Carfax 400 Review
by Virginia Vroom of Predictem.com
For Johnson, it was the same ‘ole repeat as before. Fuel mileage was the name of the game for the drivers at Michigan this past weekend, which allowed Brian Vickers to cruise into victory lane. It was really interesting watching this race because so many teams used a lot of different strategy during the race. There was the threat of rain, which caused a lot of teams to change pit strategy, but NASCAR was bound and determined to get a race in on a Sunday for once.
For Vickers, victory was a sweet gesture as he made it to victory lane as he ran out of fuel. Johnson gambled and conserved as much as he could but ran out with 2 laps to go. It was unfortunate, as teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second and third. Yes, Jr. nation, Jr. had a top FIVE run!! I know that there are some ecstatic fans out there. Needless to say, though, Vickers victory was awesome as it was the second for his career, and his first for his Red Bull racing team. Additionally, it was the first win for Toyota at Michigan.
For some of the Chase contenders, however, Michigan was not too kind. Kyle Busch had a horrible run and ended 23rd for the day pushing him 70 points behind 12th place Mark Martin. Kyle’s brother Kurt ended with a pretty bad day as well after wrecked with David Ragan with only 80 laps to go. He finished a disappointing 36th.
Poor Jimmie Johnson, though. Fuel mileage has never been their strong suit. Where they dominate in driving and teamwork, they lack in fuel mileage strategy. That is one thing that this team seems to be behind on. It is certainly one aspect of racing that is extremely important and will cause a driver and team to lose wins as seen with this repeat by Jimmie Johnson.
Here are your top 10 finishers from Michigan:
1. Brian Vickers
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Carl Edwards
5. Sam Hornish Jr.
6. Casey Mears
7. Joey Logano
8. Clint Bowyer
9. David Reutimann
10. Denny Hamlin
Unfortunately for the Roush drivers, the best finish was Carl Edwards in 4th. Greg Biffle let me down and really never had anything for the front runners. I’m not quite sure where that program is struggling, but I believe it has a lot to do with team dynamics and problems in the garage. Needless to say, my streak of picking the winners outright ended with this one. This weekend, it’s Bristol, so hopefully I can get back on track.
There were a couple of changes in the points this week. Here are your current top 12 as we head into Bristol:
1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Carl Edwards
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Kurt Busch
7. Juan Montoya
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Ryan Newman
10. Greg Biffle
11. Matt Kenseth
12. Mark Martin
With only 3 races left until the Chase, there is no doubt that this weekend’s race at Bristol is going to be action-packed. Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle are struggling to stay in the top 12. Kyle Busch wants in. When Kyle Busch wants in, that means something exciting is going to happen. Stay tuned for an awesome Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway!
