Sprint Cup 2011: Race 15: Michigan Results

There should be no surprise that Denny Hamlin finally pulled through for his first win of the season at Michigan, a track where he has been successful in the past. While Joe Gibbs Racing is not having the kind of dominant season it had last year yielding that ground to Roush, they still have the talent and technology to be a very formidable force.

Now here’s the question to ponder, in the Jimmy Johnson reign the last five years, is it a case of during the first 26 races one team’s going to look good going into to Richmond, only to give way to Hendricks and the #48 team that’s always prepared in the last ten races. Last year, his toughest competitor was Sunday’s winner late in the season. What’s going to upset that formula this year? Is there a dominant team in 2011? The Roush entries are strong, but only Carl Edwards looks in championship form so far.

Here are the top finishers: (Position, Car #, Driver, Mfg.)
1) #11 Denny Hamlin, Toyota
2) #17 Matt Kenseth, Ford
3) #18 Kyle Busch, Toyota
4) #27 Paul Menard, Chevrolet
5) #99 Carl Edwards, Ford
6) #39 Ryan Newman, Chevrolet
7) #14 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
8) #33 Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
9) #5 Mark Martin, Chevrolet
10) #83 Brian Vickers, Toyota
11) #22 Kurt Busch, Dodge
12) #51 Landon Cassill, Chevrolet
13) #43 A.J. Allmendinger, Ford
14) #29 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
15) #16 Greg Biffle, Ford
16) #21 Trevor Bayne, Ford
17) #24 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
18) #20 Joey Logano, Toyota
19) #1 Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
20) #6 David Ragan, Ford

Carl Edwards remains atop the points standings. If the Chase field were set now, the top 12 teams would be in.
(Position, gain/loss, driver, total points, deficit)
1)  --   Carl Edwards, 532, Leader
2)  +2  Kevin Harvick, 512, -20
3)  --   Dale Earnhardt Jr., 505 -27
4)  +1  Kyle Busch, 503 -29
5) -3   Jimmie Johnson, 503 -29
6) +1  Matt Kenseth, 491, -41
7) -1   Kurt Busch, 491, -41
8) +2  Ryan Newman, 456, -76
9) +3  Denny Hamlin, 455, -77
10)  -2 Clint Bowyer, 455, -77
11)  -2 Tony Stewart, 454, -78
12)  -1 Jeff Gordon, 438, -94
13) +1 Greg Biffle, 425, -107
14) +1 Mark Martin, 418, -114
15)  -2 Juan Montoya, 409, -123
16) +3 Paul Menard, 402, -130
17) +1 A.J. Allmendinger, 402, -130
18)  -2 David Ragan, 395, -137
19)  -2 Kasey Kahne, 387, -145
20) --  Martin Truex Jr., 376, -156

Potential Chase Lineup: (based on wins and point standings)
1. Kevin Harvick, 3 wins
2. Kyle Busch, 2 wins
3. Matt Kenseth, 2 wins
4. Carl Edwards, 1 win
5. Jimmy Johnson, 1 win
6. Denny Hamlin, 1 win
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. points
8. Kurt Busch, points
9. Ryan Newman, points
10. Clint Bowyer, points

Wildcards: Jeff Gordon, 2 wins; Tony Stewart – points.

The Sprint Cup tour moves on to California wine country in the shadow of America's Gommorah, San Francisco, next weekend, for the first of two road race events at Infineon Motor Speedway at Sears Point. It will be interesting to see what driver substitutions are employed by marginal teams seeking an advantage and if some "ringer" entries will also participate. Eyes will be on Marcos Ambrose who has been a a position to win at recent road race events while the established pros attempt to add a road racing trophy to their collection.


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