All three NASCAR national series are in action this weekend, as the Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Michigan International Speedway, while the Camping World Truck Series is at Texas Motor Speedway. Weekend storylines follow… TheRace: FireKeepers Casino 400 The Place: Michigan International Speedway The Date: Sunday, June 12 The Time: 1 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 11:30 a.m. (TSN in Canada) Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (200 laps) New Rules Package Additions To Debut At Michigan NASCAR will debut rules updates for this Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway and use them again in the July 9 contest at Kentucky Speedway. The rules package developments are part of an industry-wide collaboration to further enhance the racing. Recently, welded truck trailing arms and new brake cooling rules were put into place. The following updates to the rules package will be added at Michigan and Kentucky to further reduce downforce and sideforce: Reduce skew generated sideforce by setting rear toe to zero (same rule used in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race) Aero package tweaks to reduce aero-generated downforce and sideforce Spoiler shortened from 3.5 inches to 2.5 inches Splitter reduced to 2 inches Resize of deck fin to match spoiler The current rules package has generated some of the closest racing in years through the first 14 races of 2016. Highlights include three races setting track records for green flag passes for the lead, as well as two races featuring the seventh-closest margin of victory in NSCS history (since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993). Keselowski Goes For First Win In Home State Brad Keselowski, a Rochester Hills, Michigan native, attempts to become the eighth active driver to win a race in his home state in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The seven active drivers with wins in their home states are: Jimmie Johnson (7 victories), Denny Hamlin (7), Tony Stewart (2), Aric Almirola (1), Kyle Busch (1), Kevin Harvick (1) and Ryan Newman (1). The No. 2 Ford driver’s best finish at the two-mile track was a runner-up showing in August of 2012. Overall, he has three top fives, six top 10s and a 16.5 average finish in 13 Michigan starts. He does have two NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Michigan, in 2009-10. Keselowski placed third on Monday at Pocono and has a streak of five top-10 finishes since his win at Talladega. Monster Performance: Busch Captures First Win Of Season At Pocono Kurt Busch catapulted past Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott on the final restart and led the last 32 laps while conserving fuel to capture his first win of the season in the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway. With the victory, Busch became the ninth different winner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season, and as a result, clinched the ninth berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The win was Busch’s third at Pocono. His Tricky Triangle triumphs have all been with different teams and manufacturers: Stewart-Haas Racing (2016, Chevrolet), Team Penske (2007, Dodge) and Roush Fenway Racing (2005, Ford). Busch rides an eight-race top-10 streak into Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway – the longest current run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is the defending spring winner at MIS and boasts three checkered flags, five top fives and 10 top 10s in 30 starts at the two-mile track. The No. 41 Chevrolet driver leads the NSCS with 12 top 10s in 14 starts this season. He ranks second in total points, 25 markers behind his SHR teammate Kevin Harvick. Brad Keselowski trails Busch in third by 23 points. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Features 9 Different Winners Through First 14 Races Nine different drivers have won a race through the first 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contests of 2016: Kyle Busch (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Carl Edwards (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin. There have been three new winners the last three races: Matt Kenseth (Dover), Martin Truex Jr. (Charlotte) and Kurt Busch (Pocono). Only two drivers who won a race last year still haven’t visited Victory Lane in 2016: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano. A victory all but assures a driver a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Fourteen currently winless drivers have captured checkered flags on at least one of the 12 tracks leading up to the playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway: Earnhardt, Logano, Tony Stewart, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith, David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola. Parity Rules At Michigan Fans at Michigan International Speedway have witnessed a different winner in each of the last six races there: Greg Biffle (June 2013), Joey Logano (August 2013), Jimmie Johnson (June 2014), Jeff Gordon (August 2014), Kurt Busch (June 2015) and Matt Kenseth (August 2015). A seventh new winner could be one of NASCAR’s young upstarts looking for his first win: Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon (finished a then-career-best fourth at Michigan last year), Kyle Larson or Ryan Blaney. It could also be a driver who has previously won at the two-mile track, but not in the past three years: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick. Jamie McMurray leads active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan without visiting Victory Lane (26), followed by Casey Mears (25). Kenseth In Good Form Heading To One Of His Top Tracks Matt Kenseth carries a four-race streak of finishing seventh or better at Michigan International Speedway where he has won three times, including the last race held there in August of 2015. In addition to his three wins in The Great Lakes State, Kenseth also claims 14 top fives (first among active drivers) and 20 tops 10s (tied with Tony Stewart for first among active drivers) in 33 starts there. The No. 20 Toyota pilot leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in Michigan driver rating (104.2) and ranks second in average running position (10.9) and average finish (10.8). Kenseth led 31 laps on Monday at Pocono before finishing seventh. Elliott Joins Legendary Company With Another Top-Five Finish He came up just short of his first win again, but Sunoco Rookie of the Year frontrunner Chase Elliott continued to impress at Pocono on Monday. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver led a race-high 51 laps and posted the day’s best driver rating (130.9) on his way to a fourth-place finish – his fifth top-five showing and 10th top-10 result of the season. Elliott’s five top fives through the first 14 races of his rookie season are the most by a rookie since NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt achieved the feat in 1979. His 10 top 10s through 14 races are the most since six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson posted the same total his rookie season in 2002. Earnhardt won one race in his rookie campaign, while Johnson visited Victory Lane three times. Elliott leads second-place Ryan Blaney by 39 points in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Blaney, who finished 10th at Pocono, claims six top 10s on the season. If the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup began today, Elliott (10th on the Chase Grid, 79 points above the cutoff) and Blaney (15th, +6) would both make it. The only rookie to ever qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs was Denny Hamlin in 2006. Biffle Hopes To Bounce Back At Michigan Greg Biffle hasn’t won a race in nearly three years, not since he took the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway on June 16, 2013 – 107 starts ago. He gets the chance to turn his performance around at his top track in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at MIS. In 26 starts at the two-mile oval, Biffle claims an active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-high four wins, and boasts 10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Biffle leads active drivers at Michigan in average running position (10.8) and ranks second in driver rating (101.8) and laps led (593). The No. 16 Ford driver’s highest finish this season was an 11th-place showing at Charlotte. He sits 25th on the Chase Grid, 93 points below Ryan Newman on the cutoff line. His Roush Fenway Racing team’s 13 wins at Michigan are the most in NASCAR history. Hendrick Motorsports Exhibits Power In Pocono Hendrick Motorsports showed no ill effects from racing a day late at Pocono. The organization placed three of its four drivers in the top six in Monday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second), Chase Elliott (fourth) and Kasey Kahne (sixth). Jimmie Johnson, a two-time winner this season, finished 35th following a late-race accident. Earnhardt’s four runner-ups this season lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. HMS heads to Michigan International Speedway next, where Earnhardt (two wins), Kahne and Johnson have all visited Victory Lane. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc. Previous Michigan Winners Can Clinch Chase Berth With Another Win There Six currently winless drivers who have won at Michigan can capture a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with another checkered flag there this weekend: Greg Biffle (4 wins), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2), Ryan Newman (2), Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart. Tate Taps In As Grand Marshal UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate will serve as grand marshal for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speeway. Tate, who is represented by Kevin Harvick’s KHI Management group, upset then-champ Holly Holm in March in UFC 196 in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, NASCAR was in the city on the same weekend and Tate came out for the race that Sunday… TheRace: Menards 250 presented by Valvoline The Place: Michigan International Speedway The Date: Saturday, June 11 The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET (TSN in Canada) Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 250 miles (125 laps) Rain Couldn’t Wash Suárez’s Points Lead Away The weather might have played a role in determining who took home the trophy last weekend, but it didn’t wash away most of Daniel Suárez’s points lead. Now as the NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to the Irish Hills of Michigan for Saturday’s Menards 250 presented by Valvoline (1 p.m. ET on FS1), Suárez holds an 11-point lead over second-place Elliott Sadler. Suárez’s lead is a welcomed cushion for the 24 year old, as he struggled in his lone start at Michigan during his rookie campaign last season. After starting 10th last year in the Wolverine State, Suárez was in a single-car accident on Lap 103 that put him a lap down and ultimately produced a 20th-place finish. Suárez’s sophomore season has been vastly different from his rookie one (which was strong in its own right). Through the first 12 races of 2016, the NASCAR XFINITY Series has visited 11 of the same tracks as it did through the first 12 races of 2015. Of those 11 tracks, Suárez he has improved his finishing position this season on nine of them. Suárez continues to hold the points lead on the strength of four top fives and 10 top 10s this season. Sadler Looks To Michigan To Close On Standings Lead JR Motorsports’ Elliott Sadler is in pursuit of the championship standings lead, but 11 NASCAR XFINITY Series points stand between him and his goal. That could change this weekend as Sadler is looking at Michigan International Speedway as the catalyst to reaching the standings summit. In Sadler’s last seven starts at Michigan, he has posted five top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish last season. In 12 starts this season Sadler has posted one win (Talladega), four top fives and 10 top 10s. Erik Jones Comes Home To Michigan One of the most talented young drivers in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this season is Byron, Michigan’s Erik Jones, and this weekend the 20 year old will be making his series track debut at Michigan International Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is currently fifth in the series standings – 49 points back from the lead. Jones has been one of the biggest standouts in the series this season, posting two wins (both in Dash 4 Cash races) and a series-leading seven top fives. He also leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. If Jones were to win this weekend, he would become the third Michigan driver to win a NASCAR national series race at Michigan International Speedway, joining Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills), who has two NASCAR XFINITY Series wins (2009, 2010) at Michigan and Johnny Benson (Grand Rapids), who visited Victory Lane in the 2006 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Chip Ganassi Racing Bringing High-Level Talent To The Track Though last weekend’s inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Pocono was a rain-shortened event, the lights were shined on some of the great talent that Chip Ganassi Racing is producing, after driver Kyle Larson and crew chief Mike Shiplett took home the win. The victory was the first of the season and fourth of Larson’s series career. Larson has participated in seven NASCAR XFINITY Series races this season, posting one win, three top fives, and five top 10s. He has led 210 laps (19% of his laps completed) and has an average finish of 9.3. “It has been really a solid few weeks,” said Larson, following his win at Pocono. “Really every time I have gotten into the XFINITY car we have been fast and close to winning.” A lot of the speed Larson finds in the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro can be attributed to his team, led by crew chief Mike Shiplett. This season, Shiplett has been tasked with working with drivers Kyle Larson and Justin Marks. This is the fifth season Shiplett has served as crew chief in the series and during that time he has worked with 12 different drivers. Coincidentally, like Larson, the win this past weekend was Shiplett’s fourth in his series career – (two wins with Kasey Kahne and two with Kyle Larson). This weekend, Marks is back behind the wheel of the No. 42 which currently sits 13th in the owner standings. Over the last seven years, Marks has run part-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, mostly competing road-course events. This season, Marks has made five starts, logging three top 15s and an average finish of 22.6. Doubling His Duty Could Benefit Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon has had a busy schedule lately and it looks like more of the same for him this weekend at Michigan International Speedway as he will be competing in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series race Saturday for RCR, and then Sunday for Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Dillon has pulled double duty six times this season and four have resulted in top-10 finishes in the XFINITY Series event, including this past weekend at Pocono Raceway where he finished third. He’s yet to have a bad finish when racing in both NASCAR national series events this season, his worst finish is still in the top 15 (13th twice: Daytona, Texas). Now Dillon sits third in the series standings just seven points behind second-place Elliott Sadler and 18 points back from Daniel Suarez in the standings lead. Dillon has made two series career starts at Michigan posting an average finish of 11.0. Koch Rides Top-15 Streak Inside XFINITY Series Chase With 14 races left until the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase kicks off at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24, drivers are trying to either win or score as many points as possible to secure their spot in this season’s playoffs. One such driver on an upswing the last few weeks is Blake Koch, whose third consecutive top-15 finish catapulted him two spots in the points, from 13th to 11th – and inside the Chase cutoff line. This season in the Kaulig Racing No. 11 Chevrolet, Koch has posted two top 10s, six top 15s and an average finish of 18.9. The Race: Rattlesnake 400 The Place: Texas Motor Speedway The Date: Friday, June 10 The Time: 9 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 8:30 p.m. ET (Fox Sports Racing in Canada) Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 250.5 miles (167 laps) Crafton Goes For Third Straight June Texas Victory Matt Crafton, who’s won the last two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this season and the past two June contests at Texas Motor Speedway, will go for his third consecutive win in Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at the 1.5-mile track (9 p.m. ET on FS1). In 30 career starts at Texas, Crafton owns two wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s and a 9.7 average finish. He has placed in the top 10 in his last nine starts there. The ThorSport Racing driver also has three runner-up showings at Texas. An intermediate track maven, Crafton boasts seven wins, 11 top-two showings and 18 top-10 finishes in 20 starts at 1.5-mile ovals since 2014. Crafton leads the NCWTS standings on the strength of two wins, three top fives and five top 10s. He holds a 12-point advantage over second-place Timothy Peters. Quiroga Back In The Saddle For Red Horse Racing After 19-Month Layoff German Quiroga returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for his first race in 19 months – Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 36-year-old Mexican made his last NCWTS start in the 2014 season finale at Homestead for RHR (11/14/14). That season, he finished sixth in the series standings on the strength of three top fives and 10 top 10s in 22 starts. “I’m very happy to return to Red Horse Racing,” Quiroga said. “I hope we can put together a great run at Texas (Motor Speedway) and that we will be able to put something together so I can keep competing this season.” For his career, Quiroga has five top fives – including two runner-up finishes – and 17 top 10s in 50 starts. He won the NASCAR Mexico Series championship as a 31-year-old in 2011 when he recorded three wins, 11 top fives and 12 top 10s in 14 starts. Decorated Class Vies For Sunoco Rookie Of The Year Award The drivers involved in the NASCAR Camping World Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year race all have a decorated list of accomplishments. Currently, William Byron leads the NCWTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, followed by Christopher Bell (-3 points), Ben Rhodes (-16), Cole Custer (-18) and Rico Abreu (-30). Byron, Rhodes, Custer and Abreu are all NASCAR Next alumni, while Byron (2015) and Rhodes (2014) are NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champions. Custer holds the title of youngest NASCAR national series winner. He visited Victory Lane in the 2014 NCWTS race at New Hampshire at age 16 years, 7 months, 28 days. Abreu is the two-time defending champion of Chili Bowl Nationals. Bell, the 2013 USAC National Midget champion, won the NCWTS race at Eldora last summer. Townley Takes Aim At Second Win After winning his first career race at Las Vegas last season, John Wes Townley takes aim at his second win in the Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Townley finished third in last season’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standalone event at Texas and has two top fives and three top 10s in eight career starts at the 1.5-mile track. Right now, Townley sits 19th in the NCWTS standings with a high finish of seventh (Atlanta). NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Etc. Custer To Receive High School Diploma At Texas Motor Speedway Cole Custer is missing his graduation from Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California to compete in Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. However, he will not miss out on all the festivities. Custer will walk the TMS stage in his cap and gown prior to the race to receive his high school diploma from TMS President Eddie Gossage, who will be adorned in a full dean’s gown. TMS honored Erik Jones in similar fashion when the youngster opted to race rather than attend graduation in 2014. source – NASCAR communications
