At the other end of the top twelve there were big swings in the standings which will likely help determine who will be in the Chase and who will spend the last ten races of 2008 battling for eleventh.
Qualifying
Brian Vickers was quickest in qualifying in the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota. Jimmie Johnson was second quick and started on the outside of row one.
The second row was made up of Elliott Sadler's Evernham Dodge and Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. Johnson, Earnhardt and Gordon combined to give Hendrick Motorsports three of the top five starting spots. Will they be able to dominate the running order at the finish too?
Drop Of The Green
The outside lane moved first and Jimmie Johnson lead the first lap over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Michigan's wide racing surface was immediately put to use as there were three full lanes of racing right from the start.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved past Johnson for the lead on lap eight. Junior continued to lead until the Marcos Ambrose blew his engine on lap 19 and brought out the first caution.
Storylines
Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson bounced off each other near the halfway point of the race. A few laps later Gordon cut a tire and hit the outside wall hard. That contact ended his day.
Jeff Gordon fell three spots in the points to ninth and is now deep in the battle to remain in the top twelve. Gordon is just 82 points ahead of twelfth place.
Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin both also lost three spots in the points to land in eleventh and twelfth place overall. The 2008 Race to the Chase is heating up and Michigan played a key role as expected.
Chasing The Checkers
Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were in the lead when the caution flag flew with 35 laps to go. This put the fuel mileage question that so often plagues Michigan races to bed. This race would be won by the fastest car.
Brian Vickers took over the lead on pit road and lead Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards to the green flag with 31 laps to go.
It didn't take long for Kyle Busch to get past Vickers for the lead. Carl Edwards closed up on Kyle Busch's back bumper but couldn't find a way past before the yellow flag flew again.
The leaders all pitted and the race went green again with 18 laps remaining. This time Carl Edwards won the race off pit road and quickly captured the lead. Edwards was running away with the race until the caution flew again.
Carl Edwards made the most of the clean air out front. He survived a couple of late race restarts and rolled home to the easy win.
Top Ten
- Carl Edwards
- Kyle Busch
- David Ragan
- Greg Biffle
- Matt Kenseth
- Mark Martin
- Brian Vickers
- Kevin Harvick
- Elliott Sadler
- Jamie McMurray
The Points
Carl Edwards picked up the Michigan win to cut into Kyle Busch's bonus point lead. If the Chase started tomorrow Kyle Busch would have a 40 point lead based on bonus points for winning races.
There was a lot of movement near the back of the top twelve. Denny Hamlin's engine came apart late in the race. This caused him to lose three spots in the standings and he now holds down the twelfth and final Chase spot.
Hamlin is 26 points ahead of both Clint Bowyer and David Ragan with only three races remaining until the Chase cutoff.
- Kyle Busch
- Carl Edwards -222
- Jimmie Johnson -302
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -345
- Jeff Burton -349
- Tony Stewart -558
- Greg Biffle -575
- Kevin Harvick -617
- Jeff Gordon -638
- Matt Kenseth -646
- Kasey Kahne -673
- Denny Hamlin -694
Next Week
One of the biggest nights in NASCAR happens next Saturday night. Bristol Motor Speedway will host the Sprint Cup series under the lights. This tight short track often provides big excitement and great racing.
Bristol Motor Speedway in August is one of the toughest tickets in NASCAR and there is a good reason for that. Don't miss next weekend's race!
