Jack Roush will play the odds when he goes to his home track. Credit: Autostock

Roush, Ford looking to rev louder in Motor City

Manufacturers take spotlight as Busch Series heads to Michigan

Michigan is Jack Roush's own sandbox. He lives there. His race team runs Fords, which is based there. And he's good there.

Only he hasn't won a Busch Series race there in years.

The No. 21 RCR crew will welcome back their crew chief after a six-race suspension. Credit: Autostock

MR. WILSON'S BACK After serving a six-race suspension, crew chief Shane Wilson will be back atop the pit box for Kevin Harvick's No. 21 team.  "It was really tough not being at the track," said Wilson, who led preparations of the cars during the week. "The hard part was watching the race and not being able to be a part of it.  "Friday through Sunday felt like forever."  In the six races without his primary crew chief, Harvick had two victories and five top-fives. His other race -- at Watkins Glen -- he finished seventh.  But Harvick is still glad to have his leader back.  "He has put a lot of hard work into this team this season and it has really shown," Harvick said.

Seven years and three days to be exact. It was Aug. 15, 1998, when Jeff Burton drove the No. 9 Ford to Victory Lane to give Roush his third Busch Series win at Michigan. The other two were by Mark Martin.

Since then, Burton has moved on to Richard Childress Racing; Michael Waltrip won a Busch race at Michigan in a Chevrolet, switched to Dodge and is now preparing a Toyota for next year; and Ryan Newman made his entrance into NASCAR and has won twice at the track.

They'll all reconvene for Saturday's showdown, the Carfax 250 (2:45 p.m. ET, TNT). But only Roush will have a six-shooter by his side.

"It's always important to run well there since we're in Ford's and Jack's backyard being so close to Detroit," said Mike Kelley, crew chief for rookie Todd Kluever, one of six Roush Racing drivers entered in the race.

It will be the first Busch race for Kluever at the track. Same goes for Danny O'Quinn.

But the other four in Roush's six-pack have flexed their muscles there before.

In seven races at Michigan, Mark Martin's worst finish is 11th, and he's won there twice.

In his only Busch Series race at Michigan, Carl Edwards finished third last year.

In seven races at Michigan, Matt Kenseth has three top-10s. He didn't race last year, but he's nearly an automatic top-10 at the track in a Cup car (nine of 14 starts).

In the last two races at Michigan, Greg Biffle has finished eighth and second, leading 44 laps last year.

"We are bringing the same Ameriquest car that got us a victory in California, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of finish we can get out of it this weekend," said Biffle, who is sixth in the standings despite entering just 20 of the 24 races.

Other manufacturers are loading up, too.

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Roger Penske is sending both Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman back on the track for a second consecutive week in Dodges. Busch won last week's race at Watkins Glen, while Newman won this race one year ago. In two races at Michigan, Newman has two victories.

Chevrolets are covered with the normal Richard Childress Racing duo of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer being joined by part-timer Jeff Burton in the No. 29. Even Joe Gibbs is running a triple play this weekend, with regulars Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley joined by Truck Series driver Aric Almirola in the No. 19 Chevy.

That leaves the Ford camp, whether it's a Roush car or not, staring at an ugly streak in front of the bosses: No victories since 2001. Dodge won last year. Chevys won the three before that.

"This is the single most important race for us to win this year, bar none," said David Green, who drives a Ford for Brewco Motorsports. "It's in the backyard of Ford Motor Company, and we want to give Ford Racing all the bragging rights for the next 12 months."

Michigan a driver's track

With a wide racing surface and corners banked at 18 degrees, Michigan is a place drivers like to race. Why? Mostly because there's room.

"Michigan is definitely on my list of top-five favorite tracks to race. It's super fast and has multiple grooves that allows you to run anywhere on the track you want or where your car handles the best. There's a lot of side-by-side and three-wide racing, so you really have to be on your toes and pay attention to the traffic around you."
-- Jason Leffler, No. 38 Chevrolet

"MIS is very wide with multiple grooves on both ends to work around other cars. With the August heat, the track gets very slippery in Turns 1 and 2. When Turns 3 and 4 get slick, you'll see three- and four-wide racing all day long."
-- David Green, No. 27 Ford

"It's definitely a racy racetrack, where the groove is wide. You don't have to pin your car down on the bottom like you do a lot of other places. You can slip up a little bit and chase it up the track and keep the hammer down, whereas at Chicago, Kansas, places like that, you move up out of the groove half a car-length and you're in the wall."
-- Clint Bowyer, No. 2 Chevrolet

"You can run all the way down on the white line or run almost up by the wall. You don't have to follow somebody around. That makes it so the driver has options."
-- Jeff Burton, No. 29 Chevrolet