Tony Stewart has had a tremendous two weeks and is looking like a genius for leaving Joe Gibbs Racing and partner with Haas Racing.
One week after overtaking Jeff Gordon for the lead in the point standings, Stewart won his first race in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet last weekend in the Pocono 500. He won the race despite starting at the back of the pack because of an accident in practice earlier in the week.
Stewart needed some time to get to the front of the pack, taking the lead with 37 laps to go and holding off a fast-charging Carl Edwards, who came in second. Stewart made his last pit stop with 41 laps to go and decided that he had enough fuel to finish the race, which proved to be the right decision as he won his first Sprint Cup race of the season.
Stewart increased his lead over the rest of the field in the point standings to 71 points with Gordon still in second place and Jimmie Johnson 107 points back in third.
As far as this upcoming weekend is concerned, I hope you're ready for some high-speed racing, because that's exactly what's in store.
The Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the 2009 version of the LifeLock 400 in Brooklyn, Mich. We're now into our 15th week of the season and the action is just getting started
MIS is a two-mile superspeedway where top speeds can exceed 190 miles per hour. It has very wide corners and long straightaways. Ryan Newman owns the track record for the fastest speed in practice, posting a top speed of 194.232 mph back in 2005.
In last year's Lifelock 400, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took the checkered flag, his first win in 76 Cup races. It was the only race he'd win in 2008 and is currently sitting in 20th in the point standings after finishing 27th in last week's Pocono 500. Hopefully Earnhardt will begin to turn his season around at Michigan and he can recapture the form he showed in this race last season.
Roush Fenway Racing has dominated at Michigan through the years. Four of the top five drivers in terms of finishing average at the track run for RFR, with the lone exception being Stewart.
Tier 1 Start -- Matt Kenseth
Kenseth is the first RFR driver I'm suggesting this week and it's for good reason. Kenseth has finished in the top 10 in 10 of his last 12 starts at Michigan and has two career victories at the track. He made two top-five finishes there in 2008 and has an average finish of 9.1 at MIS, second only to teammate Carl Edwards.
Others to consider: Jimmie Johnson; Tony Stewart
Tier 1 Sit -- Ryan Newman
Newman has had a rough go of it at Michigan since winning there back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. He has yet to make a top-10 finish in his last nine attempts at the track and finished 42nd in the 2008 version of this event. He has had great success in Michigan in his career, just not lately.
Others to avoid: Kyle Busch; Kurt Busch
Tier 2 Start -- Carl Edwards
This season has not gone the way Edwards had hoped it would but he is beginning to turn things around. After a second place finish last week and four top-10 finishes in a row, Edwards comes into this weekend's race as one of the favorites. He won the second Cup race at Michigan in 2008 and has won there twice. He has only once not finished in the top-10 at Michigan in nine career races.
Others to consider: Jeff Burton; Greg Biffle
Tier 2 Sit -- Juan Pablo Montoya
We have the series' first road course coming up next weekend, so there's no need to waste a pick on Montoya at Michigan. He hasn't finished in the top-20 at Michigan in four career starts there. He does have two top-10 finishes in his last three races, but look elsewhere this week.
Others to avoid: David Reutimann; Clint Bowyer
Tier 3 Start -- Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray completes my RFR Trifecta. He has finished in the top-10 at Michigan in three of his last four starts and could be in store for another solid finish this weekend. I expect him to improve his position in the Cup standings this week as he currently is sitting in 22nd place. Earnhardt is a nice sleeper pick for this week, but it's hard to commit to him considering how poorly he has run lately.
Others to consider: Martin Truex, Jr.; Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Tier 3 Sit -- Casey Mears
Michigan has not been all that friendly to Mears throughout his career. He has only two top-10 finishes there in 12 career tries, finishing 30th and 18th in the two races at Michigan in 2008.
Others to avoid: Marcos Ambrose; Joey Logano
Tier 4 Start -- David Ragan
To find any Tier 4 driver with top-10 finishes in each of his last two races at a given track is a rarity, so Ragan is an easy choice for Tier 4. He finished eighth and third in the two races at Michigan last season and has an average finish there of 12.5 in four career races.
Others to consider: Michael Waltrip; Bobby Labonte
Tier 4 Sit -- David Stremme
Stremme has an average finish at Michigan of 27th and did not run at MIS last year. His best-ever finish is 19th in four career races. Stremme has finished in the 30s in each of his last two races this season as well, so look elsewhere in Tier 4.
Others to avoid: A.J. Allmendinger; Reed Sorenson
Tier 5 Start -- Paul Menard
Menard has had a reasonable amount of success at Michigan in his career with two top-20 finishes in four career races. Menard is guaranteed a spot in this week's race as well, so get him active.
Others to consider: Joe Nemechek; Dave Blaney
Tier 5 Sit -- Brad Keselowski
Keselowski is not running a full-time Sprint Cup schedule and will be in Kentucky for the Nationwide Series event. He has not participated in a points race since May 9 and probably won't be starting this week either.
Others to avoid: John Andretti; Scott Speed
Ian's Starting Five
Tier 1 -- Matt Kenseth
Tier 2 -- Carl Edwards
Tier 3 -- Jamie McMurray
Tier 4 -- David Ragan
Tier 5 -- Paul Menard
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