The Sprint Cup series is headed to Michigan International Speedway for a NASCAR match in the shadow of the Motor City with the FireKeepers Casino 400.
The Michigan International Speedway is located in Brooklyn, Michigan, just outside Detroit. So, for the teams who race Chevrolet and Ford this race gives them the chance to shine in the backyard of their manufactures. For the Toyota teams, this is a chance to shine in the backyard of their competitors. That makes this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race one of the bigger “bragging rights” races of the year.
When it comes to racing at Michigan, the NASCAR teams will need to consider all scenarios. This race has been won by pure speed and horsepower, by fuel mileage and even by being the right spot at the right time. Last year’s race was won with that last scenario.
Last Sunday’s race was delayed until Monday due to rain. Kurt Busch was able to stretch his fuel mileage at Pocono to win that race Monday (6/6). Last year’s first race in Michigan (the upcoming race this weekend) was shortened by rain. The race that is a 200 lap (400 miles) race was officially ended after 138 laps had been completed with Kurt Busch leading the race at that point he was declared the winner. It’s looking like Kurt may begin to pray for rain on the weekends that the Sprint Cup series will be racing.
If mother nature does not play into the mix, and fuel mileage is not considered, the drivers and teams will need to get the handling right and balanced with the power to get maximum speed out of their cars. That will be trickier this year than in the past since not only have the cars been running a low down force package this year, but NASCAR has dropped the rear spoiler height even more for this race to create what one of the race commentators last week called the “no down force package.” That will make the cars more than a handful to race around the 2-mile track at full speed if the handling is not to their liking.
So which active drivers have the best resume at Michigan International Speedway over their Sprint Cup careers? Let’s take a look…
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Michigan
Matt Kenseth – 104.2
Greg Biffle – 101.8
Carl Edwards – 101.4
Jimmie Johnson – 99.8
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 98.6
Joey Logano – 93.0
Tony Stewart – 92.9
Kevin Harvick – 92.8
Brad Keselowski – 91.2
Kurt Busch – 90.9
(Note: Driver ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races {22 total} among active drivers at Michigan International Speedway.)
When it comes to winning in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series at Michigan, it is Greg Biffle who leads the way with the most victories on the track among active drivers having a total of four wins at the track.
Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch follow him with three Michigan wins each.
Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin have all visited Victory Lane in Michigan twice in their Sprint Cup careers.
Eight active drivers have scored a single win each in the Sprint Cup series over their careers. Those drivers are Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson.
Right now it is looking like mother nature could possibly be a factor in practice and qualifying, but it is looking pretty goof for the race itself. We will have to wait and see how that all plays out. It could make for an even more challenging race Sunday, June 12th at Michigan International Speedway for the drivers and teams when the FireKeepers Casino 400 gets started at 12 noon central time (1 pm eastern time).
By: Buck Stevens
