Led by Tony Stewart's second-place finish, the Coca-Cola Racing Family Drivers put five cars in the top 16 at Michigan International Raceway.

Greg Biffle returned to the top five after an off week, while Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurrary continued their run of good finishes. Bobby Labonte had his best performance since the season's second week.

Tony Stewart

Michigan finish: Second

Season standings: Eighth

Stewart loves running toward the front at Michigan. He started eighth, spent all but two laps in the top 15 and ran an average position of 4.6. His second-place finish was his best result at Michigan in seven years and his 19th top-10 in 27 races at the track. Coupled with his third-place showing at Pocono last week, Stewart has put together consecutive top-10 finishes for the first time since April 1. He remains eighth in the standings.

What he said: "You know, we did the Bristol test on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we have been on a track 11 out of 12 days in a row. So I've got a bunch of tired crew guys and a tired crew chief and I'm a tired driver, but I'm really proud of the effort they put forth in the last week and a half. We had a fast car all week. We started the day pretty much toward the front and never really lost that track position all day. We had a pretty good car that we could pass with. It was hard to pass, but it wasn't impossible."

Greg Biffle

Michigan finish: Fourth

Season standings: Third

Biffle landed back among the race leaders after his worst result of the season at Pocono. That was not a huge surprise: He entered the race with the best average finish at Michigan during the past seven years. He had the fastest car all day and led 36 laps early in the race. Tire issues prevented Biffle from staying atop the pack for long late in the race. Still, he grabbed his nine top-10 finish in 15 races this season and held firm to third place in the standings.

What he said: "I am a little disappointed because we couldn't run the car as hard as we needed to. The right rear kept coming apart on us. I could only run it as hard as I could."

Jamie McMurray

Michigan finish: 14th

Season standings: 18th

McMurray's streak of decent finishes continued at Michigan. After starting 19th, he scuttled with a very loose car through the first 140 laps and fell as far back as 34th. But with adjustments, he surged in the final 60 laps, getting inside the top 20, then top 15 to come home 14th. McMurray netted his best finish at Michigan in three years and has six top 15s in his past nine races. He moved up a spot in the season standings.

What he said: "I'm proud of the effort from our McDonald's team. The car was a bit of a handful at the start of the race. We were really loose, and the car felt like it was going to wreck every lap. The guys made some great adjustments, and it turned the car around."

Ryan Newman

Michigan finish: 15th

Season standings: 13th

Newman qualified fifth but started at the rear of the field after an engine change. He zoomed through the field, reaching the top 15 within the first 30 laps, where he remained for the much of the race. Newman reached sixth at one point but fell back -- even a lap down -- with blistering tires and a loose car. But with netting the second-most green-flag passes during the race, he earned his fourth straight top-15 finish and still holds a wild-card spot for the Chase.

What he said: "We dug our heels in, and we fought hard. We showed how strong we were. Then I'm not sure what happened. We blistered a right rear earlier in the race, and I thought I had another one blistering. You get a blistered tire like that, and then you get a vibration later; it just kind of destroys your confidence. To come up with a 15th-place finish after all that is not bad."

Bobby Labonte

Michigan finish: 16th

Season standings: 26th

Labonte is faring better in recent races. He was another fast starter (gained 16 spots in the first 20 laps) and big-time passer (third with 91 green-flag passes). He reached as high as fourth, but a tire going down just before a caution soon after the midway point cost him a few spots. Labonte's car was strong enough to finish 16th -- his best result since the second week of the season at Phoenix. He remains 26th in the standings.

What he tweeted: "Congrats to dale jr. That car was fast."

Jeff Burton

Michigan finish: 21st

Season standings: 21st

Burton had a good start, going from 33rd to to 15th in the first 10 laps. But he slid up the track on a restart and was railroaded back to 25th. Then the car developed handling problems -- loose in turns, tight out -- and blisters on the right-front tire. The nose of Burton's car was damaged in a wreck just after a restart with about 65 laps remaining. The No. 31 was very tight the rest of the way, though he was able to remain competitive. Burton finished 21st and dropped three spots in the standings.

What he said: "This was a tough day for the No. 31 Caterpillar team. We couldn't get the handling of the car where we wanted; it just kept getting tighter as the race went on. The entire crew worked hard [Sunday]. I wish we had a better finish to show for it."

Denny Hamlin

Michigan finish: 34th

Season standings: Fifth

Hamlin was in a good spot to have a bad week. He has put himself in prime position to make the Chase, with only one finish outside the top 20 before Michigan. The race started well enough for Hamlin. He had a top-10 car after 70 laps, but he was caught a lap down twice after cautions put him outside the top 20. Hamlin had gotten back inside the top 15 when he was squeezed off the track soon after a restart. The car caught fire in the wreck and singed Hamlin's day with less than 70 laps to go. Hamlin has finished 35th and 34th in the past two Michigan races after winning two of the previous three at the track. The flames cost him a spot in the standings.

What he tweeted: "Fire! Fire! I should have stripped down to my underwear and ran around like Ricky Bobby. ... Crappy way to end our day nonetheless. Me and @mw55 [Michael Wartip] heading to [Phoenix] then pebble beach for a 4 day golf trip."

* Hamlin escapes his first car fire | Video

Joey Logano

Michigan finish: 35th

Season standings: 15th

Coming off a victory at Pocono and a Nationwide win at Michigan, Logano seemed to have a good day set up with a ninth-place start. He motored into third and was a fixture in the top 10 before a blistering right front tire caused an early green-flag stop. He would get caught a lap down but battled back inside the top 10. But on Llap 127, he got loose trying to get around a slower car, spun and hit the outside wall. The wreck left Logano with his worst result of the season and his worst finish at Michigan. He is the first driver outside a wild-card spot for the Chase.

What he said: "It's really too bad for my guys because we had a car that was easily capable of a top-10 and even a top-five finish. The car was great, and we were making it better and better with every adjustment. ... But I'm not letting this get me down at all. We still have a lot of momentum going. There is still plenty of time, and we are still in a great position to get ourselves into the Chase, and that is what we are focused on doing."

* Video: Logano collected in wreck

Weekly Coca-Cola Roundup Archive