Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) is in 12th place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, coming into Sunday’s 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
It’s a good place to be – but by no means secure.
Trailing Busch are two other drivers within immediate – meaning, one race – striking distance of 12th: 13th-place Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge) and 14th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet). Newman is 96 points behind Busch; Earnhardt is 100 back.
Beyond those two are several drivers who could be considered longshots but nonetheless have four precious weeks remaining to make up ground and perhaps qualify for the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup which begins Sept. 16 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) is 15th, 212 behind Busch; Casey Mears (No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet) is 16th, 298 behind; Jamie McMurray (No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford) is 17th, 316 back.
Michigan is a great track for this battle to begin. Busch has an MIS win to his credit while Newman and Biffle have two apiece. Biffle has an outstanding MIS Driver Rating of 109.9, second only to the series-best 114.2 of Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford).
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