Carl Edwards started on the pole for the race. On the start, he would quickly find Kurt Busch's behavior unappealing. Busch drove down into turn 1 underneath Edwards and went up the track. Busch made contact with Edwards and Edwards immediately fell back. Busch took the lead and led the first lap. Edwards was not too happy, but had to settle in around fifth place. It was a short time before the first caution of the race waved on lap 6. Bobby Labonte got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin up the track. Jeff Gordon checked up and slammed into Labonte. Both drivers slammed into the outside wall and slid down the backstretch. Both had huge amounts of damage, which led to Labonte retiring and Gordon losing over one hundred laps to fix the car. No drivers received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the second caution of the race on lap 20. NASCAR waved a competition caution because it rained at the speedway during the night. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. Kyle Busch received a penalty for passing on the entrance to pit road and he had to start at the back of the field, but he would make his way back up. Now, the drivers were ready to race after making sure everything was good with the track and the strategy calls began to come out.
The race went green once again and it was a short time before the third caution of the race waved on lap 29. Kurt Busch, a contender in the early part of the race, got loose coming out of turn 2 and slammed the outside wall. He received a good bit of damage and would fall a few laps down. Travis Kvapil received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the fourth caution of the race on lap 41. Debris off Kurt Busch's car was spotted on the track in turn 1. David Ragan received the lucky dog. Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose, and Danica Patrick decided not to pit. The race went back green once again and most of the drivers who stayed out made it work. They eventually had to pit and this led to the fifth caution of the race on lap 76. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 1. David Stremme received the lucky dog. The race went back green and there was some trouble on the restart. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun the tires in the lead and Jimmie Johnson did not want to beat him to the line so he slowed down. Things stacked up behind them and Johnson got shuffled way back while Earnhardt was able to take the lead with Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth following. Kahne would quickly take the lead away, but his day would go from good to awful in a split second.
Coming into turn 2 on lap 104, Kahne's car instantly shot to the right due to a blown tire and he pounded the wall. The car slid across the wall and burst into flames as it neared a stop. Kahne quickly jumped out of the car and was able to douse the flames with the extinguisher, but his race was finished. This resulted in the sicth caution of the race. A.J. Allmendinger received the lucky dog. The race went green once again and the place exploded as Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to the lead. He held the lead well and seemed like he had a car that could win, but it quickly went downhill. On lap 128, Earnhardt began to slow on the frontstretch. He had lost a cylinder in his engine and it would only be a short time before the motor expired. On lap 131, Earnhardt began to smoke and his engine was gone. This resulted in the seventh caution of the race for the oil his engine left on the track. His day was done and his chances to win were dashed. David Ragan received the lucky dog. All the top 10 drivers took two tires, but Jimmie Johnson decided to take four. He was stuck back in traffic, but he could definitely move through it. These moves were setting up for an awesome finish.
The race went back green and the blue ovals began to show their might. Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, and Greg Biffle were the top 3 and they stayed up there until the eighth and final caution of the race waved on lap 167. Jamie McMurray blew a tire at the end of the frontstretch and hit the wall. He received a good bit of damage. This is where the strategy really picked up. Joey Logano was the only driver in the top 10 to take four tires. Brad Keselowski and a few of the other front runners decided to take two tires and one can of fuel while Jimmie Johnson took two tires and two cans of fuel. It would be interesting to see which moves would pay off. The race went back green and Matt Kenseth would have some trouble. On the restart, he got loose in turn 2 and made slight contact with the wall. He lost many spots, but he gained most of them back by the end of the race. Now, the mad dash to the finish was set and it was certainly one of the best of the season.
Greg Biffle led the race, but Kevin Harvick was in hot pursuit. He stayed close behind Biffle, but he could not capitalize. Eventually, Jimmie Johnson caught up and passed Harvick for second. Now, Johnson, who had one of the best cars, was looking to chase Biffle down. He came close, but he had a problem. On lap 197, he moved up the track and made slight contact with the wall. Johnson had a tire going down and this ended his chance for victory and his race. The caution did not wave and Biffle could cruise to the win. Before that happened, Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel coming to the line and fell out of the top 10. This did not affect Biffle as he grabbed his fourth career victory at Michigan and his first of the season. It was quite a day as Biffle solidified his standing in the points and that he is a threat for the title as well.
It was a good day for Jack Roush and his team. Greg Biffle won the race in one of his cars, Carl Edwards finished eighth and gained points on Jimmie Johnson for the championship lead, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished sixteenth in his debut at Michigan. In fact, many of the Ford drivers had good finishes. On the other hand, Rick Hendrick and his team did not have finishes to show for their good cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 37th after losing his engine, Kasey Kahne finished 38th after blowing a tire, Jeff Gordon finished 39th after an early accident, and Jimmie Johnson finished 28th after blowing a tire with three laps to go. They all lost a good many points, but they all have chances to make the chase in the end. All things considered, it was an action packed race that was definitely one of the best of the year. The Sprint Cup Series heads to the first road course event of the season at Infineon. Will Clint Bowyer repeat after his win last year, will Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson rebound at a track they have won at previously, or will a road course ringer make it to victory lane? We will have to wait until next Sunday to find out all these questions and more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 6- Bobby Labonte got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin as Jeff Gordon slammed into his side.
2nd Caution: Lap 20- Competition caution waved due to rain at Michigan during the night.
3rd Caution: Lap 29- Kurt Busch got loose coming out of turn 2 and slammed the wall.
4th Caution: Lap 41- Debris off Kurt Busch's car was spotted in turn 1.
5th Caution: Lap 76- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 1.
6th Caution: Lap 104- Kasey Kahne blew a tire in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall.
7th Caution: Lap 131- Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost an engine and left oil on the track.
8th Caution: Lap 167- Jamie McMurray blew a tire at the end of the frontstretch and hit the wall.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: David Gilliland
3rd Caution: Travis Kvapil
4th Caution: David Ragan
5th Caution: David Stremme
6th Caution: A.J. Allmendinger
7th Caution: David Ragan
8th Caution: Carl Edwards
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Greg Biffle
2nd: Kevin Harvick
3rd: Martin Truex Jr.
4th: Kyle Busch
5th: Tony Stewart
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Matt Kenseth
12th: Brad Keselowski
13th: Danica Patrick
28th: Jimmie Johnson
37th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
38th: Kasey Kahne
39th: Jeff Gordon
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Quicken_Loans_400/W
-Image:
http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BG&Date=20130616&Category=SPORTS03&ArtNo=306160025&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&q=80&NASCAR-Greg-Biffle-holds-win-again-Michigan
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