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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson took home top honors for the Hendrick Motorsports camp in Sunday's Carfax 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

That's not surprising, Johnson being a four-time defending champion of the series and all. What is surprising, though, is that Johnson took best-of-Hendrick honors at Michigan with a lowly 12th-place finish.

Thanks to the team's sub-par showing, the Cup series hasn't seen a Hendrick-owned Chevrolet finish in the top-five for four consecutive races. That span -- races at Indianapolis, Pocono, Watkins Glen and Michigan -- marks the first time since 2002 that Hendrick hasn't been represented in the top five for four consecutive weeks.

The last Hendrick top five was on July 10 at Chicagoland, when Jeff Gordon finished third.

Gordon, despite starting 36th after his worst qualifying effort in a year and a half, looked to be the one carrying the Hendrick banner at Michigan with a mid-race march that moved him to second. After a poor restart dropped him back, Gordon suffered a cut tire and enough contact from Jeff Burton to change the aerodynamic handling of his No. 24.

 

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Filed under: Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

How did you fancy the length of Sunday's race? After two weeks of races lasting nearly four hours or more -- the 600 in Charlotte went just over four hours and last week's race at Pocono timed in at three hours, 44 minutes -- the Sprint Cup race at Michigan finished up much, much quicker.

It took just two hours, 33 minutes for Denny Hamlin to find the checkered flag.

The result was several in the NASCAR Twitter world commenting on how nice it was that they were back home in North Carolina following the race before the sun went down. Being at the race, I couldn't really decide if that was a good thing.

Sure, its nice for teams and those assembled to work the event to get in and get out, so to speak. But are fans wanting more?

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing

Somewhat coherent Notes & Quotes to wrap up NASCAR's first trip to Michigan in 2009:

What will NASCAR learn from Pardo's brutal crash and tragic death?

The death of NASCAR Mexico driver and champion Carlos Pardo in a horrific crash during the final laps of a race on Sunday is certainly tragic. However, the fact that his car was able to make such violent contact with the end of a temporary wall is just as shocking.

Let's hope NASCAR makes sure such an angle of impact can never happen again.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: LifeLock 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Sprint Cup

The wide racing surface with multiple grooves at Michigan International Speedway often leads to a clean, green race and Sunday's LifeLock 400 was no different with fuel mileage spelling the final name of the game.

Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson both eliminated themselves by driving too hard and burning too much fuel in the final laps, and Mark Martin wisely conserved just enough fuel to dramatically win the race after running out of gas himself in the final corner.

And despite the back-to-back fuel mileage finishes in the Sprint Cup Series, the finish of Sunday's race certainly added a little bit of spice to an otherwise vanilla day.

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Drivers Mixed on Michigan Fuel Finish originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Sprint Cup, Red Bull Racing

It's been a good week to be Brian Vickers.

First, he completed what was likely the first-ever live-action pit stop in New York City's Times Square (gotta love the Red Bull marketing ideas; video here) and then ESPN reported that he had signed a multi-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing.

Friday, he won the pole for the LifeLock 400 and figures to be a huge favorite come Sunday's race.

Vickers Riding High, Eyes Red Bull Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup

A year removed from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last victory and a week removed from Kyle Busch's controversial guitar smash, the latter couldn't help but sway the conversation back to the driver who has become his primary off-track target.

And this time, Busch not only went after the commander of the No. 88 ship, but Earnhardt Jr.'s army of fans, too.

"I got no issues with Junior; it's his fans that are crazy," said Busch.

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Busch, Earnhardt Jr. Spar Again at MIS originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup

What with Tony Stewart going it on his own just fine, thank you; Kyle Busch smashing trophies in victory lane; Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggling to live up to his hype; 50-year old Mark Martin winning races; and Hendrick Motorsports being, well ... Hendrick Motorsports, the once dominant Roush Fenway Ford team finds itself on NASCAR's attention periphery here at the midseason point.

Roush Team Targets Michigan Speedway originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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