Catch up before Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1)
What: 47th annual Quicken Loans 400
Where: Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile D-shaped oval in Brooklyn, Michigan
When: Sunday, June 14, 2015
TV/Radio: FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Distance: 200 laps (400 miles)
Green Flag: 1:16.30 p.m. ET
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Caution Car Speed: 65 mph
Fuel Window: 40 laps
On The Front Row | Complete lineup
1. Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet (201.992 mph)
2. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (201.613 mph)
Failed to Qualify
Brendan Gaughan, Premium Motorsports No. 62 Chevrolet
Fastest In Practice
First Practice: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (202.492 mph) | Results
Second Practice: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (201.084 mph)
| Results
Third Practice: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (198.604 mph) | Results
Kahne’s pole streak ends
Kasey Kahne will start first in Sunday’s 400-miler, thanks to his first Coors Light Pole Award since October 2012 at Kansas Speedway, a span of 90 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. “I think the competition is much closer,” Kahne said of the qualifying dry spell. “I think the drivers, the teams are better than what they used to be. A lot of times a tenth (of a second) separates 15 cars. I don’t remember it being quite like that when I first came into the sport when poles seemed to be easier to win at that time.”
Manufacturer mix
With the automotive hub of Detroit not far from the 2-mile speedway, NASCAR’s manufacturers place an extra emphasis on winning in their own backyard. Among current automakers in the sport, Ford has 34 wins, Chevrolet has 22 and Toyota four.
Angling for a triple
Hendrick Motorsports holds a modest two-race win streak at Michigan after sweeping the track’s events last year with Jimmie Johnson prevailing in June and Jeff Gordon coming home first in August.
History lesson
NASCAR’s premier series began racing at Michigan International Speedway in 1969, with Cale Yarborough winning the Motor State 500. Longtime team owner Roger Penske rescued the track from bankruptcy in 1973 and managed the facility until International Speedway Corp., took over in July 1999. While the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte remains NASCAR’s longest race, Michigan once scheduled its own 600-miler for its second event. But rain shortened the race after 165 of 300 laps for an abbreviated distance of 330 miles.
Driver Rating
Best driver rating average at Michigan based on past 10 years:
1. Greg Biffle, 107.1
2. Jimmie Johnson, 102.5
3. Matt Kenseth, 101.3
Defending race winner
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet
Former Michigan winners in the field
Greg Biffle (4); Jeff Gordon (3); Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman (2); Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart (1).