 2009, while his Driver Rating of 101. 2 is fourth best.
Cut-Off For The Chase Is As Tight As Ever
The battle around the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup “cut-off bubble” is as tight as it gets. A single point is the difference between competing for a championship and missing out altogether.
Mark Martin (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet) is 13th, one point behind Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota). Only one other time in the Chase era (2004-present) have the standings been this close at this point of the season. After 14 races in 2005, when the Chase was a 10-driver field, 11th-place Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) trailed 10th-place Tony Stewart by a point.
The gap between 12th and 15th place is only 62 points. Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) is 14th, 60 points behind Hamlin, while Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet) is 15th and 62 points out of 12th place.
Michigan Is Roush Country
Michigan International Speedway is considered to be the ‘home track” for veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Jack Roush.
Roush’s home is Livonia, Mich., located just 45 minutes from MIS and is also the site of his business interests — Roush Industries.
Roush Fenway Racing drivers have won 10 times at Michigan, second only to the Wood Brothers’ 11 victories. His teams have won three of the last five races there. Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford) has won twice at MIS, including the race last August. Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) has also won two times at Michigan, as has Matt Kenseth (No. 17 CARHARTT Ford). Heading into this week’s LifeLock 400, Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth rank 6-7-8 in the series standings.
MIS Site Of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Last Victory
It was Father’s Day weekend, June 15, 2008, at Michigan International Speedway and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) was back in Victory Lane. Fast forward a year later and the sport’s most popular driver hasn’t tasted victory since and has experienced more than his share of ups and downs on the race track over the past 12 months.
While that win was the 18th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career and first while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, that victory didn’t generate the type of momentum that the No. 88 team had hoped it would. Earnhardt did make the Chase in 2008 — finishing 12th — but currently finds himself 20th in points and 245 points out of the cut-off 12th position. His team experienced a crew chief change a couple of weeks ago, with Lance McGrew taking over the duties from Tony Eury Jr. Since that switch, Earnhardt has finished 12th at Dover and 27th at Pocono. While Earnhardt is the defending race winner, his performance at Michigan over the years has been so-so at best. In 19 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at MIS, Earnhardt has the one victory, six top-10 and three top-five finishes, to go along with two poles. His Average Finish is 16.7.
Always A Threat: Penske Racing Usually Contends For MIS Wins
Roger Penske is another team owner that has historically enjoyed successful afternoons at Michigan International Speedway. Penske owned the race track from 1973 until 1999.
During his ownership, the track experienced significant growth, as the grandstands expanded from 25,000 to more than 125,000 seats, and numerous buildings were added to the property, including three garages, 28 pit terrace suites, an administration building, two ticket offices, a maintenance building, a warehouse, souvenir shops, a Competition Tire Building and a Motorsports International Building.
Penske drivers have won six times at MIS, tied with Robert Yates for fourth best all-time among owners. Former Penske driver Rusty Wallace won three times at Michigan, while Ryan Newman, who drove for Penske from 2000-08 is a two-time winner there. Current Penske driver Kurt Busch won at MIS in 2007.
“Double-File Restarts — Shootout Style” Debut
NASCAR announced a change to its race format last week with the addition of “Double-File Restarts — Shootout Style” and the debut of the new procedure in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was deemed a success last Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
Having the leaders line up side-by-side as the green flag flies for each restart proved to be a popular revision for the drivers and fans alike. Race winner Tony Stewart is a big fan of the change.
“Everyone knew it was going to be an adjustment period, and it still is,” said Stewart, “but it worked great today. It was awesome not having to deal with lap cars on restarts.
“It was nice knowing that everybody you were around was battling for position. Pocono was the perfect place to try this.
“Michigan will be another great place to have it. I think the great thing is that we have a sanctioning body that is proactive and listens to its fans and cares. It worked great (Sunday) and I think it’s something the fans are going to enjoy.”
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MIS Sports Rich Racing Tradition
Cale Yarborough won the first NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway on June 15, 1969 — next Monday will mark the 40th anniversary of that win. Driving the Wood Brothers’ famed No. 21 car, it marked the first of 11 victories for that racing organization at MIS — most by any race team.
This Sunday will mark the 80th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan. 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 miles. Except for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 (when the races were 402 miles in length), all of the other races at MIS have been 400-milers.
David Pearson leads all drivers with nine victories at Michigan. Yarborough is next with eight wins. Among drivers still active, Bill Elliott tops the list with seven wins at MIS. Mark Martin is next with four. Speaking of Elliott, he has a chance this weekend to move past Ricky Rudd for most laps completed at Michigan. Rudd’s track record is 10,609 and Elliott has run 10,413 laps there.
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) has won twice at this two-mile oval located in the Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan.
“I love Michigan and would have to say it’s my favorite track,“ says the four-time series champion.
“You would think my favorite track would be one that I’ve won a lot more at, but I love Michigan. It’s big and wide and fast; it has multiple grooves and you can run from the white line to the wall. You can change your angles in and off the corners. You can do so much there that to me, it’s just an all-around great track.”
