If You Don’t Win The Pole, You May Want to Start Fourth at MIS

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Michigan International Speedway has hosted a NASCAR race in June every year since 1969. In the one year that MIS hosted one NASCAR race – 1973 – the race took place in June. The Citizens Bank 400 will be the 76th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at MIS.

… The pole position has been the most productive starting position at MIS in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition, producing 15 race winners in 75 total races. Kasey Kahne’s victory in last June’s 3M Performance 400 came from the pole.

… If you don’t win the pole, you may want to start fourth at MIS. Since NASCAR’s top series began racing at MIS in 1969, 12 drivers have won races starting from the fourth position. The most recent winner from the fourth spot was Ryan Newman in the June 2004 NEXTEL Cup event. Nine drivers have won from the No. 3 position and just eight drivers have won from the second starting spot in MIS history.

… Since the Citizens Bank 400 has been a NASCAR Father’s Day tradition for years, it’s only appropriate to talk about historical father/son combinations. Richard and Kyle Petty ran together on Father’s Day eight times, the first of which was June 15, 1980 as Richard finished fifth and Kyle finished behind his dad in seventh place. Richard and Kyle have competed in the June race at MIS on 12 different occasions, with Kyle finishing higher than Dad six out of the 12 times. In August of 2000, Dale Earnhardt and his sons Kerry and Dale Jr. all drove in the Cup race at MIS, which was the first and only time all three competed together in a NASCAR event.

… The winner of the June event at MIS has gone on to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship seven times since the track’s first NASCAR race in 1969. The list includes Richard Petty (1974), Cale Yarborough (1977, 1978), Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990), Dale Jarrett (1999), and most recently, Jeff Gordon in 2001 when he passed Ricky Rudd on the last lap to win.

… Don’t look for one car make to dominate the Citizens Bank 400. In the backyard of the automotive capital of the world, no manufacturer has swept the top-five finishing positions in the June race at MIS.

… Recently, Ford and Dodge have combined to win the last 11 NEXTEL Cup races at MIS. Ford has taken six checkered flags and Dodge five since June 2001, when Jeff Gordon won with a Chevrolet. Sterling Marlin’s August victory in 2001 at MIS was the first time a Dodge won a Cup event since 1977.

… Last year, Reed Sorenson became just the second NEXTEL Cup rookie in the past 10 years to record top-10 finishes in both Cup races at MIS in the same season. He finished fifth in June and eighth in August. Kasey Kahne also accomplished the feat in 2004 (2nd in June, 5th in August).

… Juan Pablo Montoya will be making his first career start in a stock car at MIS, but he is no stranger to victory lane at the two-mile oval. Montoya took the checkered flag in a 2000 CART race at MIS. He also holds a second place finish at MIS in his only other start at the track in 1999.

… Ricky Rudd will return to MIS in 2007 after not competing at the two-mile oval last season. Rudd holds MIS records for most career starts (58) and miles completed (20,420), which he will look to add to in the Citizens Bank 400. The next closer active driver to eclipsing both records is Kyle Petty (51 starts, 18,646 miles), who is running a partial schedule in 2007.


 
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