Sunday, August 21, 2011

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Michigan International Speedway Preview / 2011 Chase Preview

  Michigan International Speedway: a two- mile moderate-banked D shaped Superspeedway located on more than 1,400 acres in Brooklyn Michigan. Michigan speedway is one of the fastest tracks in NASCAR due to its Wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 190 mph and corner entry speeds are anywhere from 205-215 mph! On August 21st, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series starts race 23 out of 36 on there season schedule at Michigan International Speedway. Friday, the drivers practiced and qualified for the race, they also had a final practice on Saturday. One of the biggest questions I know a lot of race fans want to know is will Sunday’s race be exciting as the nationwide race was  Saturday? When the drivers start the race on Sunday, they will have two things on there mind: Getting a win and having a spot in the chase. Some drivers have a good chance at getting in the chase while others need a miracle to happen to be in the chase.
I know a lot of people want to see Dale Earnhardt Jr win a race, I would like to see him win a race too. Sunday he may have a good chance at finally getting a win. About 3 years ago Dale Earnhardt Jr won his last Cup race at Michigan. Keep your eye on Dale Earnhardt Jr, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in victory lane on Sunday. Dale is currently 9th in the points standing. He is in the Chase-but with only a couple races to go before the chase starts, if he would have about two bad races, he would be out of the chase. JR Nation: Dale JR has a good chance at winning, but he is not safely in the chase yet. Another driver who has a good chance at winning is Greg Biffle. Greg has two wins at Michigan in 17 starts. Biffle’s chance at being in the chase is dwindling with only a couple races to go before the chase starts . He needs two wins or at least one win and a couple really good runs to be in the chase. Biffle fans: Lets just say Biffle needs a lot of luck on his side and he is one of the drivers who needs a miracle to be in the chase. Tony Stewart: He visited Michigan in 2000, but this year he has not scored himself a victory. “Smoke” currently is in the chase and sits 10th in the standings, but he is not safely in the chase. To the Stewart Fans: Your driver definitely needs at least one win before he is safely in the chase. Clint Bowyer currently has no wins this season and with a Avg. finish of 15.8 so far this year, he currently sits 11th in the points. He has no wins this season, so he would be bumped out of 11th in the points standings when the chase does start. Bowyer fans: Clint’s hopes of being in the chase is not looking good, he needs at least one win, so keep your eye on Clint Sunday afternoon. David Ragan: a nice guy for sure, but his chance at winning Sunday and being in the case- not good. David Ragan has dropped from 13th to 23rd in the points in the past three races due to finishes of 23rd, 34th and 28th. David Reutimann has just one top 10- so Reutimann is definitely not one of the drivers that has a good chance at winning Sunday and being in the chase. Sunday all of these drivers will have winning on there mind so they can get in the chase.
In practice one: Matt Kenseth was the fastest with a lap time of 38.133 seconds( 188.813 Mph.) Ryan Newman was second fastest with a lap time of 38.195 seconds (188.506 Mph.) In the second and final practice: Mark Martin was the fastest with a lap time of 28.371 seconds ( 187.642 Mph). Kyle “Rowdy” Busch was the second fastest with a lap time of 38.417 seconds ( 187.417 Mph). In qualifying: Greg Biffle grabbed the pole for the race Sunday. Matt Kenseth starts 2nd, Ryan Newman starts 3rd , Denny Hamlin starts 4th and Mark Martin Starts 5th.
Anything can happen in the race Sunday, we may be surprised and see a driver who has not won yet this year get a win, you never know.Who do I think will be out of the Chase and who will be in the chase? I believe David Reutimann, David Ragan and Clint Bowyer will be out of the chase and Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart will be in the chase. I don’t think Jimmie Johnson will be the Champion this year, I believe it will be Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards. Roush Fenway Racing has been strong all year except for David Ragan.Will the race on Sunday be exciting as the nationwide race was Saturday? My prediction: yes because its getting closer to the chase and drivers are going to be pushing the limits and doing everything they can to win. To find out if the Spint Cup race will be exciting as Saturdays nationwide race, you got to tune into ESPN - 1 p.m. ET Sunday and get ready to be at the edge of your seat until the checkered flag waves in the air.

To view the complete results from practice 1, Practice 2 and qualifying click on the links below


http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/23/data/practice2_speeds.html



http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/23/data/lineup.html

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