2006 3M Performance 400 Preview:
Michigan International Speedway is fast and wide. This leads to a lot of safe green flag racing which puts a premium on fuel mileage and great pit work. Last year Greg Biffle had the right stuff to take the win. Can he do it again? Can Team Penske find a way back to Victory Lane at a track that Roger Penske used to own? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered this weekend in Michigan during the 2006 3M Performance 400.
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:
Jimmie Johnson still maintains the top spot. However, Matt Kenseth was able to chip away at his lead a little.
Denny Hamlin's win last week broke him into the top ten in points as Jeff Gordon's late-race crash dropped him from ninth in points all the way back to eleventh.
The current top ten in points are:
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Matt Kenseth -48
- Mark Martin -238
- Tony Stewart -257
- Kasey Kahne -279
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -295
- Jeff Burton -387
- Kevin Harvick -430
- Denny Hamlin -463
- Kyle Busch -476
Storylines:
For the second time in 2006 Bill Lester will attempt to qualify for the race for Bill Davis Racing. This is significant because Bill Lester is an african-american. Bill started the race in Atlanta earlier this year to become the first african-american to start a NEXTEL Cup race in ten years. Is Bill Lester building experience for Toyota's 2007 entrance into NEXTEL Cup?
The other major theme of the weekend is that the race is on Father's Day. To all Dads out there: Happy Father's Day!
Media Coverage:
TV: FOX Sunday, June 18th, 1:00PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 1:40PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$5,037,040
Last Year:
The 2005 June race in Michigan was a fairly typical Michigan race as they ran all day long with just four yellow flags. Tony Stewart had the fastest car for most of the day but a late race caution put pit strategy in play.
Stewart stopped for tires and Greg Biffle stayed out. When the green flag flew Stewart restarted in eighth. He was able to climb back up through the field to second place but he ran out of time. Greg Biffle held on for the win and Tony Stewart had to settle for second.
Predictions:
This week I'm going to go with a pair of teammates for my picks. Roger Penske saw Ryan Newman bring his Dodge home first in August of 2003 and then again in the June 2004 race. Roger Penske used to own this race track before he sold out to International Speedway Corp. His teams have always run well here.
I think that Kurt Busch is primed for a return to Victory Lane. He won in Michigan in 2003. More recently he also won in Bristol a couple of months ago and his Penske Dodge has been very fast lately.
For my backup this week I will go with the other Penske Dodge driver Ryan Newman. He had back-to-back wins in Michigan recently and was able to start on the pole for this race last year. Ryan Newman is ready and able to return to Victory Lane this weekend in Michigan.
