In 21 starts at Sonoma, Gordon has finished outside of top 10 just four times
Jeff Gordon has five career wins at Sonoma Raceway, although he has not won at the California road course since 2006. In 21 starts at the track, Gordon has 17 top 10s and five poles. In his past eight races at the venue, Gordon has not finished outside the top 10. The four-time premier series champion is also the only driver to win consecutive races at the track as he won three straight at Sonoma from 1998 to 2000.
Defending Sprint Cup Series champion has won three of last four races
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BROOKLYN, Mich. — At long last, Jimmie Johnson knows what it feels like to visit Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway.
The six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion took the lead for good on Lap 191 after a cycle of pit stops and cruised to the checkered flag at Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 to end a 24-race drought here.
"We’ve figured out every way to lose this race and today we were able to get it done," he said after getting out of his No. 48 Chevy.
Johnson had encountered heartbreak several times when leading late here and admitted he was nervous as he dashed through the final few laps.
"About 200 yards before the finish line I knew if the car exploded, I’d still make it across the line," he said with a chuckle, "so that’s when I finally relaxed."
Johnson pitted on Lap 165 and took on four tires and enough fuel to finish the race, which was green the rest of the way. Anyone close to him pitted later, leaving Johnson comfortably ahead as Hendrick Motorsports captured its fifth straight Sprint Cup Series race.
"We were really in a win-win situation," said Johnson, who led 39 laps and jumped to second in the Sprint Cup points standings behind Gordon. "Those guys had to come to pit road to make it to the end.
"Once the strategy unfolded, we knew we were in the catbird seat."
Crew chief Chad Knaus said the team had an extra ace in the hole.
"We knew there was going to be some opportunities to play some strategy today," he said. "We were fortunate to have a fast racecar and hit the strategy correct."
The car was the same the team used to win Johnson’s first race of the season at Charlotte.
Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick, who led a race-best 63 laps, was second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne.
Johnson’s win capped a stellar day for HMS, which saw all four Chevys in the top seven thanks to Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who were sixth and seventh.
Johnson became the series’ first three-time winner and picked up his 69th career Sprint Cup victory. He’s finished first in three of the series’ last four races, moving from fourth to second in the series points standings, 15 points behind Gordon.
Harvick was especially fast on restarts during the first 150 laps of the race but got caught in a series of green-flag stops that dropped him to second. He did little to hide his frustration.
"The car was fast, just wound up on the wrong side of the strategy," he said.
Harvick had the fastest car on the track for most of practice and set a new track record to earn the pole.
The pit strategy chess game forced several other contenders farther back in the field, including Joey Logano, who led the field for 15 laps before being passed by Harvick on Lap 141.
The race wasn’t quite a lap old when Brian Vickers brushed the Turn 4 wall, then spun before collecting Travis Kvapil near the entrance to pit lane. Rookie Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. brought out another caution on Lap 6 when they made contact near Turn 2.
Casey Mears and Brett Moffitt tangled in Turn 4 on Lap 115 and Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin spun in the same place on Lap 122 to bring out another caution. The race was yellow-flagged eight times for 36 laps.
The Sprint Cup Series is in California next week for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday starting at 3 p.m. ET (TNT).
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All four drivers finish within the top seven
RELATED: Race results | Updated standings
BROOKLYN, Mich. — In 2007, Hendrick Motorsports won at least five straight races in two different spans, with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears combining for wins from Phoenix to Charlotte early in the season and Gordon or Johnson finding Victory Lane in six straight events during that season’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
The organization won a franchise-best 18 races that year — exactly half of the series’ events — and Johnson collected his second of five straight Sprint Cup Series titles.
Shockingly, Hendrick might be even stronger in 2014.
Johnson’s victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday — his first in 25 attempts at the track, a sign that Johnson is capable of doing more this year than in years past — marked the third time the organization has won five straight races, starting with Gordon’s Kansas win in early May, then seeing Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. combine for the next four at Charlotte, Dover, Pocono and Michigan. That gives HMS six race victories on the season — nine if you want to count the three that Stewart-Haas Racing has racked up with Hendrick engines under the hood — with Earnhardt’s marquee Daytona 500 victory kicking off the season.
Sunday’s race saw all four drivers in the Hendrick stable finish in the top seven with at least one lap led for the first time this year. It now seems unfathomable that earlier this season the team went nine races without a victory, because it feels like they could win every week from here on out.
"To keep the streak going, get five, that’s great," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "I think we were a little off early in the year, and we’ve been kind of clicking here lately … all the crew chiefs and drivers (are) working hard, working together, the engine shop, chassis shop. Everybody is really putting out a lot of effort right now, and it’s paying off."
Everything is running on all cylinders for the Concord, North Carolina shop — both literally and figuratively — so you’d think they’d be satisfied. That mindset isn’t how the team got to be so successful, however. In their eyes, there’s always room for improvement.
"I think if you go back and look starting at Daytona, the engine shop and the chassis shop, the way that the Hendrick Motorsports affiliated teams and team itself have performed has been pretty impressive as a whole," said No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus. "The chassis shop, we know we build chassis for a lot of the other competitors, as well, and those cars have run very, very well. The teams that have run with our engines have run very, very well, as well. It’s been pretty awesome, and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the 48/88 shop to be able to win four races in a row. I think that speaks volumes about how well both of our race cars are running out of that one team, out of that one building.
"The fact of the matter is I think we’ve got to be a little bit better. Last week we were a whisker away from losing that one. This weekend maybe we were one pit call away from not winning this one. We’ve got to continue to improve our product so by the time we get to the Chase we’re where we need to be."
That doesn’t mean the organization doesn’t know how to enjoy itself when these wins do some in bunches, however, especially if the copious amounts of flying confetti and sprayed champagne in Victory Lane are any indication.
They also aren’t taking their success for granted.
"The success that we’ve had as a team, kind of hitting our stride and getting to Victory Lane three times in the last four weeks, our teammates and their success, the company, you look at our engines in our cars and what they’re able to do, Rick gives us all the tools to go out there and do our jobs," Johnson said. "To have everything so fast and so good, you want it to last forever. We know that it won’t, but it’s just a good time to sit back and reflect and enjoy it.
"We are getting stronger as the No. 48 — there is no doubt about that. I think it is obvious that Hendrick Motorsports produces fast race cars. They build fast engines. It doesn’t matter if it is Stewart-Haas or the Hendrick organization. We’re winning a lot of races, and running up front. So, we just have to do the best that we can to get stronger as the Chase gets closer, and make sure we are on our game when the Chase gets here."
Kahne has yet to fully join the party, sitting winless in 19th place in the standings. That said, it’s looking he could just be casually late as the 5 team has been making serious gains in recent weeks and should see things start to pick up soon.
The 34-year-old notched two wins in each of his first two seasons with Hendrick, so it’s unlikely he’ll spend 2014 winless. Being part of the premier organization in the sport certainly doesn’t hurt his chances.
"We’re super strong. Cars are awesome," said Kahne, who picked up his second top-five finish of the season at Michigan. "Even the other cars with the Hendrick engines, with the help from HMS and everybody working together, we’re really strong and it’s nice to be part of that. I’m glad we hit on it today and ran much better than what we have been.
"We’ve had strength in all the tracks we’ve been at lately, we just haven’t ran worth a (expletive). Hopefully we get all that stuff better. Today was nice and hopefully we can build on it and just keep getting better as a team."
All of their success isn’t lost on Hendrick’s direct competitors, either. Even an organization like Team Penske, which has started one of its two cars on the front row in all but three races thanks to being lightyears ahead of everyone else in terms of grasping the new qualifying format, feels like it’s playing catchup when it comes to engine development.
"The Hendrick cars are probably the best anywhere it takes power to run, and these tracks are certainly one of those," said Penske driver and 2012 champion Brad Keselowski. "It’s pretty obvious the Hendrick engines are way ahead of everyone else. Usually, that’s not something you catch up with in one season as far ahead as they are right now. They’re probably a full season ahead of everyone, so we’ve got work to do to get there."
The series now shifts to Sonoma Raceway, a road course where we’ll sometimes see surprise winners — like Martin Truex Jr. in 2013 — but HMS has to like their chances. Out of the 13 wins spread across the active roster, seven of them belong to Hendrick drivers.
It’s safe to assume that the win streak will be snapped at some point, but if we’ve learned anything through the season’s first 15 races, it’s clear Hendrick Motorsports is in a class unto itself in 2014.
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Chip Ganassi Racing driver places eighth at Michigan in eventful race for rookie
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BROOKLYN, Mich. — This time next year, Kyle Larson hopes to be celebrating his first Father’s Day in Victory Lane. For now, the recently announced dad-to-be will just have to settle for his second consecutive top-10 finish, his seventh of the season. Considering the day he had in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway, he’ll take it.
"We had to fight really hard today," said the Chip Ganassi Racing rookie, who sits eighth in points. "We fought our way back to the top five and pretty much stayed there for most of the race. Then with under 50 laps to go I sped on pit road and I was really bummed about that because I knew we had a shot at the win. I fought really hard after that to finish eighth. Shine (crew chief Chris Heroy) made great pit calls all day long and I just screwed up. I hate it, but I’m still somewhat happy to get a top-10, just disappointed I let my team down.
"All-in-all a good day. Another top-10 for us. Go on to Sonoma next week. Home state, so I will hang out with some friends and see what we can do there."
Larson’s speeding penalty wasn’t the first obstacle he had to overcome. After a wreck between Brian Vickers and Travis Kvapil halted the race on Lap 1, Larson got loose on the ensuing restart on Lap 7, hitting the wall, spinning out and collecting Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. in the process.
The incident put Larson in a significant hole, knocking off his rear bumper and sending him to the tail of the field. In retrospect, however, it may have actually been a blessing in disguise. Several drivers chimed in over their radios that the No. 42 Chevrolet might actually be faster without its rear bumper and Jeff Burton even mentioned on Twitter that Larson could have an extra aero advantage because of his newly-remodeled SS.
"I’m sure it was somewhat of an advantage from what my crew members said," Larson added. "I’ve never had that happen before, and it happened so early in the race that I don’t know how it would have handled had I had a rear bumper. Either way, I think we would have had a really good car because we were good in practice, but it probably did help a little bit."
While one rear bumper issue may have propelled Larson to his strong comeback, there’s another one that he may have to keep his eye on in the coming weeks. For the second week in a row, a certain driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet has been in a teaching mood. Tony Stewart gave the 21-year-old a little bump from behind during practice last weekend at Pocono Raceway and sent a similar message Sunday mid-race, which actually put a hole in the nose of Stewart’s ride and forced him to pit.
It can certainly be intimidating to get a nudge from a fiery three-time champion, but Larson is unfazed.
"That’s Tony being Tony," he said. "With the Tony issue, I was pretty tight on whoever was inside of me on the restart. I was looking in my mirror and saw him juke to the right, so I juked to the right and he hit me and I don’t know. He was trying to teach me a lesson I’m guessing. Oh well, that’s two weeks in a row. Happened in Pocono in practice — same kind of deal."
For now, Larson will continue to absorb those sorts of "lessons" from those around him — he is just 15 races into his full-time Sprint Cup Series career, after all — as he remains intent on picking up his first win in 2014. But if victory No. 1 has to wait til June 21, 2015, the date of next year’s Father’s Day, so be it.
"Yeah, it would have been cool to get a win today. I don’t know, I guess it’ll mean more next year."
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Moments that changed the course of the 15th race of the 2014 season
NO. 48 FOUR-TIRE STOP WINS AT MICHIGAN
For the third time in 2014 and the first time in his career at Michigan International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson went to Victory Lane in the Irish Hills, taking the lead for good on Lap 191.
He had more than luck on his side. A four-tire stop, called by crew chief Chad Knaus, helped the No. 48 maintain an advantage and notch a win at another track. The team is winless at only four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks now: Chicagoland Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Watkins Glen International.
Johnson pitted on Lap 165 and took on four tires and enough fuel to finish the race, which was green the rest of the way. Anyone close to him pitted later and left Johnson comfortably ahead as Hendrick Motorsports captured its fifth straight Sprint Cup series race.
"We were really in a win-win situation," said Johnson, who led 39 laps and jumped to second in the Sprint Cup points standings behind Gordon. "Those guys had to come to pit road to make it to the end.
"Once the strategy unfolded, we knew we were in the catbird’s seat."
Crew chief Chad Knaus said the team had an extra ace in the hole.
"We knew there was going to be some opportunities to play some strategy today," he said. "We were fortunate to have a fast racecar and hit the strategy correct."
KAHNE, LARSON BOUNCE BACK FROM EARLY CAUTION
On the seventh lap, Kyle Larson spun out and collected Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr., forcing them back in the field. Through strategy, strong cars and work in the pits, Kahne came back to finish fifth while Larson earned an eighth-place result.
"We fought our way back to the top 5 and pretty much stayed there for most of the race, and then with under 50 laps to go I sped on pit road," Larson said. "I was really bummed about that because I knew we would have a shot to win.
"Then I fought really hard after that to finish eighth, and I think [crew chief Chris Heroy] made great pit calls all day long, and I screwed up. I hate it, but still somewhat happy to get a top 10, just disappointed I let my team down."
VICKERS SPINS ON FIRST LAP FINISHES 42ND
Brian Vickers, looking for his first win of the 2014 season, came to an abrupt halt Sunday, less than a lap into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
The Michael Waltrip Racing driver, 13th in points entering Sunday and a Sprint Cup winner at the track in 2009, slid up the track and into the Turn 3 wall on the opening lap.
His No. 55 Toyota spun down off the banking and onto the apron where it was hit on the front end by the No. 32 of Travis Kvapil.
"Going into Turn 3 and I expected to follow the 48 (of Jimmie Johnson) in there," Vickers said after being released from the infield care center. "Just got really loose; I chased it all the way up to the wall and it just came around."
Engine builder, car owner and NASCAR official served the sport for more than half a century
Photo Gallery: Ray Fox 1916-2014
Ray Fox, a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee as an engine builder, car owner and crew chief, died Sunday at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., according to a report in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
A spokeswoman for the family told the newspaper that Fox was hospitalized with pneumonia a few days ago, and two of his daughters were by his side when he passed away.
(b. 05/28/1916)
Hometown: Daytona Beach, Florida
Competed: 1962-1974
Starts: 200
Wins: 14
Poles: 16
Fox, 98, was a New England native who saw his first automobile race at a 2-mile board track at Rockingham Park near Salem, N.H. He relocated to Daytona Beach to work as an auto mechanic following service in the U.S. Army in World War II.
His engine won the 1955 Daytona Road & Beach Course race for NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts, but the win was disqualified for modified pushrods. A year later, Fox was named mechanic of the year after winning 22 of the first 26 races of the season for owner Carl Kiekhaefer.
In 1960, he worked with two future NASCAR Hall of Famers. His Chevrolet won the Daytona 500 with Junior Johnson behind the wheel, and he also won three times with that season’s rookie of the year and David Pearson.
"I can’t say enough about him," Pearson said. "He’s the one that gave me the start."
In 1962, Fox became a car owner, winning 14 races and 16 poles in 200 starts. Johnson won nine times for him, and he also won twice with NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker, claiming the 1964 Southern 500. Other NASCAR Hall of Famers to compete for Fox included Fred Lorenzen and Cale Yarborough.
After retiring in the early 1970s, Fox returned to the garage as NASCAR’s engine inspector from 1990 to 1996.
NASCAR issued the following statement:
"Ray Fox was one of the individuals who helped form the foundation of our sport, with a personality that was every bit as important as his on-track accomplishments.
"His place in our record book is secure, but no one should ever view Ray Fox solely in terms of statistics. A resident of Daytona Beach, Florida, he was a hometown hero of sorts, serving as an ambassador for NASCAR in the community where the sport began. Most importantly, he was a friend to us all.
"Several years ago, he said he could still build a competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series engine, if asked. If he had indeed been asked, in all likelihood, he would’ve delivered.
"Of course, Ray Fox had already delivered, with accomplishments and memories that will forever serve NASCAR well."
Six-time premier series champion has won three of the past four races
MORE: Full race results | Series standings
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Jimmie Johnson won the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, making him the first three-time winner of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. It was his third win in the past four races.
Ten drivers have combined to win the first 15 races of the year, and 11 races remain in the Sprint Cup Series before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins. After the 15th points race of NASCAR’s regular season, here is how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings look:
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Driver-by-driver news and notes for Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400
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1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. With his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season, Johnson and crew knocked another track off the oh-fer list with his first win at Michigan International Speedway. As overheard on in-car audio on RaceView, Johnson keyed his radio afterward to signify the feat: "Finally got one here. I didn’t know if it was ever going to come." See his Victory Lane interview here.
2. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. If you count the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Sunday’s second-place effort at Michigan marked Harvick’s fourth runner-up finish in the last six weeks. The succession of near-misses led to a extraordinarily brief and tense post-race news conference. "The car was fast, just wound up on the wrong side of all the strategy," said Harvick, who turned the race’s fastest lap (195.913 mph on Lap 14), led the most laps (63) and moved from 19th to second in the final 20 laps. "We finished second, and that’s it." See his race highlights here.
3. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. With his third consecutive finish in the top three, Keselowski tied Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the Sprint Cup Series lead in top-fives with his seventh of the year. "We didn’t run as well as we wanted to, but we certainly didn’t run poorly," the Michigan native said. "Like I said, it was a good day, not a great day. Third is nothing to hang your hat on." See his race highlights here.
4. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. The Wisconsin native closed out a banner weekend, following up his Saturday victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with a fourth-place run in the main event Sunday. He remains the only Richard Childress Racing driver to score a Sprint Cup top-five finish this season. See highlights of his Nationwide victory here.
5. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The best elixir for a 42nd-place finish the week before at Pocono came in the form of a fifth-place run for the No. 5 team, overcoming an early spin. Kahne remains mired back in 19th place in Sprint Cup standings, but it’s a two-spot improvement heading to Sonoma Raceway next weekend. See video of Kahne’s early spin here.
6. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The four-time Sprint Cup champion kept his lead in the series standings, notching his series-best 11th top-10 finish of the season. After starting second, leading 36 of the 200 laps and rallying at the end, Gordon felt like there was even more to be gained. "Yeah, sixth is not really indicative of the race car or what I felt like we were capable of," he said, "but we’ll certainly take it." See Gordon’s post-race interview here.
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt had a Superman look on his No. 88 car for the second time this season, but a second straight victory was not in the cards. A sluggish 11.2-second final pit stop for just two tires and fuel left Dale Jr. in need of a late-race rally. "We should have finished three or four spots better than that," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That upsets you a little bit." See his race highlights here.
8. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. An eventful day for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender to say the least. The rear bumper of Larson’s No. 42 was knocked off in a Lap 7 incident, then a late pit-road speeding penalty forced him to mount a comeback for his seventh top-10 finish of the year. "I hate it, but still somewhat happy to get a top 10," Larson said, "just disappointed I let my team down." See his race highlights here.
9. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Already a two-time winner this year, Logano had thoughts of a third in mind by leading two times for 29 laps. But the No. 22 Ford lost momentum after getting jammed in the middle of a three-wide battle on the last restart. "We weren’t able to capitalize after that," Logano said. "I think we fell back to maybe eighth or ninth and that’s where we rode the rest of the day."
10. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer possessed the top-finishing Toyota in the 43-car field, but that doesn’t mean he was pleased to see seven Chevrolets in the top 10 ahead of him: "Just incredible. That deal cycles, but it sure seems like its pretty unfair right now." See his race highlights here.
11. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Smoke incurred some damage to the nose of his No. 14 after bounding into the rear of Kyle Larson’s car on a late-race restart. That set Stewart to wagging his finger at the rookie as the two circled each other. Stewart has just one top-10 in his last seven races. See his race highlights here.
12. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray led twice for four laps, but a scrape with the wall with 40 laps remaining was cause for alarm. "Look at my right side. I knocked my fender in. I might have a flat." He soldiered on, finishing just one spot behind where he started.
13. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch led 16 laps in the late stages, surrendering the top spot on his final pit stop. But the handling went away for the former Cup champion, leaving his car oversteering for the home stretch. "Even if they threw the yellow, we’re screwed," Busch told his crew with 13 laps to go. "I have no idea how we got this loose." For in-car audio for the remainder of the season, subscribe to RaceView.
14. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite leading Laps 189 and 190 before making his final stop, the seven-time victor from last season remained winless in 2014. "Just don’t have it — I don’t know how else to explain it," Kenseth said post-race. "We just can’t fix it on pit road."
15. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Newman stayed put in 11th place in the Sprint Cup standings, but he’s gone five straight races without leading a lap. Worse, the two-time Michigan winner has led just 10 laps in 15 races this season. His Sunday finish was right on par with his season average of 14.9. See his race highlights here.
16. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Score one for the underdog with Allgaier’s best finish of his 19-race-old Sprint Cup Series career. Allgaier stayed consistent after starting 17th and never fell out of the top 20 all day.
17. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. In securing her best finish since a career-best seventh place last month at Kansas, Patrick clearly had to work for it. After 400 miles, she held the distinction for most green-flag passes in the race — 110. See her race highlights here.
18. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 12 Ford, Team Penske. The Colombian driver chalked up a learning experience in his return to NASCAR racing and his first exposure to the 2014 rules package in his season debut. It’s information he hopes will carry over in his next Sprint Cup race, next month at Indianapolis. "I understand the car a little bit more and how everything works with the team and where we stand with the setup," Montoya said, "so I think that will be pretty useful."
19. Trevor Bayne, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Bayne matched his best finish of the season (Texas), making just his sixth appearance of the season on the Sprint Cup side. In calling the day "uneventful," the NASCAR Nationwide Series regular said his team battled against an ill-handling car for much of the 400-miler. "It was OK, but it’s not what we want," Bayne said.
20. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. The Biff stood at the head of the three-driver class for Roush Fenway Racing on Sunday, but any time spent listening to his radio made it clear that the results were subpar at what used to be an RFR stronghold. "I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life," Biffle said shortly after a 128th-lap restart. Biffle hasn’t led a lap or placed better than 16th in the last five races. For in-car audio for the remainder of the season, subscribe to RaceView.
21. Michael Annett, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Sunday’s finish wasn’t Annett’s best of the season, but it did carry some positive significance. Just a week away from his 28th birthday, Annett was the biggest mover of the race, improving 16 spots from his starting position. Michigan continued a modest trend of six straight races for the No. 7 team of finishing ahead of where it started.
22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. The Dinger continued a recent habit of four consecutive races with finishes on the fringes of the top 20, but may have ruffled the most feathers with one Danica Patrick. "Is she stupid? I’m not gonna give her the bottom. An idiot," Allmendinger bristled in a Lap 174 fight for real estate on the 2-mile oval. To listen to similar audio for the remainder of the season, subscribe to RaceView.
23. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. A mid-pack finish had Edwards, the Coors Light Pole Award winner in this race a year ago, apologizing to his crew on the cool-down lap. While his victory earlier in the season at Bristol gives him security in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff picture, Edwards said "we’ve just got to get better as a group. That’s the way it is."
24. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. The Mears Gang has found a measure of consistency in recent weeks, but it’s not the most desirable sort. In the last five races, Mears has logged finishes in the 23rd to 26th range after three consecutive top-20 performances. Sunday, Mears fought a vibration early, rising oil/water temps late and loose conditions much of the day.
25. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Ambrose, a former Michigan pole-starter, battled for rear grip much of the race, fighting a loose condition on corner entry and exit, then a tight condition through the center of the turns. There’s reason for optimism next week for the road-course expert at the twisty California layout of Sonoma Raceway.
26. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Like many drivers, Gilliland combated ill-handling conditions, telling crew chief Frank Kerr, "I’m trying, Frank, but it’s just too loose." Despite the trouble, Gilliland managed to register his best finish in the last six weeks.
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse’s Fusion absorbed some damage in the Lap 7 tangle with Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne, but he was unable to recover nearly as well. He remained one of just five full-time competitors who have failed to lead a lap yet in 2014. See video of the early contact here.
28. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. With his dad and former racer Tobin Whitt watching from atop the team’s pit box on Father’s Day, Cole Whitt settled for a familar spot in the finishing order Sunday. Whitt has landed in the 27th to 30th span in each of the last five Sprint Cup events.
29. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin’s brief two-race streak of top-five finishes ended with a 29th-place thud — right where he started his Michigan day. His coming-together with Aric Almirola to cause the next-to-last caution period thwarted any chance of a comeback, sending him down four spots in the Sprint Cup standings to 12th. See the Lap 122 wreck that snarled Hamlin, Almirola here. | See his race highlights here.
30. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate led two laps — his first since finishing a season-best ninth in the Daytona 500 — but a flat right-rear tire within the final 10 laps cost him two spots in the Sprint Cup standings. "That’s our year, man. Gosh," Dillon lamented over the team radio.
31. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Getting caught up in a spin past halfway with Denny Hamlin was bad enough for the driver of The King’s No. 43, but a pit-road speeding penalty and getting stuck in the infield grass compounded the problems. "Reverse won’t work. I tried to put it in to back it out of the grass, and it just snapped," Almirola told his crew before getting pulled out of his predicament and continuing to a three-laps-down result.
32. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. There hasn’t been a ton to crow about in the No. 36 camp of late, but at least the team has found its way to the checkered flag more frequently. After failing to finish in four out of five races from Darlington to Charlotte, the month of June has been far more kind with three straight instances of running at the finish.
33. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing. The power of the Internet may have brought NASCAR’s resident Ironman Triathlete new-found sponsorship, but it’s failed to dislodge him from the 36th-place rank that he’s held in Sprint Cup standings since March. Either way, it’s difficult to discredit a driver who is so accessible as NASCAR.com’s F-Post found out in its latest episode.
34. Brett Moffitt, No. 66 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. The former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver’s second career Sprint Cup start didn’t go quite as well as the first, two weeks ago at Dover. Moffitt, who looped his No. 66 Camry in practice, did much the same in the race, managing to avoid contact and bringing his car home in one piece.
35. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Racing. The Iowa native’s trend in the Sprint Cup standings is a negative one, slipping one spot each week since the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. On the plus side, Cassill has made the field for each race after coming up short in Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Phoenix and Las Vegas earlier in the season. Sunday was his 130th Sprint Cup start.
36. JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet, Xxxtreme Motorsports. Incremental gains have been the story of the season for Yeley thus far. He improved upon his previous season-best finish of 38th last weekend at Pocono, marking his second straight occasion of running at the finish after three consecutive DNFs.
37. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Just when it seemed a corner had been turned with two consecutive top-10 efforts for the Colorado-based organization, bad luck struck again for Truex in a Lap 7 run-in with Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson off the exit of Turn 2. His No. 78 team patched the nose of his car, but Truex was unable to regain track position for the remainder of the race. "When you have an accident that early, it sure makes for a long day," Truex said. "I mean a very long day."
38. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. A prolonged slide in the 104th lap was the most illustrative aspect of an up-and-down day for Ragan, who was also slowed by a vibration for a loose left-rear tire. The Georgia native failed to recover, unable to match the season-best result of 18th from the previous week at Pocono.
39. David Stremme, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Finishing five laps off the pace, Stremme was unable to match his season-best of 35th place, but he did manage to put the No. 33 team into the black in terms of finishing races. Sunday marked the third time he reached the checkered flag, against two DNFs.
40. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Bowman was one of just two retirees from the race, going back to the garage area after slapping the wall in the 110th lap. The DNF was the third for the Sprint Cup rookie in his last six races.
41. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch’s No. 18 slowed dramatically on a Lap 79 restart, slowed by what his JGR crew would later discover to be a left-rear hub malfunction: "It won’t even go. I can’t even step on the gas," a frantic Busch said before pulling his Camry behind the pit wall. He was the biggest drop of the day among the top 10 in Sprint Cup standings, sliding four places to 10th.
42. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. A nightmarish opening-lap crash virtually ended Vickers’ day before it started. He recovered to finish the 200-lap race, albeit 90 laps down with a patched-up car. After recording results of 43rd and 42nd in a three-week stretch, Vickers has plummeted from a high point of eighth in Sprint Cup standings after the Coca-Cola 600 to his current place of 18th.
43. Travis Kvapil, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. One week after notching his best finish of the season (a 29th at Pocono), Kvapil posted his worst after his involvement in the Lap 1 crash. Kvapil slowed to avoid Brian Vickers’ skidding car, but said he almost slowed too much, collecting the No. 55. "I feel horrible," Kvapil said. "We started last and had plenty of time."
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Polesitter’s record-setting speed spoiled by strategy
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BROOKLYN, Mich. – Kevin Harvick, driver of the fastest car in the west, took runner-up honors in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Which wasn’t exactly what the Stewart-Haas Racing driver had in mind for the 15th stop of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
"The car was fast," Harvick, 37, said afterward. "Just wound up on the wrong side of all the strategy. We finished second and that’s it."
Harvick, who set a track qualifying record on Friday, led nearly twice as often as any other driver in the 200-lap race, setting the pace six times for 63 laps. But for the third time in the last five races, the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet finished second.
"It really came down to I just made a bad call there at one point," crew chief Rodney Childers told Claire B. Lang on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio following the race. "When you’re the leader, you’ve got a choice of pitting and a lot of guys staying out or you staying out and a lot of guys pitting behind you.
"A lot of guys pitted behind us and kind of put us on a strategy that wasn’t really what we wanted. It ended up biting us in the end."
The decision not to pit came earlier in the race; based on how the cautions fell, it changed the team’s pit strategy for the remainder of the event.
Late-race cycles of green-flag stops — there were no cautions during the final 48 laps — resulted in 10 lead changes during the final 50 laps as the opportunity to pit under yellow failed to materialize.
Jimmie Johnson, who gave up the lead to pit on Lap 165, eventually emerged back in front with just 10 laps remaining. Harvick was fourth and closing, getting as close as second place, but time ran out. He trailed the Hendrick Motorsports driver by 1.214 seconds when the checkered flag fell.
Where Harvick perhaps saw a black cloud, others saw a silver lining.
"I’d say the car that seems to be the best car off the truck to when the checkered falls is still the 4 car, week in and week out," said Johnson.
"Kevin Harvick, his team is probably the fastest week in and week out," said third-place finisher Brad Keselowski.
Harvick knows it. Childers knows it. Twice a winner this season, Harvick is now ninth in points. The team is one of 16 that will be in this year’s Chase field.
The missed opportunities are starting to pile up, but the opportunities are there just the same.
"There’s a lot of people," Childers said, "that wish that they could do what we’ve been able to do every week."
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Former Michigan winner slides into the wall in Turn 4, heads to the garage early
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BROOKLYN, Mich. — Brian Vickers, looking for his first win of the 2014 season, came to an abrupt halt Sunday, less than a lap into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
The Michael Waltrip Racing driver, 13th in points entering Sunday and a Sprint Cup winner at the track in 2009, slid up the track and into the Turn 3 wall on the opening lap.
His No. 55 Toyota spun down off the banking and onto the apron where it was hit on the front end by the No. 32 of Travis Kvapil.
"Going into Turn 3 and I expected to follow the 48 (of Jimmie Johnson) in there," Vickers said after being released from the infield care center. "Just got really loose; I chased it all the way up to the wall and it just came around."
Kvapil had dropped onto the apron in an attempt to avoid any contact; as a result, he had no clear path to avoid Vickers.
"I feel horrible," Kvapil said. "We started last and had plenty of time. I saw it and was getting slowed down … was creeping down by the grass.
"It was almost like a situation where I was going too slow, instead of just driving through the wreck. … The car wouldn’t turn in the grass and he just kept coming down and it peeled the right-front off of (Vickers’ car)."
Vickers returned to the race at Lap 85, 84 laps down. He finished 42nd with Kvapil finishing 43rd.
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