Note Book :Roush Revels In ‘Home Track’ Advantage

Roush Revels In ‘Home Track’ Advantage

Jack Roush’s single-car team needed only four races to crack the top 10 at Michigan, and only six to win there. With Mark Martin driving the No. 6 in both, a foundation of unparalleled success was laid.
Roush’s team, whether the old Roush Racing incarnation or its current Roush Fenway Racing form, would collect 11 more victories over the next two-plus decades, catapulting past the Wood Brothers at the top of the all-time Michigan wins list with 12.
Michigan, a fast two-miler, has evolved into "home track" status for RFR. Roush, whose Roush Industries is headquartered in nearby Livonia, Mich., has threatened to win just about every time the series rolls to Michigan.
Five different drivers have tallied Michigan victories under the Roush banner – Martin, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, winner of the last MIS race. Only Edwards and Biffle remain with the team, and are now joined by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – who still seeks his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series top-10 finish.
Biffle, who ranks first in Michigan Driver Rating at 108.9, was one of two drivers to sweep the top five at Michigan in 2012 (Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the other). Biffle won in August and finished fourth in the June event.
Edwards, a two-time MIS victor, finished sixth during his last visit to MIS and finished in the top five during three of the five visits to 1.5- and two-mile tracks this season.
Stenhouse will make his Michigan NSCS debut, but does have three Nationwide Series starts there with a top finish of second in 2011.

First Time’s A Charm: Tricky Triangle Kind To Rookies

Ford and Chevrolet head home, in the shadows of Detroit, one aiming at a milestone befitting its years of excellence, the other riding a winning streak destined to blossom into another manufacturer championship.
Ford, coming off its 200th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, creeps closer to the 1000th victory for Ford Motor Company. It reached 999 with Trevor Bayne’s Nationwide win at Iowa. The breakdown: 614 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins by Ford; 96 NSCS wins by Mercury; four NSCS wins by Lincoln; 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series wins by Ford; and 85 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins by Ford.
Chevrolet has won the last three NSCS races, each with a different driver and a different team. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson won at Pocono, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Tony Stewart won at Dover and Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The streak has ballooned Chevrolet’s manufacturer standings lead from two points after Darlington four races ago to its current cushion of 13 (101-88). Chevrolet has won the NSCS manufacturer championship for 10 consecutive seasons, and boasts an unprecedented 36 manufacturer titles. Chevrolet and Ford split at Michigan last year, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chevrolet winning the June event and Greg Biffle’s Ford winning in August.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc.

Two NNS championship contenders will make starts this Sunday at Michigan: Austin Dillon and Trevor Bayne. Bayne, in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, has yet to crack the top 10 in five starts this season. Dillon will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for the second time this season, and first since the Daytona 500. His best finish this season was 21st at Las Vegas. … This is the final week The NASCAR Foundation will be accepting nominations for the 2013 Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, which celebrates passionate NASCAR fans making an impact with children. Nominations are being accepted at NASCAR.com/Foundation and close on June 14. The recipient will be gifted $100,000 from The NASCAR Foundation toward the children’s charity of their choice.