Yahoo! Qualification Story – Michigan

"You've got what you've got?" Not quite here at Michigan International Speedway. Find out who'll be coming and who'll be going in this week's Yahoo! Qualification story (.pdf).

Oh yeah, and please send me a note to tell me if the next stats under each showcased driver are helpful.

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Darlington Stripes

"The Lady in Black" continues to be "Too Tough to Tame" and the first Darlington stripe came barely five minutes into the first session. According to @NASCAR, Joey Logano was the first driver to get a stripe.
 
Our View Here is a ongoing list of who has scraped the wall so far:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (backup) and then he striped the backup as well. Practice 1
Clint Bowyer (backup) Practice 1
Scott Speed (backup) Practice 1
Greg Biffle (backup) Happy Hour
Joe Nemechek, hard crash (backup) Happy Hour
Casey Mears, hard crash (backup) Happy Hour
Marcos Ambrose, crash (backup) Happy Hour

Joey Logano Practice 1
Travis Kvapil Practice 1
Jamie McMurray Practice 1
Kyle Busch Happy Hour and qualification

Juan Montoya, very slight Practice 1
Kurt Busch, spin without contact Happy Hour

Darlington International Raceway 1950-1967



Darlington Raceway: 50th Anniversary

Ku Busch wins a wild one at Atlanta

Kurt Busch survived to attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and scooted away from Matt Kenseth and Juan Montoya to win the Kobalt Tools 500.

Our View Busch had one of two dominant cars along with Kasey Kahne (who finished fourth).

This race featured action at the end and retaliation between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski for an early-race incident that shuffled the finishing order—but fans' hearts got to pumping.

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Ky Busch wins first Sat. Vegas practice

Kyle Busch posted the fastest single lap of practice in the first Saturday session with a speed of 184.037 mph. His brother Kurt was not far behind: the No. 2 posted a lap of 183.486 mph, which was third best.

In fact, Kyle won practice overall; he also posted the quickest average speed of 181.725 mph during 30 laps.

Our View Of the two, Kyle has a much greater chance of finishing up front. He's finished 11th or better at Vegas in all but one of his starts.

Kurt's average speed of 180.499 was only 14th quick, which is about where you can expect to find him at the end of a typical Vegas race.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Las Vegas

One hometown hero won the pole for the Shelby American, but another is much more likely to win the race. Find out which is which in this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

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Ku Busch wins pole at hometown LVMS

Cool temperatures helped Kurt Busch and a myriad of other drivers break the old track record. When the dust finally settled, he raised the mark to 188.719 mph.

Our View Until the final cars went out on track, however, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed unassailable with his speed of 188.173. He was the second driver to take time and settled into fourth on the grid. By comparison, the first driver was Jimmie Johnson and he eventually qualified 20th.

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Some chassis choices for Vegas

@DustinLong has identified some of the cars that will be used this week:

Among RCR, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton will have new cars this weekend; Clint Bowyer using same car he drove at Indy (21st) & Kansas (18th) last yearr.

Kurt Busch using same car @ Vegas that he won with at Texas last year and should have won with at Homestead.

Denny Hamlin will use this weekend @ Vegas has won in both its starts, winning at both Pocono and Martinsville last year.

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Another practice, another wreck: this time for Ku Busch

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Seconds into the second practice session, Juan Montoya hooked Kurt Busch and sent the No. 2 into the frontstretch wall. Busch will be the fifth driver forced into a backup.

Our View Kasey Kahne also sustained some nose damage, but he should not have to go to his backup.

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Addington joins Ku Busch

Penske Racing South has announced Steve Addington as the crew chief for Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge, according to RacingOne.com, after scoring a dozen Cup victories in the last two years.

Our View Better still, Addington is accustomed to taking abuse. He was Kyle Busch's crew chief last year, and both of the Busch brothers can be quite fiery on the radio.

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Ku Busch tops Homestead practice

Kurt Busch set his fast lap late in the first session of practice with a speed of 173.433 mph, which was five-hundredths of a second faster than Juan Montoya.

Our View Busch has been hit-and-miss in five races since Homestead employed progressive banking. He's finished outside the top 35 three times and in the top five twice, which suggests he will have a great finish if he stays out of trouble.

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Official tweets from the track

Phoenix pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections, and as expected Martin Truex Jr. took the final slot before pit exit.

Our View Other drivers with an opening in front of them are Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne, so they should have an easy time exiting after their service. Drivers with openings behind them are Casey Mears, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

The other driver with a mathematical shot at leaving this race with the points' lead, Jeff Gordon is pitting directly behind Truex and if the No. 1 team has any trouble, he could inherit the best stall.

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Official tweets from the track

Truex wins Phoenix pole

Martin Truex Jr. posted was one of less than a handful of drivers who posted his best time on lap one; a speed of 135.120 was good enough for the pole for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500k by Pennzoil.

Our View That makes him nearly a half mile per hour faster than second-place Kurt Busch, but qualification has not been his problem this year. After starting in the top 10 on 10 occasions this year, he has yet to finish better than 11th.

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Official tweets from the track

Top-10 Avg. Running Position: Talladega #NASCAR

Average Running Position
Sum of driver position on each lap - divided by the laps run in the race.
Number of Races: 9
AMP Energy 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Talladega Superspeedway

Rank	Driver	Average Finish	Average Place
1	Joey Logano	9.0	12.9
2	Tony Stewart	14.0	13.3
3	Denny Hamlin	18.9	13.6
4	Juan Montoya	18.6	13.6
5	Kurt Busch	11.2	14.7
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	21.8	15.2
7	Matt Kenseth	16.4	15.6
8	Brian Vickers	16.8	15.8
9	David Ragan	14.0	16.0
10	Elliott Sadler	20.2	16.1

Martinsville Inspection Cleared

According to @dustinlong: Post-race inspection is done. All clear. Engines to R&D Center: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch; Cars to R&D center: Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.

Burton believes Harvick is leaving

With more than a year remaining on his schedule, Kevin Harvick is already a lame duck. Teammate Jeff Burton expects that Harvick already has plans to leave at the end of the 2010 season, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View It's hard to imagine this team can stay focused with this distraction, but Harvick has been running well lately. The imminent split between Kurt Busch and crew chief Pat Tryson also suggests Harvick and team can stay near the top of their game.

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Possible problems for Ku Busch

According to a tweet from @BobPockrass, Kurt Busch had electrical issues this morning, mot likely because of the heavy moisture. The team believes this problem is fixed, however.

Our View Unfortunately, electrical problems are pesky little gremlins. Busch will probably be all right, but you want to be aware of the possible problem.

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Johnson wins 1st Sat. Dover practice

Jimmie Johnson had the quickest average speed in Dover's first Saturday practice session with a speed of 148.984 during 29 laps.

Our View Johnson's fastest single lap of 151.989 was fourth best, which makes him just as appealing as Kurt Busch. He's bound to be a little more expensive in salary cap games, however.

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Ku Busch fastest in 1st Sat. Dover practice

Kurt Busch posted both the single fastest lap of 153.035 and the second quickest average speed of 148.943 mph during 33 laps.

Our View Last week, Busch was also fast in practice and at the end of the Sylvania 300 he was battling for the lead. If you were on the fence about him; this might push you over the edge.

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Johnson fastest in Dover practice 1

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap of practice at Dover International Speedway in practice for the AAA 400. His top lap of 158.026 was more than one mile per hour faster than second-place Ryan Newman with a 157.020.

Our View The top of the board was dominated by Chasers. In addition to Johnson and Newman, Juan Montoya (156.986), Greg Biffle (156.952) and Kurt Busch (156.474) rounded out the top five.

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MWR confirms Tryson

According to a tweet from @MartySmith, Michael Waltrip Racing has confirmed that Pat Tryson will be the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. next year in the Cup series.

Our View It remains to be seen if the short time status of Tryson will affect Kurt Busch's Chase efforts. Follow the No. 2 team with some caution.

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