Marcos Ambrose’s manic Monday victory piled up the storylines for the remaining four races in the Race to the Chase. His win added to the juicy Wild Card angle, as he approached the all-important top 20 and nears a possible Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth.
Michigan International Speedway is stop one in the regular season’s final four, a venue loved by Denny Hamlin – who sorely needs another good finish (he won the first visit to Michigan, in June).
Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 could clear up a number of Chase scenarios, and possibly, a few drivers could officially punch their Chase ticket.
Joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors will be the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The trucks return to action with a new points leader, Austin Dillon, who will attempt to defend the top spot in Saturday’s VFW 200.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series takes on an international flare in one of its Crown Jewel events – the NAPA AUTO PARTS 200 presented by Dodge at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Aussie Ambrose Takes Home First NASCAR Sprint Cup Win
Marcos Ambrose, from Launceston, Australia, nabbed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, unleashing a number of storylines.
- He becomes the fourth foreign-born winner in NASCAR’s premier series, following Italy’s Mario Andretti, Canada’s Earl Ross and Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya.
- Ambrose brings owner Richard Petty back to Victory Lane for the first time since 2009.
- He inches closer to a Wild Card berth. After race No. 26, the top-10 drivers earn spots in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Spots 11 and 12 go to the drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20. Ambrose sits 22nd, but is just one point outside the top 20.
- He’s the fifth different first-time winner this season, the most since 2002.
- More parity: he’s the 15 different winner this season, the most through 22 races since 2003.
Keselowski, Hamlin Remain In Wild Card Spots
Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin both came into the weekend holding coveted Wild Card positions. They remain holding them after vastly different races at Watkins Glen.
Keselowski, who returns to his home track of Michigan this weekend, finished second, again fighting through a broken left ankle.
Hamlin struggled, finishing 36th after a late-race wreck. Hamlin has won two of the last three races at Michigan.
Also keep an eye on Paul Menard. A winner at Indianapolis, Menard now sits 15th in points.
Four Drivers May Lock Up Chase Spots This Weekend
This is usually the time drivers start to gobble up Chase spots.
Four drivers can clinch this weekend at Michigan. Leaving this weekend, to officially clinch a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a driver has to have a 145-point lead over 11th place.
Those who can mathematically clinch this weekend: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick. Busch and Edwards are currently 118 points ahead of 11th. Johnson is 112 and Harvick is 104.
Roush Country Spells Good News For The Biff
Team owner Jack Roush’s business ventures are headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, near the two-mile Brooklyn track.
So it makes sense that his team – Roush Fenway Racing – is so strong there. The team has 11 wins at Michigan, which ties the Wood Brothers for most all-time there.
Greg Biffle surely hopes to make it a record-breaking 12. Biffle currently sits 13th in points, and sorely needs a win to enter the Chase discussion. Biffle, one of six drivers who won last year but remains winless in 2011, likely needs a Wild Card berth to land a Chase spot.
Earnhardt Pads Top-10 Cushion, Returns To Scene Of Last Win
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished outside the top 10 (15th) at Watkins Glen, but it was enough to pad his cushion over 11th place.
Earnhardt now sits ninth, 36 points ahead of 11th-place Clint Bowyer. That might grow once again after this weekend. Earnhardt’s last win came at Michigan, 115 races ago.
Anniversary Weekend For Two Gibbs Pupils
Desmond Howard, the Grand Marshal for Sunday’s race, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of winning the Heisman Trophy for the University of Michigan.
It’s also the 20th anniversary of fellow ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett’s first career NSCS victory in 1991 for the Wood Brothers at Michigan.
Howard was selected by Joe Gibbs’ Washington Redskins in the 1992 NFL Draft and played for Gibbs in the final season of his first stint as Redskins coach. Gibbs and Jarrett would team up in 1993 for a Daytona 500 win.
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