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With talk of Kyle Busch's 80 bonus points, is Carl Edwards quietly hiding out?By the Numbers: Michigan
Edwards a statistical favorite at 2-mile superspeedway
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Bonus points are the key word at this point in the Sprint Cup season. Kyle Busch has 80 and has locked up the top spot in the Chase. Carl Edwards is second in that category with 30.
Even with four victories, Edwards can't catch Busch in bonus points due to a penalty suffered at Las Vegas that took away those 10 bonuses earned for that victory.
In the remaining four races before the Chase begins, Edwards has won at three of the tracks (Michigan, Bristol and California) while Busch has won at two of them (Bristol and California). The obvious difference is Michigan, site of Sunday's 3M Performance 400 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN). The two series leaders are polar opposites at the track.
7.3Average finish of Carl Edwards in his eight starts at Michigan, the best among the top 12 drivers in points. He won there in June 2007. His only finish outside the top 10 was in August 2006 when he was 22nd.
19.6Average finish for Kyle Busch in his seven starts at Michigan, the worst among drivers ranked in the top 12 in points. Busch has two top-10s there and his last two races have resulted in 13th-place finishes.
Twelve times has a Michigan winner gone on to win the Cup Series championship in the 39 years the track has hosted races, or 30 percent of the time. The longest span between such occurrences has been eight years. It's been seven years since it last happened, in 2001 with Jeff Gordon.
The winner of this year's June race: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Two drivers who have not won at the track: Series points leader Busch and third-place Jimmie Johnson.
Michigan International Speedway
Race winners who went on to win the Cup
| Year | June Winner | August Winner | Series Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Cale Yarborough | David Pearson | David Pearson |
| 1974 | Richard Petty | David Pearson | Richard Petty |
| 1975 | David Pearson | Richard Petty | Richard Petty |
| 1977 | Cale Yarborough | Darrell Waltrip | Cale Yarborough |
| 1978 | Cale Yarborough | David Pearson | Cale Yarborough |
| 1979 | Buddy Baker | Richard Petty | Richard Petty |
| 1987 | Dale Earnhardt | Bill Elliott | Dale Earnhardt |
| 1989 | Bill Elliott | Rusty Wallace | Rusty Wallace |
| 1990 | Dale Earnhardt | Mark Martin | Dale Earnhardt |
| 1998 | Mark Martin | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon |
| 1999 | Dale Jarrett | Bobby Labonte | Dale Jarrett |
| 2001 | Jeff Gordon | Sterling Marlin | Jeff Gordon |
Back in Time
Aug. 18, 1991Dale Jarrett records his first career victory in the Cup Series by beating Davey Allison to the flag by an estimated 10 inches to win the Champion Spark Plug 400. It was also the last time the Wood Brothers have won at Michigan International Speedway; the team's 11 victories there are the most of any owner. While Jarrett went on to win 32 races in his career, the Wood Brothers have won just two other times in the 17 years since.
10 Key Facts
1Victory by a Chevrolet in the last 14 Michigan races: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the June race. During that span, Ford has seven victories while Dodge has six.
2Drivers who have both an average start and average finish of 10th or better: Jeff Gordon (8.7/10.8) and Denny Hamlin (10.0/10.8).
2Finishing position of Tony Stewart in the last two races (Pocono and Watkins Glen). Stewart has not won a race in 36 events.
3.5Average finish for Matt Kenseth in the last two Michigan races (finishes: third, fourth). In the two races prior to that, he finished first and 42nd.
14Laps led by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his June victory at Michigan, fifth-best among lap leaders that race. Jimmie Johnson (65), Brian Vickers (44), Matt Kenseth (41) and Carl Edwards (21) all led more laps.
16Michigan races that have been won from a starting position outside of the top 10. Five of those have come in the last eight races.
18Drivers who have recorded eight victories in the first 22 races of a season, which Kyle Busch did last week. Only four of the previous 17 drivers to accomplish the feat failed to win the championship that season.
148Points that separate sixth-place Jeff Gordon and 13th-place Clint Bowyer in the standings. The maximum amount a driver can gain on another driver in one race is 161 points.
318Laps led by Terry Labonte at Michigan, the most by a driver on this week's entry list who has not won there. Labonte is set to drive the No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge. Jimmie Johnson's 219 laps led are the most by a full-time driver who has not won at Michigan.
1,447Points scored by Matt Kenseth in the last 10 Michigan races, more than any other driver. Kenseth is one of seven drivers on the entry list with multiple victories at the track.
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Michigan International Speedway
Active drivers, based on victories
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Martin | 45 | 4 | 16 | 27 |
| Bobby Labonte | 32 | 3 | 9 | 16 |
| Matt Kenseth | 18 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Jeff Gordon | 31 | 2 | 15 | 20 |
| Kurt Busch | 15 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Greg Biffle | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Ryan Newman | 14 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Tony Stewart | 19 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| Kasey Kahne | 9 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 18 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Carl Edwards | 8 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
Active drivers, based on average finish
| Driver | Starts | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Edwards | 8 | 17.2 | 7.2 |
| Matt Kenseth | 18 | 21.0 | 9.3 |
| Jeff Gordon | 31 | 8.7 | 10.8 |
| Denny Hamlin | 5 | 10.0 | 10.8 |
| Tony Stewart | 19 | 22.4 | 12.5 |
Cup Series News
- Former Mayfield attorneys sue to recover unpaid fees
- Putting a wrap on 2009 with the top 12 drivers
- Chance meeting provides Edwards insight into 2010
- Hendrick indicates deal in the works to secure Knaus
- Wingo named crew chief for Ragan, No. 6 team
- Hendrick turning attention to getting Junior on track
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