LifeLock 400 Race Preview

Michigan International Speedway -- 06/14/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Tuesday Jun 9 2009 11:14pm

This Sunday, the Cup series heads up north to Michigan International Speedway for the LifeLock 400, the first of two stops at MIS this year. The circuit will return here in mid-August.

Michigan is a two-mile D-shaped oval (so to speak) with 18 degrees of banking in the turns. You will hear people describe it as a sister track to either California or Texas Speedway, although similar track lengths do not really mean the tracks are otherwise similar. Earlier this season, however, Matt Kenseth won in Fontana and Jeff Gordon in Fort Worth.

MIS is also a track that drivers love to race on because of its expansive feel and multi-groove surface that gives racers the one thing they long for at any racetrack: options.

“I love coming to Michigan for the race,” said Elliott Sadler, who finished in the top 10 in both MIS outings last year. “It’s one of the most fun racetracks from a driver’s perspective that we visit. It’s big, fast, wide, and there is some of the best racing on the circuit. The track has multiple grooves, so if you’re car isn’t working in one place you can just move up or down the racetrack until you find a spot that works for you. I’ve always run pretty well at Michigan and I’m hoping that continues this weekend.”

The Cup series has been racing at Michigan twice a year since 1969, except in 1973 when the track was visited just once. Mark Martin has the most wins here among active drivers with four, though he’s also made more starts than many other drivers – 46 in all. Martin’s last win here was in 1998 and all four of his wins came in Roush Fords, as this is his first season with Hendrick Motorsports.

Bobby Labonte has three wins at Michigan and several other drivers have two a piece, including Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and Greg Biffle.

One-time winners at MIS include Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

Many tracks around the Sprint Cup circuit are known to favor the Chevy teams, but Michigan is not one of them. In the past 20 MIS races including both annual race dates, only two have been won by a Chevy driver – Jeff Gordon in June 2001 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. last June in a fuel mileage win. Six races were run by Dodge drivers and 12 by Fords during that time frame.

The Roush Fords in particular have had recent success at Michigan, finding Victory Lane in five of the last ten races, including two each by Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, and a win in August 2006 by Matt Kenseth.

Edwards, in fact, leads all drivers in the average finish category with a low 6.6, bettering teammate Kenseth who has a 9.1. In nine Michigan starts, Carl has two wins and eight top-10 finishes.

Following Edwards and Kenseth in the average finish category are Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, David Ragan, Mark Martin, and Greg Biffle.

Not surprisingly, Edwards also leads all drivers in terms of points accumulated here in the last five races, followed by Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson. Although Johnson has never won at MIS, he has finished as high as third, with one DNF in 14 starts.

The early forecast calls for cloudy skies through the weekend with a chance of scattered showers on Sunday.

Current odds for select drivers for the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International
Speedway:

Jimmie Johnson +550

Carl Edwards +600

Greg Biffle +750

Kyle Busch +800

Matt Kenseth +900

Jeff Gordon +950

Tony Stewart +1050

Mark Martin +1250

Kurt Busch +1350

Ryan Newman +1685

Please check back before the race for our practice and qualifying update.

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