PURE MICHIGAN 400

PURE MICHIGAN 400, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1 P.M. ET ON ESPN

 

Johnson Punches 10^th Chase Ticket; Earliest Clinch Since 2007

Jimmie Johnson is the first competitor to qualify for the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The five-time Sprint Cup champion is the only driver to have qualified for all 10 editions of NASCAR’s post season, and the earliest to clinch a Chase spot since Jeff Gordon also clinched at Watkins Glen in 2007. Now Johnson has a surprisingly daunting task ahead of him: Solve the riddle that is Michigan International Speedway. Michigan is one of five active tracks at which Johnson has not won. The others are all tracks that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits once per season: Chicagoland, Watkins Glen, Kentucky and Homestead.

 

Biffle’s Chase Hopes Would Be Enhanced By MIS Sweep

The return to Michigan International Speedway couldn’t come at a better time for Greg Biffle, winner of June’s race at MIS and the reigning champion of the two-mile track’s August stop. Biffle is ninth in Sprint Cup standings, just four points ahead of 11^th-place Kurt Busch. The last driver to sweep Michigan’s pair of races was Bobby Labonte in 1995. Biffle, a four-time Michigan winner, owns the top Driver Rating (110.00) at MIS where Roush Fenway Racing is the all-time winning ownership with 12 victories.

 

Pressure On Keselowski To Perform Before Hometown Fans

Brad Keselowski faces pressure on several fronts. The Pure Michigan 400 is a home race for the Rochester Hills, Mich. native, who finished second and third, respectively, in the past two August events. Keselowski was among the big movers over the weekend in upstate New York, his runner-up finish to Kyle Busch vaulting the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion to eighth in the standings. He leads 11^th-place Kurt Busch by 11 points. Without a victory, Keselowski doesn’t have the luxury of a potential Wild Card Chase entry.

 

Busch’s Third Victory Cements Status As One Of the Title Favorites

Kyle Busch hasn’t clinched a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – at least not yet. But his third victory of the year at Watkins Glen International gave the Las Vegas competitor bragging rights to the season’s third-best victory total – three - and a potential nine Chase bonus points when he inevitably lands a top-10 Chase berth. Busch should be a potential winner again this week having captured the Pure Michigan 400 in 2011. He finished fourth when NASCAR’s premier series visited MIS in June. Another favorite: Kevin Harvick, winner of the track’s August race in 2010. Harvick finished second to Greg Biffle in June.

 

June’s MIS Results Give Gordon, Hendrick Pause For Thought

Hendrick Motorsports failed to place a driver among the top 25 in June’s visit to Michigan International Speedway and that could portend further trouble for four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, whose Chase hopes took a big hit with an early-race accident and 36^th-place finish at Watkins Glen. Gordon dropped four positions – ninth to 13^th – and stands 15 points outside the top 10 with four races remaining before the Chase lineup is set. Gordon is a two-time Michigan winner but not since his 2001 championship season. He was 39^th in June, an accident victim along with teammate Kasey Kahne.

 

On The ‘Bubble,’ Truex Has Insurance Policy

Martin Truex Jr. enters this Sunday’s race on the top 10 “bubble” but enjoying the best of all possible worlds under the circumstances. Truex is just two points up on Kurt Busch but with one victory holds a potential Chase Wild Card should he fall out of the top 10. Kasey Kahne (12^th) provisionally holds the first Wild Card and is the only driver ranked 11^th through 20^th with two victories. The second Wild Card currently belongs to Indianapolis winner Ryan Newman (14^th).