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Top 10 drivers - Bottom 10 Drivers
at Michigan international Speedwayby Skip JeffersonLast weekend, the Sprint Cup Series visited the Watkins Glen Speedway for the 22nd race of the season and the final road course race, the Heluva Good Dips at the Glen. Jimmie Johnson got the ball rolling on Friday by surprisingly taking the pole in qualifying and Kurt Busch managed to take the outside pole. The race was postponed on Sunday by rain and it was moved to Monday. As the race got under way it became apparent early that Johnson could not keep himself at the front as the Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle battled for the lead back and forth. However, lurking in their rear view mirror was a lot of smoke, Tony Stewart. Stewart eventually would take the lead and stay there with only a token challenge from Marcos Ambrose along the way. In the end, it was Stewart taking the checkered flag by a confortable margin. It was his 3rd win of the year and boasted his points lead over Jimmie Johnson to 260 points. That however doesn't have half the meaning as that win did as the points will be reset at the start of the 10 race Championship Chase and bonus points are awarded for wins. The win by Stewart, ties him up with 3 time Champion Johnson. Overall, the Watkins Glen race proved to be one of the more entertaining races that we have had this year and was a welcome relief from the ovals that we see week in a week out. This week the series heads back to Brooklyn, Michigan to one of those oval tracks for the Car Fax 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Speed will be the name of the game at this track and the engines will get a real test in this race. The Michigan track is a 2.0 mile oval track that has 18 degree banking in the turns, 12 degree banking on the front stretch and 5 degree banking on the back stretch. The record for qualifying here is in the 191 mile per hour range, while the race record is 173 miles per hour. This race will go 200 laps or 400 miles. With that in mind lets look at the last 5 races at the Michigan International Speedway and see which drivers have the best records there and who just hasn't had any luck there in those 5 races. In the last five races at Michigan, one driver has won the last two poles and that was Brian Vickers. The other pole winners include Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and finally JJ Yeley took the other pole at Michigan. Taking the pole at Michigan, unlike some of the other tracks we have looked at this year, has turned not turned into a win for any of these guys and only twice has the pole winner finished in the Top 10. In the last 10 races, the average finish of the pole sitter is a whopping 19.00. In the past, drivers qualifying in the top 10 have won a majority of the races at Michigan however that trend has all but disappeared in the last 10 races as only three times has a driver started in the Top 10 and came away the race winner. The worst starting position of a race winner in the history of the Michigan track was Mark Martin in the srping race this year, who won that race after starting 32nd. The average starting position of the race winner is 15.30. The race has never been won from anyone making a provisional start. Jimmie Johnson has the best starting average over the last 5 races, checking in with a 4.00 average start. Then next up is Kyle Busch with a 4.60 average and is followed Jeff Gordon with a 9.40 average start. Rounding out the Top 5 are Greg Biffle with a 10.40 average and finally Brian Vickers has a 10.80 average start. The top driver at Michigan in the last 5 races is none other then a Roush driver and that guy is Carl Edwards, who checks in a Michigan with a finishing average of 4.00. In these 5 races at Michigan, Carl hasn't qualified real well with just a 17.00 starting average but has moved up thru the field very well to the tune of about thirteen positions in those races. He has finished in the Top 10 in every one of these races, including winning two of those races. His worst finish has been a pair of 7th place finishes which is quite a feat considering the level of competition now days. He finished fourth in this years spring race. The Roush Fords are especially tough at this track and it will be interesting to see if Carl can continue this torrid streak that he has been on at the Michigan track. He has to be considered a favorite to win on Sunday and perhaps with any luck, we can see his famous back flip once again. Tony Stewart is up next in the 2nd spot with a finishing average of 7.40 in his last 5 races at Michigan. He is not a good qualifier here with a 24.00 average start so he manages to move forward to the tune of seventeen positions on average. Tony hasn't visited victory lane in the last 5 races at Michigan but he has been there in the past. In the last 5 races he does have two Top 5 and four Top 10 finishes which is a pretty impressive resume. Tony has been red hot the entire 2009, including picking up his 3rd win this past weekend at Watkins Glen. His Hendrick equipment seems to be at the head of the class and the Hendrick guys ruled the first Michigan race this year; Stewart finished 7th in that race. There is no reason to think that we will see anything other then another Top 10 performance on Sunday and perhaps more with any luck. A win would be huge and give him an edge on three time champ Jimmie Johnson entering the Chase. Next up in the 3rd spot is a Gibbs driver and perhaps one of the most inconsistent drivers in the series this year and that guy is none other then Kyle Busch. Busch is one of those drivers who seem to make all these Top 10 lists this year but has struggled in trying to back up those numbers. Kyle checks in here with a 9.40 average finish. He is one of the top qualifiers at Michigan, checking in with just a 4.60 starting average. With his qualifying average here, unless he goes wins the race, chances are that he is headed just one way and that is backwards. Kyle loses about 5 positions per race on average. Busch's record at Michigan in the last 5 races a Top 5 and two Top 10's. In the spring race this year, Busch managed to finish 13th and that was the third time in the last 5 races that he finished 13th. With the his history here and considering his up and own season so far, it is anyones guess what he will do Sunday. A poor finish might just doom his chances of making the Chase this year so keep you eye on him Sunday. The next driver in this weeks Top 10 is none other then Mr. Popular, Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has been just lousy in the 2009 season so far. He is currently 25th in the points and there is no hope that he will make the Chase this year despite some high expectations to start the year. In the last 5 races at Michigan however Dale Jr has been pretty good and checks in with a 11.00 finishing average. He isn't a great qualifier at Michigan, putting down a 19.80 qualifying average so he moves forward very nicely. In the last 5 races, he has a win under his belt and a pair of Top finishes; both of those were Top 5 finishes. He finished 23rd in this race last year and 14th in the spring race this year so I don't have high expectations for him to improve on his numbers this weekend. Not sure what his problem has been this year but he needs several good races to regain his form and enter the 2010 season with a better outlook of making next year Championship hunt. The next driver in our Top 10 list this week is also working his way thru a tough season and that driver is Kevin Harvick, who checks in with the 5th best record at Michigan over the last 5 races. Harvick has shown some signs of life recently so maybe all is not lost but many considered him a Championship lock this year and with him sitting in 22nd in points, it seems the fun this season is over. There is hope however as he comes into Michigan, where he has a decent record. In his last 5 races here, he has put up a finishing average of 12.00 to go along with a so-so qualifying average of 21.40. He moves up thru the field nicely to the tune of 9 positions a races. In the last 5 races, Harvick has a pair of Top 10 finishes to show for his efforts. His best finish has been a 7th place finish back in 2007 while his worst finish has been an 18th place finish in the spring race this year. Like a few others, Kevin needs to snap out of his funk that he has been trapped in and maybe Michigan will prove to be the catalyst for bigger things. Did I say that Roush drivers do well at this track?? Well the next driver in this weeks Top 10 list at Michigan is another Roush driver, David Ragan. He is the 6th best driver in the last 5 races checking in with a 13.00 finishing average in the five races that he has been in here. He, like his fellow Roush drivers is not one of the better qualifiers at Michigan with a 22.20 average start, so he picks about nine positions a race. Ragan has a pair of Top 10 finishes in the last 5 races that have been run at Michigan but struggles in some of the others. He did finish 15th in the spring race this year so there is a little hope that maybe he can do better this time around. He is buried back in 30th place in the point standings which is a huge disappointment after last year and the way he has been racing this year, there isn't much hope for the remainder of the season.
Jimmie Johnson, Mr Three Time Champion is the 7th best driver at Michigan with a finishing average of 13.40 in the last 5 races that have been run at this track. Johnson is the best of the class in qualifying at Michigan, checking in with an incredible 4.00 average start. We can see that once the race's get under way he loses about nine positions a race so qualifying well is not a factor in whether or not he will be successful. This is one of a few tracks that Johnson has not won at but in the spring race it looked like that streak was about to end. He dominated that race, leading 146 laps before he ran out of gas on the last lap and finished a disappointing 22nd. In the last 5 races, Jimmie has just one Top 5 and two Top 10's but I feel pretty strong he will up those numbers on Sunday. He is second in the points and a lock into the Chase but if he had a few of those races back like Michigan, he could very well have six or more wins and be sitting at the top of the points. He is the odds on favorite to win this race Sunday and I haven't seen anything which would lead me to believe anything differently. The 8th best driver in our Top 10 list this week is Jamie McMurray who checks in with a 13.80 finishing average. He is a horrible qualifier at Michigan with a 28.60 average start, so he winds up picking up just about fifteen positions a race. Jamie's Michigan resume includes three Top 10 finishes. Jamie finished 11th in this year's spring race. McMurray has been up and down all year as the Roush Ford's have struggled to compete against some of the other big names. He appears to be on his way out at Roush and a few good races might make him a little better pick up for some other team. He needs to kick it up a notch and have a good run this weekend. The final two drivers to crack the Top 10 list this week are Brian Vickers and Martin Truex Jr. The 9th best driver in the Top 10 is fighting for his life to make the Chase to the Championship and that guy is Brian Vickers, who checks in here with a 13.80 finishing average. Vickers is a guy that doesn't make a lot of these Top 10 lists so his record at Michigan may be tipping you off that he might just like this track also. Vickers has proved to be a good qualifier here with a 10.80 average start. Once the race starts, he drops about three spots per race so qualifying well may be the key to whether of not he has a good race on Sunday. Brian has managed to pull off a Top 5 and four Top 10 finishes in his last 5 races here. This will be race will be critical for Vickers and he must have a good race if he is going to keep his Chase hopes alive. He finished 9th in the spring race this year so if he could improve upon that slightly, he should be in good shape. With any luck, he could very well put our 13th different winner in victory lane this year. Martin Truex Jr seldom blesses any of our Top 10 lists and this year he seldom blesses us with his presence in many races either. At Michigan he is the 10th best driver with a finishing average of 14.60 in his last 5 races at Michigan. He qualifies pretty well here with a 16.60 average start so he manages to move forward to the tune of about two positions on average. Martin hasn't visited victory lane in the last 5 races at Michigan but he does have a pair of Top 5 finishes in those races. He did not have a good spring race this year as he finished 36th and without that race on his resume, he would be a lot higher up this list. He is a lame duck driver now with little to gain but considering his record at Michigan you would have to believe that he will finish a lot better then 36th this time aorund. THE TOP 10 DRIVERS AT MICHIGAN
Now that was the 10 best drivers at Michigan in the last 10 races, now lets look at the records of the drivers with the worst records at Michigan, drivers that just don't have real good luck on that track. I normally don't spend a lot of time going over the drivers who are flops at certain tracks and you can pretty much see for yourself who the are. Some make the list every week and other make a rare appearance in the Bottom 10. One driver on this list will have something to prove this weekend, Marcos Ambrose. He has shown marked improvement this year and look for him to have a good race this Sunday. Keep your eye on these him on Sunday and see if maybe he can improve his averages here at the Michigan International Speedway. THE BOTTOM 10 DRIVERS AT MICHIGAN
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