2008 LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway

2008 LifeLock 400 Preview:

The 2008 LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway is a Father's Day tradition. It is only fitting that the big news of the week comes out of one of NASCAR's most historic teams. Petty Enterprises announced plans this week that they hope will return the legendary team to its former glory.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (800) 354-1010 or (517) 592-6672

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Built in 1968, Michigan is a 2 mile 'D' shaped oval with 18 degrees of banking in the corners. Even the front 'D' has 12 degrees of banking. This makes for high speeds on the smooth, wide oval.

Michigan's fast and wide racing surface leads to long green flag runs. This fact often brings fuel mileage and pit strategy into play during the race.

Race Distance:

200 Laps = 400 Miles

The Big Picture:

Kyle Busch finished dead last in Pocono which erased most of his point lead. He is still out front but Jeff Burton was able to close within striking distance.

At the back end of the top twelve no one cracked the Chase qualifying spots. David Ragan and Ryan Newman are knocking on the door just 7 and 10 points behind twelfth place Tony Stewart.

The top twelve are now:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeff Burton -21
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -145
4. Carl Edwards -228
5. Denny Hamlin -284
6. Jimmie Johnson -285
7. Greg Biffle -303
8. Jeff Gordon -317
9. Kasey Kahne -365
10. Kevin Harvick -394
11. Clint Bowyer -405
12. Tony Stewart -470

Storylines:

This week Petty Enterprises made a big move to get their Sprint Cup teams back to "bring Petty Enterprises back to its former glory." Following the recent trend set by Jack Roush, Ray Evernham and Richard Childress Richard Petty has made a deal with an outside investor.

Along with this announcement came word that Bobby Labonte had signed a 4-year contract extension with Petty Enterprises. This completes two of my four suggestions and sets them up to complete a third.

Media Coverage:

TV: TNT Sunday, June 15th, 12:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:00PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Carl Edwards

2007 Polesitter: J.J. Yeley

Last Year:

Like many Michigan races the 2007 event ended up as a fuel mileage race. Jimmie Johnson was leading late in the race and taking it easy to save fuel when Carl Edwards raced back past him with 35 laps to go. Johnson ran out of gas on the track with seven laps to go and limped to pit road under green. Johnson finished 19th.

After that Carl Edwards was able to take it easy on the fuel and break a two year winless streak.

Predictions:

Michigan International Speedway has always inspired winning streaks. This fact dates all the way back to when Cale Yarborough won two of the first three races ever run there. Given that fact, my primary pick this week is the winner of this race last year Carl Edwards. Carl has been dominating the cookie-cutter tracks in 2008 and should be considered one of the favorites this weekend.

For my backup pick I am going to stick with the Roush-Fenway Racing stable. Matt Kenseth won here in 2006 and posted a strong top five at Michigan last fall. Kenseth has struggled a bit in 2008 but this is just the kind of race track where he could get his 2008 Sprint Cup season on track.